The Powell High School wrestling team split into two groups for the weekend, with the varsity taking on the tall task of the Pat Weede Memorial Invitational in Gillette, a tournament filled with big schools and tough wrestlers. 

Powell finished 2-6 in the duals tournament, including a win over an unknown Pennsylvania team and gritty performances by many of the wrestlers. 

“We had a lot of good performances over the weekend, we wrestled some top notch teams which we knew going in,” coach Nick Fulton said. “It’s always fun to be tested in that kind of tournament to see our flaws, learned some things that will really help us moving forward … Our technicality, grittiness really improved from week one to week two, and the things we practiced, it was nice to see them come to fruition.”

The successes came in spite of the team being wracked by injury after the Powell tournament and sickness, which led Fulton to play “lineup Jenga” with some of the weight classes and put wrestlers in weights where they were giving up more pounds. 

“They said, ‘that’s better for the team,’” Fulton said of the wrestlers willing to wrestle up. “It’s comforting to see their commitment, roll with the punches and do what’s best for the Powell wrestling team.”

There were individual successes, including Jacob Eaton, who finished as the outstanding wrestler in the 215 weight class going 5-0. 

“He is silently establishing himself as a top tier 215er in the state,” Fulton said. 

Bismarck Century 46, Powell 33

Powell opened the Pat Weede Memorial Invitational with a North Dakota opponent, Bismarck Century. 

The Panthers forfeited at 106 and fell behind further as Wyatt Nicholson (113) lost by fall to Triston Martin and Gabriel Whiting lost by fall to Grady Iverson to make it 18-0 Bismarck. 

Chevy Hill (126) posted Powell’s first points of the night with a 10-6 decision over Noah Rau. 

“Some can out technique him, but no one can out-heart that kid,” Fulton said of Hill.

Tyler Wenzel (132) then fell to Alijah Piatz by fall, but Kash Brazelton (138) responded with a pin of Adam Wylde to make it 24-9. 

Chase Visocky (144) lost by fall to Carter Wylde and Reese Lowe (150) was pinned by Seamus Kuklok to increase the deficit to 36-9, but Powell got a forfeit at 157 and then some of the Panther upper weights clawed their way back in. 

Cody Seifert (165) won by fall over Bayze Helgeson, McKale Foley (175) lost by 20-7 major decision to Brayden Morris, Dusty Carter (190) won by fall over Trevor Chapman and Jacob Eaton (215) won by fall against Kian Frey to make it 40-33 Bismarck. 

Powell lost at 285 on a disqualification to fall 46-33. 

Sidney/Fairview 54, Powell 23

In its second dual Powell started with six points by forfeit at 120 pounds against Sidney/Fairview. 

Hill (126) fell to Yuriah Camacho in a 12-9 sudden victory in extra time to cut the lead to 6-3, then Sidney took the lead for good when Wenzel (132) fell to Brenner Mullin by fall. Sidney won the next weight by forfeit then Visocky (144) lost to Reece Graves by fall and Lowe (150) lost by fall to Brody Keysor to put Sidney ahead 27-6. 

The Panthers rallied, as Patrick Haney (157) won by 16-0 tech fall over Lance Allen and Seifert pinned Cody Crooks to make it 27-17. 

Then Sidney put it away. Foley (175) lost to Ty Schepens by fall, Carter fell to Cooper Fulgham in a 4-3 decision and Denton Wainscott (215) lost to Thor Fulgham by fall to make it 42-17. 

Doug Bettger (285) rallied with a quick pin over Stetson Ames to cut the lead to 42-23, but Powell forfeited at 106 and Wyatt Nicholson (113) lost to Tyson Syth by fall to end the match 54-17. 

After being disqualified in the first bout, Fulton said Bettger was dominant the rest of the way en route to a 7-1 record. 

Powell 59, Camp Hill 15

After two tough matches to start, Powell slammed its third opponent in a decisive victory. 

