State bound: 17 Panther wrestlers will take to the mat in Casper

Posted 2/21/19

Ranked No. 2 in the state and coming off a second-place showing at the 3A West Regional, the Powell High School wrestling team has its sights set on its first 3A state championship since 2015 this …

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State bound: 17 Panther wrestlers will take to the mat in Casper

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Ranked No. 2 in the state and coming off a second-place showing at the 3A West Regional, the Powell High School wrestling team has its sights set on its first 3A state championship since 2015 this weekend at the Casper Events Center.

Standing in their way will be three-time defending champion Star Valley — the team that ended the Panthers’ four-year run of state titles in 2016. The Braves won the 3A West last week, and are sending 27 wrestlers to Casper this weekend; the Panthers will counter with 17 wrestlers of their own.

“I have high expectations for the kids we are sending down for what they’ll do there at state,” said PHS head coach Nate Urbach. “But you have to wrestle the matches, and you have to be ready to go.”

Powell senior Reese Karst will be going for his third straight state championship and his second at 138 pounds; he won at 132 pounds his sophomore year.

“A third state title is big, so we have to make sure Reese [Karst] is ready to go,” Urbach said. “He has to make sure he takes it one step at a time.”

Calling Karst one of his leaders, Urbach said the senior is a big reason for the team’s success.

“The hallmark of excellence is consistency — can you be good over a period of time?” Urbach said. “Athletes will always have ups and downs, so to be a multiple-time state champion, you have to be consistent. And that’s what Reese has been, ever since he walked in the room.”

Junior Brody Karhu is the defending state champion at 152 pounds, and would like to take the next step to becoming a three-time champion.

“Brody has to do the same thing — take it one match at a time and not look ahead,” Urbach said.

Fresh off of his 3A West title at 160 pounds, sophomore Seth Horton heads to state ranked No. 5, while teammate Carson Olsen hopes to turn his third-place finish at regionals into a state medal at 195 pounds.

“Seth Horton has had a really good year, and has done very well for a sophomore at a fairly high weight,” Urbach said. “Carson Olsen has done excellent, considering he’s basically a freshman in terms of wrestling experience.”

At the lower weights, Trevor Feller at 120 pounds, Michael Maddox at 126 pounds and Corey Linebaugh at 132 pounds all placed third at last weekend’s regional tournament — and Urbach is excited for their chances at state.

“Corey Linebaugh has really been wrestling well lately; he’s really turned around his season,” Urbach said. “I’m excited to see what he’ll do. Same with Michael Maddox. He’s a guy that’s come back and really started wrestling well. Trevor Feller is another guy that’s really gotten better over the course of the season.”

Seniors Cole Davis and Cameron Schmidt are making their final appearances at state, with both poised to earn a spot on the podium after years of hard work.

“Cole [Davis] and Cameron [Schmidt] are guys that have been in the room for four years,” Urbach said. “Both of them have chances to be state medalists now in their senior year. They’ll have to wrestle well, but the opportunity will be there for them. These guys took a little longer to get to where they’re at, so its always nice to see that hard work pay off.”

Bo Dearcorn reached the championship match at regionals at 182 pounds, losing a hard-fought match to Star Valley’s Trent Clark. The junior is hoping for another shot at No. 1-ranked Clark in Casper.

“That’s a match we really want to see,” Urbach said.

At the heavier weights, seniors Duy Linh Hoang and Sawyer Mauthe hope to have an impact at 220 pounds and 285 pounds, respectively.

“I’m looking for really good things out of Duy [Linh Hoang] this weekend,” Urbach said. “Sawyer [Mauthe] is another first-year guy, another freshman-as-a-senior. Hopefully he’ll have a little better weekend. I think he will, he’s had good practices this week and is ready to go.”

A lot of eyes will be on Emma Karhu at 106 pounds, who surprised many by becoming the first female wrestler to place at state last season, finishing fifth as a freshman. Urbach said if she stays focused, the younger Karhu should be able to turn some heads again this weekend.

“She [Karhu] wasn’t slated to place last year, and ended up having a really good tournament,” Urbach said. “Hopefully she’s hungry to prove that she wasn’t a one-hit wonder. She’s a good wrestler; she’s tough. And she has state experience now, so all those things are on her side.”

Also heading to Casper this weekend will be Colt Nicholson at 106 pounds, Logan Werner at 113 pounds, Evan Habeck at 126 pounds and Riley Bennett at 132 pounds.

As for his expectations heading into the weekend, “I’m optimistic, but we have to wrestle,” Urbach said. “That’s one of those things where you just can’t say, ‘Well, we’re going to be awesome.’ If I had a magic wand that would guarantee peak performance, that would make my life much less stressful. The expectations are always high, we always want to make the state tournament our best tournament of the year. That’s the expectation.”

Powell High School, Panther Wrestling

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