The Powell Panther wrestling squads put on strong performances over a three day stretch in their first Wyoming meets of the new year. The girls produced good wins against Worland before the boys earned a 66-12 dual victory Thursday. On Friday and Saturday the two teams each finished third at the Lander Invitational as Jimmy Dees and Allison LeBlanc each claimed individual titles.

WORLAND DUAL

Welcoming the Warriors to town on Thursday the Panthers were looking forward to being at home once again, and securing a dominant dual win on their home mat.

Before the boys took to the mat the girls put on a strong set of performances, earning five straight pins.

“Caydee Eden had a great win against Worland,” coach Nick Fulton said. “The place kind of came alive cheering for her. She’s undersized even for 100 pounds. She did a great job of battling and scrapping … The gym came alive after that and it didn’t stop until the last match of the night.”

Eden earned a pin in 5:16, followed by Allison LeBlanc at 110 pounds (1:23), Eleasah Horsley at 115 pounds (3:19), Abigail LeBlanc at 115 pounds (2:00) and Nalani Jordan at 130 pounds in 37 seconds.

Worland got two victories at the end, with Kaprina Haney losing via pin in two matches at 135 pounds.

For the boys, Dees got things started with a pin at 215 (1:49) before Doug Bettger earned a 1-0 decision at 285 to give Powell a 9-0 lead.

Circling back to the lightweights, Wyatt Nicholson earned a pin in 54 seconds at 106 pounds, Chevy Hill earned a 7-2 decision at 113 pounds and Braxton Batt got a pin in 1:08 at 120 pounds.

“Braxton had an upperclassman at 120 and he’s a little undersized,” Fulton said. “Put him out there as a freshman and he showed no fear. He was after it right at the get go. I love his mentality on the mat.”

Worland earned its two victories at 126 pounds with a pin of Tyler Wenzel and at 132 pounds with a pin of Broc Frank.

Powell capped off the night with seven straight wins, starting with Wyatt Heffington at 138 pounds in 45 seconds, Cody Seifert at 144 pounds (1:11), Jeremy Harms in 26 seconds at 150 pounds, Reese Lowe at 157 pounds (6:01), McKale Foley at 165 pounds (1:51), Dusty Carter at 175 pounds (3:45) and Denton Wainscott at 190 pounds (3:44).

“Good, tough wrestling from us in that dual,” Fulton said. “Matches that were kind of tight in the initial period or going into the second period, I felt our intensity kind of wore Worland out. We ended up earning a lot of pins in the third period which is really rewarding to see those kids’ hard work is translating into their performance.”

LANDER INVITATIONAL

Heading back on the road Friday and Saturday the Panthers made the first of several trips to Fremont County, heading to the Lander Invitational which featured all the top 3A teams.

Dees led the way for the Panthers, earning a first place finish at 215 pounds — going 4-0, all on pins, with his longest bout taking 1:12.

Bettger was second at 285, going 3-1 before losing by pin in the final.

Whiting was third at 113 pounds, going 4-1 overall after a loss in the semifinal.

Four Panthers earned fourth place finishes, with Nicholson at 106 pounds finishing 3-2 after a semifinal loss; Hill at 113 pounds (4-2); Seifert at 144 pounds (4-2) and Jacob Eaton at 215 pounds going 2-2.

Carter was the final Panther to place, earning a fifth place finish at 175 pounds (4-2).

Other results included Batt at 120 pounds (2-2); Wenzel at 126 pounds (2-2); Foley at 165 pounds (2-2); Kash Brazelton at 138 pounds (1-2); Heffington at 138 pounds (1-2); Talon Nuss at 106 pounds (0-2); Frank at 132 pounds (0-2); Chase Visocky at 144 pounds (0-2); Rhys Bray at 157 pounds (0-2) and Wainscott at 190 pounds (0-2).

“These kids battled,” Fulton said. “They are just competitors. Every match is a battle.”

Powell finished third as a team with 165 points, tied with Rawlins but behind Pinedale with 187 and Green River with 203.5.

“We are scoring points at almost every weight,” Fulton said. “I really like where this team is at right now … We were right in it with Pinedale all day Saturday and they pulled ahead of us in the placing rounds … Moving forward I like where we are, I can add points with my guys.”

Allison LeBlanc won the title going 3-0 at 110 pounds, winning the first two via pin before a 4-2 decision in the final.

Jordan was third going 2-2 after losing in the semifinals and Angelina Bontadelli was also third after going 1-2 at 145 pounds.

Horsley was fourth after going 4-2 at 115 pounds.

Eden was fifth at 100 pounds after going 2-2.

Abigail LeBlanc went 1-2 at 115 pounds and Haney went 0-2 at 135 pounds.

The girls finished third with 77 points behind Wind River in second with 104 and Pinedale with 116.

“Those ladies are improving just as fast,” Fulton said. “They are enjoying winning … They had some good performances. It’s almost the same story, different chapter with the women, watching them get better right now is the same as the boys. They are starting to figure out how to compete and wrestle hard.”

RON THON MEMORIAL

Powell was originally scheduled to head to Riverton on Thursday night for a dual against the Wolverines, but that was canceled as of Monday afternoon.

The Panthers will now head to Riverton starting on Friday, taking part in the Ron Thon Memorial on Friday and Saturday.

Wrestlers from all classes will converge on Riverton, helping the Panthers see where they stack up against the best of the best in Wyoming.

“It’s kind of the unofficial all-class state tournament,” Fulton said. “It’s another tournament. Our main goal is looking at regionals and the state tournament, we approach it just like any other event. We’re professional about it and we go in and compete hard.”