Bettger (285) started it with a win by fall over Boris Alegre. 

Powell forfeited at 106 and Camp Hill at 113 to take a 12-6 lead, then Whiting (120) fell to Sam Miller in a 3-0 decision to cut the lead to 12-9. 

Then the Panthers surged ahead, as Hill (126) won a 2-0 decision against George Miller, Wenzel (132) won a 12-0 major decision against Braxton Wolgemuth and Brazelton (138) won by 20-4 tech fall over Cole Feldman to make it 24-9. 

Visocky (144) lost by fall to Noah Doi, Powell’s last loss of the day. The Panthers then won by forfeit at 150. 

Haney (157) pinned Jack Miller, Seifert (165) won by fall over Asher Minium, Foley (175) won by fall over Quin Decalvalcante, Powell won by forfeit at 190 and Eaton (215) pinned Jeremiah Smart to cap the win. 

Natrona County 48, Powell 23

After a flurry of out of state teams Powell had the chance to face a tough Wyoming 4A school in Natrona. 

Powell forfeited at 106 and Nicholson (113) lost by fall to Michael Brody to make it 12-0 Mustangs early. 

Whiting (120) put the Panthers on the board with a quick pin over Corey Gonzales, but Natrona won the next three. Hill (126) fell by 8-0 major decision to Trace Blasjszczak, Wenzel (132) lost on a 6-4 decision to Lance Johnson and Brazelton (138) lost by pin to Quade Siemens to make it 25-6. 

Visocky (144) won a 15-9 decision over Luke Russell to put Powell back on the board, but the Mustangs won the next three. Lowe (150) lost by fall to Brodey Wilcox, Haney (157) lost by fall to Jameson Siemens and Seifert (165) lost by fall to Gabe Bannister. 

Foley (175) won a 16-1 tech fall against Micah Blasjszczak and Carter defeated Michael Swan in a 9-6 decision to make it 33-17. 

Wainscott (215) lost by tech fall 19-4 to Tucker Sides, but Bettger (285) ended it with a win for Powell with a quick win by fall over Josh May. 

Butte 42, Powell 29

The Panthers had a crack at a Montana team in the next dual. 

After a double forfeit at 106, Butte proved dominant in the early rounds. Nicholson (106) lost by fall to Keegan Hunt, Whiting (120) lost by fall to Reveles McEwen, Hill (126) fell in a 9-6 decision to Bradey Doyle, Wenzel (132) lost by fall to Darryn Rossiter, Brazelton (138) lost by fall to Ryder McEwen, Visocky (144) lost by 12-3 major decision to Bridger Garrison, Lowe (150) lost by fall to Bode Hazlett and Haney (157) lost by fall to Will Stepan to put Butte ahead 43-0. 

Powell dominated the upper weights. Seifert (165) defeated Jake Bailey in a 21-5 tech fall, Foley (175) pinned Bridger Brancamp, Carter (190) won by fall over Braydon Pierce, Eaton (215) pinned Garrett Henson and Bettger (285) won by fall over Waylond Hicks to put Powell on the board with 29 points, while Butte lost one point for unsportsmanlike conduct. 

Bismarck St Mary’s 47, Powell 24

In the next match Powell faced off against another tough North Dakota team in Bismarck St. Mary’s. 

Whiting (120) lost by fall to Dylan Mosset and Hill (126) lost a 5-2 decision to Blu Miller to put Powell behind early, but Wenzel (132) won by fall over Jude Leingang to make it 9-6. Bismarck won the next five weights for a dominant lead, as Brazelton (138) lost by fall to Noah Martel, Visocky (144) fell in a 14-5 major decision to Collin Fleck, Lowe (150) lost by fall to Bennett Grimm, Haney (157) lost by fall to Joryn Richter and Seifert (165) lost by fall to Zach Richter.

