PHS grapplers second at 3A West Regional

Karst, Karhu, Horton win individual titles; 17 panthers heading to state

Posted 2/19/19

With three individual champions, one runner-up and five third-place finishers, the Powell High School wrestling team placed second at this weekend’s 3A West Regional at Panther …

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PHS grapplers second at 3A West Regional

Karst, Karhu, Horton win individual titles; 17 panthers heading to state

Posted

With three individual champions, one runner-up and five third-place finishers, the Powell High School wrestling team placed second at this weekend’s 3A West Regional at Panther Gym.

Perennial wrestling powerhouse Star Valley finished in the top spot with 288 points, followed by the Panthers with 206.5 points. Pinedale wrestled its way to third with 119 points, while Cody and Lyman rounded out the top five with 109 and 94 points, respectively. A total of 17 Panthers placed in the top eight of their respective classes, earning them a spot at next weekend’s 3A State Wrestling Meet in Casper.

“I thought we wrestled fairly well,” said PHS head coach Nate Urbach. “We had some really good bright spots.”

He noted that his wrestlers won eight out of 10 matches in the final rounds.

Still, “We have room to improve; I certainly think we haven’t peaked yet,” Urbach said. “Hopefully that will happen for us next weekend.”

Powell senior Reese Karst, at 138 pounds, and junior Brody Karhu, at 152 pounds, repeated as 3A West champions, while sophomore Seth Horton won his first 3A West title at 160 pounds.

In a rematch of last year’s state third-place match at 170 pounds, junior Bo Dearcorn lost in the championship final to Star Valley’s Trent Clark at 182 pounds to finish second.

Finishing third for the Panthers were Trevor Feller at 120 pounds, Michael Maddox at 126 pounds, Corey Linebaugh at 132 pounds, Cole Davis at 145 pounds and Carson Olsen at 195 pounds. Senior Cameron Schmidt finished fourth at 170 pounds.

Karst finished 4-0 at 138 pounds, winning the 3A West title with four straight pins. The defending state champion pinned Cody’s Zain Fitzgerald in the second round of the semifinal match, then pinned Lyman’s Hagen Lamoreaux in under a minute for the championship.

“Reese [Karst] had a great tournament; he wrestled a really tough kid in the finals and ended up pinning him, so that’s always good to see,” Urbach said. “Like he has all year, he’s been a great senior leader who just takes care of business once he’s out there.”

Brody Karhu also finished 4-0, with a bye, a pin and two decisions en route to his second straight 3A West title. The defending state champ at 152 pounds, Karhu won by major decision over Riverton’s Tray Hyatt 16-2 in the semifinals. In the championship match, Karhu decisioned Lander’s Jack Sweeney 7-3 for the title.

“Brody did well, he wrestled a really talented kid from Lander, and did the right things to get after him,” Urbach said. “He scored when he needed to.”

Horton’s 4-0 record to the 160-pound championship included a pin over Cody’s Keaton Stone in the first round of the semifinal match. In the championship final, Horton won a close 8-6 decision over Star Valley’s Kyle Kunz, ranked No. 2 in the state in 3A and last year’s state runner-up at 160 pounds. Urbach said Kunz is “awfully good.”

“Out of all the finals matches, Seth [Horton] probably had the most contested match,” Urbach said. “I was really happy with him.”

Dearcorn’s 3-1 record at 182 pounds included first-round pins over Cody’s Jonny Williams and Pinedale’s Ethan Carson in the semifinals. His loss to Clark in the championship came by a pin with 30 seconds left in the match; Clark came into the tournament ranked one spot behind Dearcorn in the state at No. 3.

“Those guys [Clark and Dearcorn] are No. 1 and No. 2 in the state, so we knew it would be a good match,” Urbach said. “The kid [Clark] is tough on top, and Bo’s gotta get off bottom with this kid. It’s certainly a match that we want to see again. I’m excited to hopefully repeat that next weekend.”

At 120 pounds, Feller finished 4-1 for the tournament, losing to Star Valley’s Haze Child in the semifinals before pinning Jackson’s Tipton Wilson in the consolation semifinals. In the third-place match, Feller decisioned Riverton’s Brady Stingley 7-5.

Maddox also finished 4-1 at 126 pounds, pinning Lander’s Dylan Anderson in the consolation semifinals, and winning the third-place match by 8-6 decision over Star Valley’s Spencer Larson.

“Trevor Feller wrestled the best I’ve seen him all year long, never seen him look that good. Michael Maddox had a great tournament as well,” Urbach said. “So they’re doing the right things, stepping up at the end of the year, which is what you want to see.”

Linebaugh lost an 8-1 decision in the 132-pound semifinals to eventual runner-up Grayson Hicks from Star Valley. Linebaugh then pinned Cody’s Brady Deming in the consolation semis and Lyman’s Richie Brewer in the first round of the third-place match.

Davis’ 4-1 record at 145 pounds included a pin over Lyman’s Chevy Fackrell in the consolation semifinals and a pin over Cody’s Tyler Grenz in the third-place match. Davis lost to eventual champion Ridge Briggs of Riverton in the semifinals.

At 195 pounds, Olsen fell to Cody’s Charlie Beaudrie in the championship semifinals before beating Cody’s Danny Becker by technical fall in the consolation semis. Olsen decisioned Pinedale’s Kolby Carson 5-2 to finish third.

“Carson Olsen has been such a wonderful surprise this year, he came out as a junior and we didn’t know what to expect,” Urbach said. “He’s just become really solid, and is enjoying the sport.”

Powell senior Cameron Schmidt was the team’s lone fourth-place finisher, posting a 3-2 record at 170 pounds. Schmidt pinned Mountain View’s Bridger Harris in the consolation semifinals before losing the third-place match to Star Valley’s David Walker in a close 6-5 decision.

Also placing in the top eight and earning a trip to state were: Colt Nicholson at 106 pounds (seventh place, 3-2); Emma Karhu at 106 pounds (eighth place, 3-2); Logan Werner at 113 pounds (fifth place, 2-2); Evan Habeck at 126 pounds (fifth place, 2-2); Riley Bennett at 132 pounds (eighth place, 2-2); Duy Linh Hoang at 220 pounds (seventh place, 1-2) and Sawyer Mauthe at 285 pounds (eighth place, 1-2).

Hoang dropped to 220 pounds for regionals after wrestling most of the season at 285 as a way to give the Panthers a better chance at more team points. That he did so without being asked was the epitome of team-first mentality, according to his coach.

“He [Hoang] really sacrificed for the team. That wasn’t something that came from me or the other coaches,” Urbach said. “He wanted to sacrifice and make us stronger so we’d have a full lineup, and I’m really, really proud of him for doing that. It was a very selfless act; you don’t see that every day.”

The Panthers will fine-tune a few things this week, then hit the road this weekend for the 3A State Tournament in Casper. Urbach said the team is ready to go; the trick will be to keep everyone relaxed until then.

“It’s an exciting week, so you want the kids to be smart with their weight, as well as rest and relax,” he said. “You always have high expectations, so when they work out, you’re excited, but not necessarily surprised. It should be fun.”

Editor's note: This version of the story corrects a wrestler's first name.

Powell High School, Panther Wrestling

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