Twelve wrestlers will be making their way to the state tournament for the Powell High School boys’ wrestling team, as the Panthers put together one of their best days of the season on Friday in Cody to finish fourth, with two Panthers taking the top spots heading into state.

The two Panther winners came in the lighter weights, as Jonathan Hine won a no contest at 106 pounds against teammate William Taylor to reach the final, before defeating Cody’s Bobby Hernandez 13-8 to take the regional crown.

“Really proud of Jonathan … He showed a lot of maturity, got out to an early lead and was able to win that so happy for him,” coach Nick Fulton said. “Set himself up well for next week.”

Powell’s other winner was Russell Goolsbey, who won his first two matches via pin before avenging some earlier season losses to Lander’s Noah Irvine with a 6-4 decision to take the top spot at 126 pounds.

“The Lander kid had beaten him [Goolsbey] twice throughout the year, beat him in Ron Thon and beat him in our dual. We were in both matches, but Russell got the better of him there,” Fulton said.

Dylan DeBoer was another Powell finalist at 120 pounds, as he won his first two matches via pin before falling to Worland’s Kade Garcia in the final via pin in 2 minutes, 56 seconds.

“Been telling Dylan all year that hard work pays off,” Fulton said. “He beat a Lander kid that had beaten him earlier in the year in the semifinals … He was in the match (the finals), he had taken the kid down. Kind of was in control, but the (Worland) kid is really good on top, chose top and Dylan wasn’t able to clear bottom there.”

Tyler Wenzel was the last Panther finalist at 144 pounds, as he won his first match via pin in 1:34, a 17-0 tech fall in the quarterfinal, a 9-2 decision in the semifinal before a close 9-8 decision loss to Cody’s Kort Sorensen in the final.

“Tyler did a really good job talking to our kids … He really stepped in and was a senior leader there. I was super appreciative of that,” Fulton said. “One point to a Cody kid that we’ve gone round with since Tyler was a little kid. He gave it everything … But boy, he set himself up well, he’s wrestling well right now. It’s coming together at the right time.”

Powell’s additional top four placers included Taylor, who went 0-1 and was fourth at 106 pounds, and Forest Kleinfeldt, who went 1-2 at 138 pounds to take fourth.

Additional qualifiers who will be unseeded at state included Sean Lowe at 132 pounds who went 2-2; Jayce Lejeune who went 1-2 at 150 pounds; Isaiah Torres was 1-2 at 165 pounds; Justin Marquez was 1-2 at 190 pounds; Jacob Christofalos was 1-2 at 285 pounds and Tucker Muecke went 0-2 at 157 pounds.

Additional Panthers competing who did not qualify for the state tournament were Desmond Bear who went 1-2 at 144 pounds; James Schaefer went 0-2 at 132 pounds; Weston Loeper went 0-2 at 138 pounds and Owen Jones went 0-1 at 150 pounds.

Overall the Panthers were second a majority of the day before a late surge by Bridger Valley competition, as the Panthers finished fourth with 123.5 points.

“I was proud of them, held second a lot of the day. They just got a little starry eyed late, I’m glad that they got to feel being in a team race a little bit,” Fulton said. “That’s something our team last year didn’t get to experience when they were young … They need to feel that if we want to go on and do big things down the road.”

Lyman was third with 129, Mountain View was second with 146 and Cody ran away with the team title with 279.5 points.

Heading to the state tournament the Panthers are hoping to gain invaluable experience at the Ford Wyoming Center, with Wenzel being the lone Panther senior as 10 of the 12 qualifiers are either freshmen or sophomores for Powell.

“They’ve never been to state. This is the first time, I’d say they’re young, but they’ve been battle hardened this year,” Fulton said. “It’s a big deal, the first time you walk in that building, it’s different. It shouldn’t be, but it is. Getting that experience is crucial to success … They put their toe on the line and put their ankle band on the same way. They are just matches at the end of the day. I always try to get them one more week, one more experience. I think it pays off down the road.”

STATE MATCHUPS

106 pounds — Jonathan Hine vs. Asic Dawson (Newcastle); William Taylor (bye), will face winner of Gus Stoltenberg (Douglas) and Barrett Bruch (Torrington) in quarterfinal

120 pounds — Dylan DeBoer vs. Keller Dehmel (Worland)

126 pounds — Russell Goolsbey vs. Rylee O’Brien (Mountain View)

132 pounds — Sean Lowe vs. Lance Baggs (Cody)

138 pounds — Forest Kleinfeldt vs. Kabre Miller (Worland)

144 pounds — Tyler Wenzel vs. Logan Anderson (Worland)

150 pounds — Jayce Lejeune vs. Ty Albaugh (Torrington)

165 pounds — Isaiah Torres vs. Landon Fornstrom (Pinedale)

190 pounds — Justin Marquez vs. Boston Busskohl (Lyman)

285 pounds — Jacob Christofalos vs. Danny Warington (Rawlins)