Down 37-6, the Panthers roared back, as Foley (175) pinned Drake Aman, Carter (190) won an 11-9 decision over Charles Richter, Wainscott (215) won a 2-1 decision over Benedict Baumgartner and Bettger (285) won by fall over Carter Michlitsch to make it 37-24. 

Powell forfeited at 106 and then Nicholson (113) lost by 12-2 major decision to Carson Mosset to finish the match. 

Powell 36, Rapid City Central 33

Powell earned its second win at the invitational with a defeat of Rapid City Central in a tight dual. 

Tyler Wenzel lost by fall to Ryan Tchetter at 132 to put the Panthers behind, and Chase Visocky (144 pounds) fell to Luther Morrison by fall to put Powell down 12-0 early. 

Reese Lowe (150) got Powell on the board with an 8-5, sudden victory win in extra time over Tate Winter to cut the deficit to 12-3.

Rapid City won the next two to double its points, as Patrick Haney (157) fell to Dylan Ulmer by fall and Cody Seifert (165) fell to Adrian Good Iron by fall to put Powell in a hole down 24-3. 

Then the Panthers clawed back. McKale Foley (175) pinned Zach Green, Dusty Carter (190) pinned Mason Lahoe and Jacob Eaton (215) pinned Morgan Woods to get within three at 24-21. 

Doug Bettger’s 19-3 tech fall over Chevi Leslie at 285 put the Panthers ahead 25-24. 

Powell lost six points by forfeit at 106 but took 12 as Rapid City forfeited at 113 and 120. 

Chevy Hill (126) lost a 9-7 decision to Aden Candelaria to round out the scoring, but even with a loss of two points for unsportsmanlike conduct, Powell walked away with the 36-33 win. 

Dickinson 43, Powell 33

Powell finished the invite undermanned with a close loss to Dickinson. 

Hill (126) opened with a 4-2 win by decision over Bryant Kern, then the Panthers went down big as they forfeited 132 and 138, and Visocky (144) lost by fall to Jonathan Klitzke, Lowe (150) lost by 14-3 major decision to TJ Meyer and Haney (157) lost by 15-3 major decision to Conrad Kopari to put Dickinson ahead 26-3. 

Powell started to rally with two quick pins, as Seifert (165) won by fall over Zeke Dustin and Foley (175) won by fall over Kaleb Reindel to make it 26-15. 

Carter (190) lost by 22-6 tech fall to Hugh Meyer, but Eaton (215) won by fall over Kelton Berg and Bettger (285) pinned Jacob Britton to close the gap to 32-27. Powell forfeited again at 106, Nicholson (113) won by fall over Jacob Wolf and Whiting (120) lost by fall to Jake Glaser to account for the final score. 

“That top half of the lineup performed quite well for us,” Fulton said. “Our lighter guys ran into some real tough guys, and some were really sick, but they still put their toe on the line, and that takes a lot of courage.”

Junior varsity

The Powell junior varsity finished fourth in the silver bracket at the Battle in the Big Horns in Worland, including wins or ties against multiple 3A opponents. 

The Panthers tied Newcastle 36-36 but lost on a tiebreaker, defeated Rocky Mountain 35-30, lost to Riverton 57-24 and lost to Rawlins 66-18 in pool play. 

In the silver bracket, Powell defeated Buffalo 41-23, fell to Douglas 60-24 and lost to Worland 58-24 in the third place match.

Hunter Moulton (106) finished 5-2, Jonathan Hine (113) 6-1, Channing Wenzel (120) 3-4, Sean Lowe (126) 0-7, Broc Frank (138) 6-1, Tanner Seifert (144) 1-6, Garrett Lennon (157) 3-4, James Emmett (215) 5-2 and Zain Younas (285) 5-2. 

“This is a great opportunity for our freshman/sophomore type kids to get into a varsity type tourney,” Fulton said. “We went in without our full squad, but were still able to win duals with freshmen and sophomores.”

Next up

The Panthers now have some time off for the holidays before returning late in December to prepare for a tournament Jan. 3-4 in Bozeman, Montana.