Champion’s advantage; Experienced PHS looking for 4th straight team title

Posted 12/9/14

If the Panthers are going to win their fourth straight Class 3A team state championship, and medal several singles competitors again in the process, they’re going to have to earn it.

“Coach [Nate Urbach] always talks about earning another …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Champion’s advantage; Experienced PHS looking for 4th straight team title

Posted

Despite knowing what it takes to be a champion, none of Powell High School’s returning state wrestling champions see success as a given this winter.

If the Panthers are going to win their fourth straight Class 3A team state championship, and medal several singles competitors again in the process, they’re going to have to earn it.

“Coach [Nate Urbach] always talks about earning another title instead of defending it,” junior and two-time defending 160-pound state champion Kye Catlin said. “We have a lot of reasons to be confident, but we also know there’s a long season ahead of us.”

Catlin brings a lot of experience to the Panther squad, but due to shoulder surgery, won’t see action until after Christmas. In the meantime, helping to get through the ups and downs of the long campaign will be Urbach’s five other returning state medalists from a year ago, including three state champions.

Catlin (43-11, 160 pounds) heads a list that includes juniors Chance Karst (48-10, 120) and Nic Urbach (48-9, 126) and senior Riley Stringer (33-9, 220). Two-time state runner-up and senior Jake Davis (160) also returns to the mat for PHS, as well as three-time state medalist Colton Parham (132).

“It’s always nice to have returners coming back,” coach Urbach said. “It’s huge, especially if it goes the right way where they’re teaching and they’re mentoring. If they can do that, as I fully expect them to, it’ll be absolutely huge. You can’t put a measurement on leadership.”

As for his own leadership skills, Urbach seems to have a wealth of them. Getting his athletes ready for the season apparently hasn’t been an issue for Urbach over the past couple winters. With a plethora of PHS wrestlers making the

transition following extended football seasons due to state title wins in 2013 and 2014, Urbach was still able to get kids healed up and ready to go.

So well in fact, the team is set to make history by giving PHS its first four-time repeating sports champion should the Panthers win state in March.

But Urbach downplayed the pressure and expectations, saying that any pressure on his kids should come from within.

“As far as pressure goes ... it’s what I talk to the guys about ... the pressure I put on myself and the pressure they put on themselves should always supersede any type of four-peat situation,” Urbach said. “I don’t want them to have to worry about any of that other stuff. All we want the kids to do is do the same stuff we did to win the previous three titles: work hard and get better.”

Urbach plans to move some kids up and down in weight this season, as Karst said he plans to drop down to 126 after Christmas. Parham will move up to 138 pounds while Nic Urbach will leap to 145. Davis is currently slated to fill in for Catlin at 160, as Catlin isn’t expected to return from shoulder surgery until after the holiday break.

“I’m extremely eager to get out there, and it’s a little bit frustrating because all I can do is run and try to help out with the other guys,” Catlin said. “I’m definitely excited to get back after Christmas.”

At the bottom of the lineup, Stringer will fill the vacant heavyweight slot.

“It’s definitely going to be a challenge to move up,” Stringer said. “But we’ve got some guys all over the lineup that are changing weights and getting ready for some new challenges.

“Plus, we have a lot of leadership, guys that can help each other out when the season gets tough or when tough opponents are coming up, and that really helps down the stretch.”

At the end of PHS’ first week of practice, coach Urbach said the rest of his lineup could look as follows: senior Noah Wozney at 106 pounds, sophomore Chase Smith at 113, sophomore Marshall Wittick at 120, sophomore James Moore at 126, senior Bailey Atkinson at 152, sophomore Ty Dearcorn or junior Tucker Darrah at 170, sophomore Eli Briggs at 182, sophomore Zach Easum at 195, and the 220-pound position open for now.

Chatter in the Panther wrestling room included talk about one of the season’s more elite tournaments, the Missoula Invitational in Missoula, Mont., on Jan. 16-17. The Panthers will return to the tournament as just one of the 32 invited teams in the country.

In February, the Panthers will travel to the Ron Thon tourney in Riverton. The tournament is the regular season’s biggest

in-state meet, as nearly every team from all four classes attends. PHS won the tournament a year ago, and Catlin said the Feb. 6-7 competition is one of the most exciting events and biggest measuring sticks of the year.

“Every team is there, and everyone goes hard,” Catlin said. “We won the tournament last season and I think we kind of established ourselves as the big dogs in 3A. It’s a proving ground.”

The Panthers will have a tough road before those big meets however, starting with their own invite beginning Friday at noon in the Panther Gym. Coach Urbach is expecting a conference full of tough teams this season, especially Douglas, which was defeated by PHS 244.5 to 201 in the state team standings last season. Douglas is returning eight state medalists to its team this year.

Star Valley, which placed third, is also on Urbach’s watch list, as the Braves bring back six medalists of their own and have a freshman class that Urbach said should be strong. Cody could also be a threat over the three months, as the Broncs will field several wrestlers from the fall’s state champion football team.

“Our conference is always tough,” Urbach said. “There’s great competition in conference, and in the entire class, so there will definitely be a lot of great wrestling all season long.”

New coach

Joining Urbach as a volunteer assistant this season is former Lander Valley head coach Nick Fulton.

In nine seasons as the Tigers’ coach, LVHS earned several top-five finishes at state, including a team-best third-place trophy under Fulton in 2009. Fulton is a former PHS and Northwest College wrestler, and came back to Powell after accepting a position as a social studies teacher at the high school.

Fulton said he’s excited to be a part of a program with such a rich history of success.

“Powell has got a great tradition in wrestling, and coach Urbach and his staff have definitely fostered that,” Fulton said. “They’ve just done an amazing job ... you look at the number of state titles and state champions this program has produced, it’s hard not to want to be a part of that.”

Comments