Cody Fisher

Carrying momentum from the conference tournament the Powell High School golf teams posted strong results at the 3A State Tournament in Torrington on Friday and Saturday. The girls’ team placed third overall and Cody Fisher finished runner-up in the boys’ division.

Fisher had a good first day, tying for second with a 75.

On day two, he opened with three straight birdies, and had the lead down to just one stroke after another birdie on the back nine, with seven holes to go.

Unfortunately for Fisher, his even par on the final nine holes was not enough to catch the leader, as Tate Nichols of Wheatland used a 3-under back nine to pull away. Still, Fisher’s final round of 69 put him in the history books for Panther golf.

“That score is the lowest round in the history of PHS golf, and to do that on the second day of a state tournament was awesome to watch and a true testament to just how good of a player Cody has become,” coach Troy Hildebrand said. “He leaves our program as a two-time All-State player and sets a standard for our next group of young players to be shooting for.”

The Panther girls had a strong duo leading the way, as Emery Hernandez and Ali Scott posted identical scorelines overall, tying for sixth and earning All-State honors with total rounds of 200.

“Emery closed out her final season in style, picking up her third consecutive All-State honor. She has been very good for us throughout her career and it was very fitting that she closed out her career with another individual honor and team trophy,” Hildebrand said. “Ali has already accomplished a lot as a sophomore and now has two years remaining to build on those successes as she continues to help lead the girls’ team.”

Grace Gordon was third with rounds of 121 and 122, tying for 22nd overall.

“Grace has continued to grow all season as she has seen new courses each week and learned how to manage her game every round. Her experience from this year will be very valuable for her next fall as she returns as a senior for us,” Hildebrand said.

The final two Panthers tied for 22nd, as Maddie Croft and Hadley Gutierrez each put up rounds of 125 and 119 on opposite days.

“Maddie is a player that has improved greatly over her three seasons with us, but she could really take a big leap forward as a senior if she is able to get out this spring and then into the summer working on her game,” Hildebrand said. “She (Gutierrez) has grown immensely over just the past six weeks and I expect her to come out in the spring and just keep getting better. She will be a player that we really lean on next fall.”

As a team the Panther girls placed in third with rounds of 313 and 325, holding off Lander by just two strokes. Wheatland ran away with the team title by 79 strokes over second place with a 516 for a second straight title. Buffalo’s Addison Bettinger won a second straight individual title with a 162.

“This was a nice finish to a very good year for this group of ladies,” Hildebrand said. “Having five players really allowed us to have some wiggle room each round to find our three best scores.”

Park Harvison was the next highest placing Panther boy, as he finished in a three way tie for 18th with rounds of 81 and 87.

“He has had a great season and while this placing wasn’t exactly what he had hoped for individually he has been an anchor for our team and his improvement from joining us as a sophomore to now is incredible,” Hildebrand said.

Xander Clark finished in a three way tie for 29th, as he posted rounds of 86 and 92.

“The back nine in Torrington is very challenging and Saturday he got a couple of bad breaks and had a rough stretch of holes but he bounced back at the turn and finished strong to post the best score he could for the group,” Hildebrand said.

Kason Sherman was close behind in a tie for 32nd, as he posted rounds of 92 and 88.

“Kason is another player that joined us during his sophomore year and he became a vital member of the boys’ team over the past two years,” Hildebrand said.

Tucker Muecke was the final golfer for the boys, as he finished in 39th with rounds of 96 and 94.

“This was Tucker’s first experience at a state tournament and he did a nice job of battling through each round, stringing together some pars and bogeys and posting scores that we could use if we needed to,” Hildebrand said.

As a team the Panthers fought for every stroke, but came up just short of a team trophy as they were seven points out of third and five outside of fifth with rounds of 334 and 336.

“We played well this week and those three places ended up as close as we had thought they were going to be heading into the tournament. Golf is the ultimate game of ‘what-ifs’ and I know that our players feel like they could have found those shots over the two days. But posting 334-336 for this team is very much in line with what we have done throughout the season and to do that on a brand new course was a very solid effort for the team.”

Wheatland claimed a third straight boys’ title with rounds of 299 and 296 to win by 32 strokes over second place.

The Panther boys say goodbye to their top four golfers with Muecke being the highest placing returner next year, but the Panther girls return four out of five saying goodbye to Hernandez. Hildebrand is hopeful with a big year of growth the girls can make some noise at home when Powell hosts the 3A State Tournament next fall.

“With state coming to Powell next fall we’ll have a nice ‘home field’ advantage for both teams if we get out and put in the time this summer to prepare for that opportunity,” Hildebrand said.