Seth Romsa

What an exciting winter season.

From snapping a 26-year title drought with an undefeated season to a two-time national champion in college wrestling and another high school wrestling champion, the winter sports season had it all.

Starting with the Powell High School boys’ basketball team, that run of games had me stressed out at times, but the experience of that team shined through in the end with nobody panicking when times got tough.

Wheatland absolutely was not the team anybody was expecting to face in the final after Douglas was upset in the semifinals, but the Panthers stayed steady no matter what and competed till the end to snap a lengthy title drought.

That team was led by a strong core of seniors paced by two 1,000 point scorers in Brock Johnson and Gunnar Erickson, but don’t be shocked if that team makes another strong push next year with a deep program bringing back plenty of experience and athleticism next year.

At the collegiate level we saw another impressive feat, as Aziz Fayzullaev earned another national title in wrestling, finishing with only one loss in his two-year career as a Trapper.

That team continued to build, finishing ninth nationally and boasting three All-Americans this year as two-timer Cody Pinkerton and Orrin Jackson for the first time, earned those honors alongside Fayzullaev.

I am excited to see the next step for those athletes and to see where they compete next.

At the high school level the Panther wrestlers battled their way to the podium with a fourth place finish, needing every point including a pin from senior Jimmy Dees in the title match at 215 pounds to pass Rawlins.

That team returns a lot of talent next year, and with the shifting of classes the PHS wrestling team could compete for the top spot next year while the girls’ program also continues to grow.

Although they came up short on a shocking buzzer-beater at the state tournament, the Panther girls’ basketball team proved it is still moving in the right direction after competing with some of the top teams throughout the season.

I know that the Douglas juggernaut will likely roll on for one more year, but I am hopeful for the bright future of the Panther program. Despite losing key seniors, the girls will bring back plenty of core players along with a strong team coming up next year from Powell Middle School to help the Panthers compete for years to come.

Both Trapper basketball programs battled throughout the winter, with the women falling in the play-in and the men falling in the quarterfinals.

Both are young teams, and will likely bring back a strong nucleus of sophomores moving forward to help compete in the Region IX North next year.

Indoor track continued in its second year of competition at PHS, likely serving as a springboard for the spring sports.

Boys’ swimming saw some of its own success in the pool, and will look to rebuild over the coming years after a smaller turnout this year.

The winter saw a lot of success, and with both track teams and baseball defending state championships as well as contenders in both soccer programs, hopefully the spring can follow suit.