When Josh Cragoe coasted to a halt beyond the finish line of the boys’ 4x400 relay in Casper last Saturday, he unofficially brought the curtain down on another academic year’s athletic calendar. A whirlwind of activity that began in August will now take a couple months’ siesta before firing up and beginning anew.

Except for those half-dozen rodeo team members from Northwest College. Leave it to the cowboys and cowgirls to work overtime and be the last ones laboring.

Look, I’m a relative newcomer to Powell still. So, while I’m sure there may have been more exciting years when it comes to athletics, I can’t recite with certainty when they may have been.

I do feel confident saying that the 2011-2012 school year ranks right up there with the best of them in terms of excitement, though. Powell fans have been treated to one thrill ride after another.

After all, who will ever forget the make-or-break drama that accompanied the Panthers’ defense lining up against Douglas’ offense on the Jonah Field turf at War Memorial Stadium with the outcome of the 3A football championship game hanging in the balance? Or the madcap celebration that broke out just days earlier as Cragoe hooked up with Olie Olson on a last-second touchdown pass to deliver improbable victory up from the jaws of defeat in a state semifinal game at Green River?

We saw the words of one of ancient Greece’s seven sages, Pittacus — “know the right moment” — proven true when a Panther golf team that had not won a tournament the entire season put all the pieces together at the biggest tournament of the year to return home with a state championship trophy.

We saw the Northwest College women’s soccer team serve notice that it was arriving as the Trapper women upset perennial national power LCCC at Trapper Field. We saw the Northwest College men’s team jubilantly hoist the Region IX champion’s trophy and contemplate an appearance at the national tournament.

We were treated to more nervewracking five-game volleyball marathons than any coach’s blood pressure should have to endure in a single season.

We spent the winter celebrating wrestler Keithen Cast’s offer of a Division I scholarship to American University, then mourned a little bit alongside him when late-season injury denied him a chance at the NJCAA national title that many felt was his for the taking.

We applauded head coach Jim Zeigler for what seemed like his gazillionth consecutive top-10 finish at the national wrestling tournament. We stayed on our feet as the Powell Panthers turned in such a commanding performance in Casper that the question entering the championship round wasn’t who would win the state title, but by how many points Powell would win by.

On the hardwood, we watched the Panther boys ascend to the pinnacle of 3A basketball, only to suffer with them as they crashed down during regional tournament play. We applauded their against-the-odds battle in a first-round clash against Torrington and clapped a little louder as they brought home a consolation title.

We watched Chase Partridge graduate from Powell High School and take his game to Rocky Mountain College. We watched Chris Hansen follow departing NWC head coach Andy Ward to a Division I opportunity at Idaho State. Deep inside, we suspected that it might be a while before we were graced with the chance to witness anyone of their skill level play the game again.

We also hope that we’re wrong in that assessment.

We cheered big wins over powerhouse teams like Wheatland, Buffalo and Lander. We also realized the biggest victory of the basketball season came when Brooke Nisley stepped onto the court in a junior varsity game, roughly a year after suffering a horrific snowboarding accident that threatened her ability to even walk, much less compete.

As the winter quickly thawed and turned to spring, we watched the Panther boys string together track meet championship after track meet championship while the Panther girls valiantly went against in-county rival Cody, creeping closer and closer to the top spot as the weeks went on.

We saw school records smashed, in some cases repeatedly. We applauded Desiree Murray’s four regional titles, then held our breath as she collapsed to the state track after clipping a hurdle last Saturday. Deep inside, we hope she gets her shot at UW.

These past months have contained an abundance of memories that I hope players and fans will cherish. Like I said, I won’t be so bold as to challenge history by claiming this was Powell’s best sporting year ever, but it sure ranks up there.

Enjoy the summer, faithful reader. Cheer hard for the Trappers in a few weeks at the College National Finals Rodeo and don’t miss the chance to take in a few baseball games — you never know what sort of memories you might be missing.