FOUR! PHS wrestling pushes way into history with fourth straight 3A state title

Posted 3/3/15

But even if he didn’t intend it to, the Powell High School head wrestling coach’s statement rang truest for his Panthers.

Behind four individual state titles and 11 total medalists, PHS (227 points) outlasted Douglas (202.5) and Star Valley …

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FOUR! PHS wrestling pushes way into history with fourth straight 3A state title

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CASPER — “I’ve said it a million times, but when they come here, they wrestle hard.”

Nate Urbach was talking about Douglas High School on Saturday night, and indirectly, the 15 other Class 3A teams competing Friday and Saturday in Casper.

But even if he didn’t intend it to, the Powell High School head wrestling coach’s statement rang truest for his Panthers.

Behind four individual state titles and 11 total medalists, PHS (227 points) outlasted Douglas (202.5) and Star Valley (202.5) for their fourth straight Class 3A State Wrestling Championship at the Casper Events Center.

“I thought we wrestled well from the get go,” Urbach said. “I was proud. I was happy to watch the kids go out there and just compete and do well and all those things we really look for. So yeah, I was really pumped.”

The championship was Urbach’s sixth in his 11 seasons with PHS, and sixth in the past eight years. The championship plaque also made Panther wrestling the first four-peat champion in PHS athletics history.

“I was really proud of the kids and winning a fourth in a row is big,” the coach added. “It makes this accomplishment that much bigger.”

Senior Riley Stringer (285 pounds) and juniors Chance Karst (132) and Kye Catlin (145, third straight title) captured repeat gold medals while senior Jake Davis (170) earned his first title to contribute to the PHS cause.

Seniors Noah Wozney (113) and Colton Parham (132), and junior Nic Urbach (138), who was a state champion last season, finished as runners-up. Parham’s silver medal gave him the distinction of being the only Panther senior to have medaled in all four of his prep seasons.

Sophomores Zach Easum (220) and Ty Dearcorn (182) finished third and sixth, respectively, while senior Bailey Atkinson was fourth at 152 and junior Tucker Darrah took sixth at 160.

“You’re dang right — they got some points in the bank,” coach Urbach said approvingly of his other medalists. “I said all along that those guys would be key for us.”

The points Urbach’s athletes collected from consolation matches proved pivotal down the stretch. Urbach and virtually every Panther grappler acknowledged having a “target” on their collective back all season, and knew the state meet would be no exception. Douglas and Star Valley, especially, aimed for the bullseye early and often as the three teams played musical chairs in the top three spots until the championship round.

As Star Valley began to fade on Saturday, however, Douglas enjoyed a strong showing in consolation action to assert itself as the top threat to PHS. The Bearcats were within 205-202.5 heading into the title bouts, held back only by Easum’s pinfall victory in the third-place match.

“When it’s a team race, it just adds to the fun and the love for wrestling just brings it out,” Easum said. “We were behind before my match and it kind of put some pressure on me, but I love the pressure.”

Apparently, so did the Panther finalists, who mostly thrived on the tournament’s grandest stage while Douglas faltered.

After Wozney suffered a pinfall loss to Lander Valley’s Mark McConnell, Karst defeated his teammate Parham to give PHS its first gold medal. Karst and Parham were ranked one and two, respectively, in WyoWrestling.com’s polls, but Parham came into the match winless against Karst in their previous encounters. The story stayed the same on Saturday as Karst earned a major decision.

“Having to wrestle your own teammate, it’s hard, but when you go out there you have no friends and you have to do what you have to do to get the W,” Karst said. “It’s pretty awesome though; winning one is pretty awesome but winning two is unbelievable.”

After the match, Karst raised his arms to the Powell fans before embracing Parham and raising his teammate’s arm in celebration in a show of respect.

One match later, Nic Urbach’s hopes for a second straight championship came to a screeching halt. The crossface-cradle specialist battled the flu at the 3A West tournament a week prior to state, but still managed to score a technical fall over Star Valley’s Brandon Claye in the regional championship.

In a rematch against Claye in the state finals, Urbach lead early with a takedown, but after failing to lock in his cradle, was out-wrestled down the stretch.

Urbach spent a majority of the third period on bottom, his self-admitted weakest position, and eventually lost 6-4 as coach Urbach (his father) and assistant coach Nick Fulton wore looks of disappointment.

But no one was more disappointed than the coach’s son.

“I wasn’t myself out there. I do need to get better on bottom — a lot better — but that wasn’t me out there,” Nic Urbach said with tears in his eyes. “During the match I didn’t wrestle good; it just wasn’t me out there. [That was] probably my worst match. But I’ll come back next year from it.”

Coach Urbach was unhappy after the match, but also appeared content, possibly because he knows his son will return next year.

