Jimmy Dees walked onto the mat Saturday at the state wrestling championship match in Casper wearing a shoulder brace — a remnant from the injury that derailed his attempt at a title last year — and a pair of shoes given to him by his late grandfather when he was a freshman.

He walked onto the mat needing a pin at 215 pounds to push his team into fourth place, and a win to put a title cap on a sterling high school career.

Less than five minutes later, he had his redemption.

One year ago, Dees was knocked out in the semifinals during his junior year of the state tournament at 195 pounds after dislocating his shoulder.

Uncertainty surrounded his status heading into his final season as a Panther, as he was forced to wrestle with a brace on his shoulder throughout the year in order to compete.

“It was something I debated back and forth. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be back in the sport especially with my shoulder being torn but I felt it was my duty to go out and perform,” Dees said.

Sporting the shoulder brace, he did indeed perform. Dees completed his comeback to the mat and capped off an impressive 31-1 season, pinning his way to the state title last weekend and adding to his Ron Thon and 3A West Regional titles.

In the first round of the tournament Dees stepped on the mat and pinned his opponent from Lyman in eight seconds.

That was followed by a matchup with a familiar face in the quarterfinals, reaching the second period against Cody’s Anker Stewart and pinning him 18 seconds into the period after taking top to start the second frame.

In the semifinals another quick pin came against Green River’s Jakob Lloyd, winning in 37 seconds to advance to the championship bout.

“To get back to the semifinals was huge,” Dees said.

That final came against another familiar opponent in Ryan Watson from Riverton, who is one of the few wrestlers to take Dees to decision, with Dees defeating his opposition in the Ron Thon final 8-7 and the 3A Regional finals 10-6.

Dees came out with a purpose — he knew the importance of getting a pin in the final to get his teammates into fourth place and onto the podium.

He came out with a dominant 8-0 lead after the first, but Watson battled back with a strong second period to make it 8-3 heading into the third.

“I was up 8-0 at the end of the first and I was thinking ‘well, I’m up but eight points or 14 points we are still going to be behind Rawlins,’” Dees said. 

Dees chose top in the third, once again working Watson into a cradle and eventually finishing the match with a pin in 4:43 to earn the state title.

“Making it to the finals and winning was something I have been striving for all of high school. To finally get there and win it was one of the biggest moments of my life,” Dees said. “Knowing the weight that pin carried and getting fourth because of it … getting that pin was huge and it meant so much to me and I knew in my heart that I could feel good about it.”

Finishing a journey that began four years ago with the help of his late grandfather, Dees donned those same shoes  bought for him his freshman year and helped complete his story as a Panther.

“It meant a lot because my grandpa was a huge supporter of mine. He isn’t here anymore, not to make it sad, of course, but I wore the shoes I wore because he got them for me my freshman year and to win it I know he’s looking over me and proud,” Dees said.

In his four years as a Panther the team has not had a top four finish to make the podium, as the last time Powell made it to the top was in 2020 the year before Dees started high school.

“We’ve never placed in the top four since I have been in high school. To bring that trophy and hardware home, it’s so cool to me. I couldn’t have done it without all the guys on my team and I’m excited to see where they can go next year. Who knows with the changing of classes, they could win it and I’m excited to follow that,” Dees said.