Seth Romsa

Another absolute whirlwind of high school and college athletics has come to a close, with a number of achievements throughout the year resulting in another strong year for both the Panther and Trapper programs.

I know it feels weird to some but I see the start of the new year with the end of baseball, so it feels like yesterday the Pioneers won their second straight state title in front of their home crowd last July.

What followed was another year of strong athletic achievements that led to a ton of firsts in school history throughout the seasons.

It started with the first ever state champion in cross country for Powell High School, as Kinley Cooley capped off a historic senior campaign with a state title in Cheyenne and another podium finish for the program.

What quickly followed was a first for another program, as the Northwest College Trapper women’s soccer team played in their first ever Region IX Championship Game in front of their home fans, but were unable to capture the title and head to the national tournament for another year.

Throughout the year there were a number of memorable experiences that happened for each program, all of which continued to funnel through a number of strong athletes with several moving on to the college level this next year.

The high school wrestling team got back to the top in the winter season and claimed its first state title in a decade, crowning a state champion in Doug Bettger at 285 pounds while placing a significant number of athletes powered by a successful senior class.

The girls’ wrestling team, capped off a strong year as a team with two finalists and three placers.

College wrestling continued to move its way back up the ladder, with a number of strong performances at the national tournament including a second place finish from Asad Fayzullaev.

Numerous school records fell for the track programs both indoors and outdoors, as Cooley along with Paige Sanders had impressive seasons in each sport and set new standards for the Panther girls.

Athletes in the spring battled the elements to continue their seasons at times, culminating in a number of seasons that saw growth throughout.

The Panther girls played in their first ever state championship game for soccer, finishing their best season ever as a program with only two losses, including a sensational comeback in the semifinals against Douglas before a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Cody in the championship game.

That program should be back competing once again for the title next year, with even more talent continuing to reach the high school with a title imminent for the Panthers.

The track teams had a unique mix of seniors along with younger competitors once again, as the younger Panthers started showing their potential by season’s end which resulted in some strong finishes at state.

I expect those groups to continue improving in the years to come and bring home even more hardware as the programs develop and include even more talent coming from the middle school program.

The boys’ soccer team made it to the state tournament once again, adapting to returning and new players in this season to earn a spot in Gillette.

That program continues to develop players each year and should bring back the talent necessary to compete in 3A for years to come.

Heading into the summer the Pioneers have already been in action, and will have only two local games to attend this week before they head on the road for several weeks.

They play at Cowley on Friday and then host Green River on Tuesday, before heading out of the Big Horn Basin until July 8 when the Pioneers play in Cody. Get out and support them locally while you can before they head out on a long road trip filled with tournaments.

Throughout the summer there will be a number of camps throughout Powell, with some of them happening early this year with several more still to come.

There are plenty of opportunities to take advantage of the nice weather this summer, so get out there and enjoy the activities.

Looking forward to the fall and the new school year there are a number of things to look forward to, including a new but familiar face at the college in Nicole Buck who took over the Northwest College volleyball program in the spring after the departure of coach Scott Keister.

The high school is looking for a new girls’ wrestling coach after the resignation of David Holland recently, and I look forward to whoever they will tab to be the second coach of that program with one of the most rapidly growing sports.

There are a number of talented athletes who will be making their way into the high school program over the next couple of years once again, continuing to hold a high standard for Panther athletics for years to come.

From the sound of it the Trapper athletic programs will also be bringing in a number of talented individuals, and I’m looking forward to talking to those coaches and reporting on those incoming freshmen in the coming weeks before they make their way to campus in August.

If you are able to be active and have an event you feel should be covered please don’t hesitate to reach out — the summer months bring plenty of action and will surely bring lots of excitement before we hit the ground running in the fall.