Entering the Wyoming portion of the season the Powell High School boys’ wrestling team continued to show its improvement in Lander, as three Panthers placed at the varsity level and several young Panthers placed at the junior varsity level.

“We only entered five guys in that varsity lineup there, and all five of them wrestled really well, they competed hard,” coach Nick Fulton said. “I saw a significant jump from top to bottom, varsity and JV guys this weekend.”

At the varsity level the Panthers were led by Russell Goolsbey at 126 pounds, who advanced to the quarterfinal before losing a close 5-2 decision to a 4A wrestler from Green River.

He battled back with a pin, a decision and a major decision to reach the third place match, before avenging his earlier loss with a pin to take third overall and go 5-1 for the weekend.

“He hit up the same Green River kid and got the first take down on him. I think the kid got a little panicked, and in the second period Russell was able to get another take down to the kids’ back and get a fall,” Fulton said. “You talk about maturity for a young kid, turning around and beating the guy that beat you, that’s something we pride ourselves on.”

Jonathan Hine was another placer at 113 pounds, as he also fell in the quarterfinals, before winning by decision and major decision to reach placement rounds, ultimately losing his final two bouts to finish sixth overall and go 3-3 on the weekend.

Tyler Wenzel followed a similar path to Hine at 144 pounds, losing in the quarterfinals before winning by pin and major decision to reach the placement round, also losing his two final matches to go 4-3 for the tournament.

“Tyler and Jonathan wrestled really well,” Fulton said. “Jonathan battled his way back through, picked up and wrestled a couple really good matches … Tyler showed some integrity and wrestled back through. Had a couple not go our way right there at the end, but he’s moving the right direction as well.”

Dylan DeBoer picked up a win to go 1-2 at 120 pounds while Sean Lowe went 1-2 at 132 pounds as the other two varsity wrestlers for Powell.

“Dylan and Sean both wrestled really well as well,” Fulton said.

The Panthers also had some placers at the junior varsity level, as Fulton noted that he entered most of his younger wrestlers in this tournament to  get them more mat experience.

Justin Marquez took the top spot at 190 pounds and Jacob Christofalos won at 285 pounds, while Trevin Morton placed second at 157 pounds, Tristan Snell was second at 215 pounds, Forest Kleinfeldt was third at 138 pounds and Isaiah Torres was third at 165 pounds.

“I thought they (the whole team) made a big jump really in a week. Those four days of practice paid off,” Fulton said. “I was really pleased with what I saw out of our young guys, getting a little bit of JV mat time. They’ve been through the gauntlet, and it was nice to see them respond and go wrestle kids their age. I think that was a good move for those kids as far as development goes, get them ready for regionals and put them in position for the state tournament.”

Powell heads back southwest this weekend, starting with a dual on Thursday night against 2A Thermopolis before continuing to Riverton for the annual Ron Thon Memorial on Friday and Saturday which pits all classes against each other in one tournament.

“Thermop has a lot of quality. Their depth isn’t quite as good this year as some years, but they’re a quality team,” Fulton said. “Again, I’m going to put most of my younger guys into the JV, and get them a little more junior varsity time. Continue to develop them a little bit for that final month there after the Riverton tournament … I was really pleased with how we competed this weekend … I’m proud of them and I think they made a good jump in the four days of practice. It was needed. We don’t have many left, so we need to take advantage of those.”