The second year of state wrestling is in the books for the Powell Panther girls, with four wrestlers competing on the mat in Casper as the sport continues to grow statewide.

Leading the way for the second year in a row was Allison LeBlanc, who earned her second state medal after placing third at 110 pounds.

She started the weekend with a pin in 1:25 in the opening round, before winning in overtime 5-3 over Cheyenne Central’s Abigail Vroman to set up a championship rematch from last year in the semifinals against Rebekah Anderson of Moorcroft.

Anderson got the better of Allison LeBlanc for the second consecutive year at the state tournament, getting the pin with one second left in the match and went on to win the title for the second consecutive year.

In the consolation semifinals Allison LeBlanc earned a pin to advance to the third place match, where she earned a late pin of Brianna Uhrig of Green River to place in the top three for the second consecutive year.

“She battled her way back to third and showed a lot of guts battling back in,” coach Nick Fulton said. 

At 115 pounds the Panthers had two competitors who eventually matched up in the consolation rounds of the tournament.

The competitor who made it further was Eleasah Horsley, who won in the first round via pin in 56 seconds before dropping a match to the eventual state champion Lilly Quintanilla of Thermopolis who pinned Horsley in 3:47.

In the consolation rounds, Horsley matched up with teammate Abigail LeBlanc, with Horsley earning the pin in 3:54 to advance.

She lost in the third round of wrestle backs, just short of medal placement after falling in 2:56.

Abigail LeBlanc fell in the first round via pin in 1:38, before earning a pin of her own in the first round of wrestle backs before losing in the second round to Horsley.

“Both of them picked up wins at the tournament (at 115 pounds),” Fulton said. “They are two young ladies that just started wrestling this year. To watch them out there it’s remarkable how much they improved.”

Kaprina Haney at 135 pounds was the final wrestler for the Panthers, who lost both of her matches via pin in 1:24 and 3:51.

“She dropped two pretty tough ones that first day but she got in there and got some good experience,” Fulton said. 

Star Valley won the team title for the second year in a row, as the Panthers tied for 28th out of 42 teams in the second year of the state tournament.

“We are excited to see that women’s program grow and see the sport of women’s wrestling grow in general,” Fulton said. “They did a great job and I’m awfully proud of them.”

This year the Panthers saw an increase to eight girls competing for the girls’ team, growing from two the initial year.