“Personally, it’s bittersweet,” the coach said after his team’s victory. “My son, favored to win, didn’t win, that’s hard when you’re a coach; it’s personal. But it is what it is.”

PHS recovered in inspiring fashion in the next bout, as Catlin ended a tumultuous season on a high note. Catlin missed the first half of the year after undergoing right shoulder surgery in September to repair the bone that has been repeatedly dislocated since his freshman campaign. He made his return in January, but only wrestled a handful of matches before tearing the meniscus in his right knee. Another surgery shelved Catlin for three weeks, but he returned at the regional tourney and took first.

“He’s a tough kid, he’s got the heart of a champ,” coach Urbach said. “I thought if we could get him back on the mat he’d have a great chance.”

Against Torrington’s Tyger Rodriguez, Catlin made the most of his chance with a 9-1 major decision to secure the title.

“I’m just happy I was able to finish the season and pull this off,” Catlin said. “I was just confident. I had great support from my teammates, my family and my coaches. I worked hard and fought my way back here.

“I was a little nervous. But I just had to focus on what I was there to do,” he continued. “I didn’t feel any pressure; I just had to take care of what I needed to do.”

Three divisions later, Davis finally did what he had been trying to do for four seasons. After back-to-back runner-up finishes in Casper in 2013 and 2014, Davis dropped football from his activities, remodeled his training regimen and attacked this season with a new-found aggression. The changes paid off as Davis cruised to the title match, where he battled Douglas’ Colter Haman for first.

Before the match Davis said: “It’s different every year, but it should be a pretty good, high-paced match.”

During the battle, the pace halted when Davis made what appeared to be a legal wrestling move on Haman’s braced and wrapped left knee. The move sent the Bearcat to the mat grasping his knee, and referees tagged Davis with a controversial technical violation that gave Haman the option of leaving the match injured but victorious. Instead, he chose to wrestle, a choice that resulted in a 14-3 major decision for Davis.

In the final half minute, Davis gained complete control over Haman, pinning his right shoulder and left hand to the mat with a modified Saturday Night Ride maneuver for a nearfall as PHS fans cheered. At one point, Davis looked at the time clock while applying the hold, smiled, turned his attention back to the PHS fans and nodded his head in excitement over the imminent victory.

After the final whistle, he rose to his feet and jumped in the air as he pumped his right fist.

“Hell yeah!” Davis shouted after leaving the mat. “That was a great match.”

Davis’ victory was significant in that it pegged the Bearcats with an 0-3 record in their three title-match appearances, allowing Star Valley to sneak into a tie for second and PHS to remain safely in first.

“He was awful frustrated the last couple of years, so this was a big moment for him,” coach Urbach said of Davis’ win. “I was proud of him.”

Stringer capped the Panthers’ title wins with an impressive victory in the heavyweight division. Worland’s Nathan Kern came in as a high seed after an upset win in the 3A East Regional Tournament title match, thanks largely to his 6-6, 285-pound frame. But a scoreless first period with Stringer quickly went south for the sophomore thanks to Urbach allowing Stringer to make a critical decision.

“Before the second period, I won the toss and coach Urbach told me to defer,” Stringer explained. “But I kind of gave him a long look to tell him I wanted to be on bottom, and he said ‘OK.’”

Urbach’s trust in Stringer was rewarded, as the grappler exploded out of Kern’s grasp at the sound of the referee’s whistle and spun around his opponent for a reversal. Seconds later, Stringer turned Kern over with a half nelson and pinned him in 2:42.

Stringer has battled injuries to both ankles as well as the loss of his father, former Powell High School football coach Jim Stringer, who died before the start of the school year.

After his victory, Stringer stood up and pulled off the left strap of his singlet, pointing to a tattoo on his chest that depicts the phrase “I’m your huckleberry,” a quote from his father’s favorite film “Tombstone,” as well as his father’s birthday: “08-23-69.”

“I got it tattooed over my heart just as a reminder he is always in my heart and will always be with me,” said Stringer, who will follow in his dad’s footsteps and play football for the University of Wyoming in the fall. “We always write things on athletic tape and put them on the inside of our head gear so we look at it before our match. I put ‘To make my dad proud’ on the inside of mine. That was really the biggest thing I was thinking of before I walked out on the mat, that I wanted to make him proud and make him happy.”

After the win, Stringer climbed the bleachers and embraced his younger sister, Kodi Stringer, and mother, Jill Stringer, as she cried into her son’s shoulder.

“I’m just happy that it’s over and that everything went the way it was supposed to,” Riley Stringer said. “To be a part of it all is truly amazing, and to help it all happen is awesome. There’s really nothing that feels better.”

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