Only four days separate Powell High School’s first golf practice and first tournament, but head coach Troy Hildebrand believes his team is up for the task.

The PHS golf team kicked off fall practice on Monday and will compete in its first tournament today (Thursday) in Cody. The next day, the Panthers will play the second half of that invitational at Powell Golf Club.

Hildebrand will send several golfers to the tournament, hoping to get a benchmark for where his team stands.

“Some of these guys played quite a bit of golf this summer, that’s great, but the tournament setting is always a little bit different,” he said. “This won’t be our best team score, I imagine, but it will give us something to compare to last year as a team and how we can improve.”

This year’s squad brings back several familiar faces from the 2020 team.

Junior Seth Siebert is the oldest returner on the guys’ side. Hildebrand said Siebert has “gotten bigger, stronger and a little better” and brings great experience to the team.

The sophomore class is the largest of any class of Hildebrand’s career, with 14 attending the first week of practice. That group is led by Andrew Jones, Isaiah Woyak and Gunnar Erickson, who all competed at the Class 3A State Golf Tournament a year ago. A couple other sophomores will also compete in the opening Thursday-Friday tournament, per Hildebrand.

“They are some guys that got good experience last year, improved and got into the game a little more this summer,” the coach said. “I’m excited to see where they’re at.”

As far as newcomers, freshman Trey Scott is expected to make an impact immediately. Scott brings “a lot of experience” and has played in several tournaments, according to Hildebrand. The coach also expects a few other freshmen to be in the mix for tournaments this season.

The team also features two girls: Megan McDaniel and Jasmin Simonson. Simonson has played for the Panthers for the past two seasons, while McDaniel will be a first-year golfer. Hildebrand said they may be able to travel to some tournaments in 2021.

A year ago, the Panther boys finished ninth out of 15 teams at state, near the middle of the pack. In addition to improving that state finish, Hildebrand hopes his young core can develop consistently, both individually and as a team.

“This group has a chance to maybe move up a couple of notches there,” he said. “I look at these young guys and really think we could be in that top five range; migrating to that every year is important as these guys get older and a little bit better. That would be a piece I’m looking for by the end of the season.”