Two Panthers claim first in weight class

Powell High School wrestling coach Nate Urbach wanted to see how his grapplers would respond under pressure.

Seven duals later, the coach got a surprising response.

The Panthers were just one of eight teams invited to the Pat Weede Duals in Gillette on Friday and Saturday, and they certainly showed they belonged by going 5-2 overall for third place.

The third-place finish was particularly special to Urbach, as the tournament was filled with some of the best teams from Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming.

“I’m pleasantly surprised,” Urbach said. “I knew it would be tough to win duals, and we got a couple of victories that could’ve went the other way.”

That’s because Urbach’s squad was forced to surrender several forfeits throughout the two-day tournament, but his wrestlers rallied anyway.

Defending state champion and junior Chance Karst dominated at 132 pounds, collecting seven wins in seven tries. Senior Jake Davis matched his teammate’s performance at 160 pounds, going 7-0 to win his division as well.

Sophomore Ty Dearcorn earned special mention from Urbach after he went 6-1 at 170 pounds, with six pins. Senior Riley Stringer and junior Nic Urbach also went 6-1 on the day.

Coach Urbach’s team features four defending Class 3A state champions this season, so with a strong core in place, he’s been looking to solidify his lineup moving forward. Urbach said the weekend’s competition served as a proving ground for his younger wrestlers, and they answered the bell.

“My young guys looked really good ... (Eli) Briggs, Dearcorn and (Zach) Easum,” Urbach said. “The biggest takeaway from this weekend ... for the most part my veterans did what I expected ... but the younger guys really stepped up.

“I never know what my team is like until their backs are against the wall,” he said. “You want to see how they do under pressure, how they do in a tough situation, and they responded big time.”

For the tournament, the Panthers defeated Moorcroft (51-33), lost to second-place finisher Sidney (44-34) and downed Natrona County (54-10) on day one. On Saturday, PHS snuck past 4A school Campbell County (37-34) and Bismarck Century (Mont.) (35-33) before dominating Scottsbluff (Neb.) (48-28). PHS finished its day with a 49-19 loss to eventual tournament winner Central High School (Rapid City, S.D.).

The Panthers won the team sportsmanship award.

PHS’ opening competition was the Powell Invite on Dec. 12-13, which the Panthers won convincingly. However, Urbach admitted the tournament suffered a hit in its competitiveness due to the absence of several top performers from a year ago, as well as some team’s varsity lineups. So the toughness in Gillette gave the coach a better idea of where his team stacks up heading forward.

“I wanted to see their will to compete, that’s the big thing. I talked to the kids before the tournament ... ‘Will you step up when somebody gets after you?’” Urbach said. “I wanted to see that toughness in them. You can fix technique, but you can’t fix toughness, so I was happy to see it.”