A long trip to Lander paid dividends for the Powell Panther girls wrestling team, as they defeated Lander  in a Thursday dual before placing fifth at the Lander Invitational on Friday and Saturday. Powell High School junior Allison LeBlanc delivered a highlight by winning her second competition in a row after claiming her first title of the season two weeks ago in Douglas.

Injuries forced plenty of open positions on Thursday, but the Panthers were able to get in two bouts in the 30-24 win in their first action after a week off from competition.

“Unfortunately, Lander had some injuries so we did not have as many matchups as we anticipated,” coach David Holland said.

In the two weights that featured matches, Panther Nalani Jordan was pinned at 140 pounds and Ellidi Joy lost the other match by pin at 170 pounds.

At the Friday-Saturday invite, LeBlanc cruised to her second straight tournament win at 110 pounds, pinning all four of her opponents.

“I think Allison [LeBlanc] is really starting to build her confidence as she continues to keep wrestling well in her matches,” Holland said. “She is aggressive and pushes the pace every moment that the clock ticks.”

LeBlanc’s dominance was shown as only one of her four matches lasted into the third period which was the championship bout, defeating Pinedale’s Allison Rodriguez at the 4:44 mark.

Powell had another finalist in the Lander tournament, as Jordan won three straight matches via pin before being pinned in the championship match at 140 pounds.

“She has finished runner-up in three consecutive tournaments this month,” Holland said. “The competition has been tougher this year and I think Nalani [Jordan] is getting closer to turning that corner.”

In her first three victories, Jordan only had one match last over a minute before losing to an opponent from Thunder Ridge, Idaho.

Powell had two more placers: Caydee Eden went 4-1 and finished third at 100 pounds along while Eleasah Horsley also went 4-1 at 115 pounds to earn a bronze of her own.

“Caydee [Eden] had a great tournament. She battled back from deficits in the quarters and her third place match, overcoming those deficits to win both matches,” Holland said.

As for Horsley, she “won two matches against regional opponents that beat her last year at regionals,” Holland said. “That should be a huge confidence booster for Eleasah as we head into Ron Thon.”

Other Panther competitors included Joriana Hine going 1-2 at 105 pounds; Harley Spinden going 0-2 at 120 pounds; Addison Farnsworth going 0-2 at 145 pounds and Ellidi Joy going 0-2 at 170 pounds.

Powell finished fifth as a team with 97 points, while Pinedale won the team title with 178.5 points.

“The girls came out and wrestled tough this past weekend,” Holland said. “We knew that some of these matches were regional opponents and could affect regional seeding next month and the girls did not let the pressure get to them.”

Powell was able to wrestle at full strength for the first time in several weeks, as the team continues its Wyoming tournaments to end January.

“It was good to see our team healthy for the most part this weekend,” Holland said. “We matched up well against Pinedale and Evanston, winning the majority of those regional matches.”

RON THON INVITE

Powell heads back out on the road this week, taking part in the Ron Thon Invitational this Thursday and Friday in Riverton. The girls will compete ahead of the boys, who will grapple on Friday and Saturday.

“I am thankful that we have a few practices before Ron Thon to work on some fixes that we need to make,” Holland said. “Ron Thon is a big tournament but I want the girls to look at this tournament as they would any other tournament. No reason to add pressure by hyping up another tournament.”

The Ron Thon tournament serves as a preview for the girls’ state tournament at the end of February, as every team competes in one singular class for girls at state in the third year of girls’ wrestling being recognized as its own competition.

He said the goal is for the girls to peak at regionals and state, with regional competition Feb. 21-22 in Evanston and the state tournament in Casper Feb. 27-March 1.