Kye Catlin is honored to be in the same conversation with Powell High School alumnus Auston Carter.

He just wishes it was for one reason, not two.

Heading into day one of the Class 3A State Wrestling Tournament on Friday at the Casper Events Center, Catlin, a PHS junior, will begin his trek toward a third state title in as many seasons. If he’s successful, he will put himself in position to capture his fourth state title as a senior next winter, an accomplishment Carter achieved as a Panther between 2006-10.

But like Carter, Catlin has been forced to wrestle while putting the old cliche “No pain, no gain” to the test.

“It’s frustrating, but I can’t explain it,” Catlin said.

What has puzzled Catlin is a string of injuries that has plagued him since his freshman wrestling campaign. During the 138-pound semifinal match of the 2013 Class 3A West Regional, Catlin partially dislocated his right shoulder, but still managed to capture regional gold followed by a state championship a week later.

“I was really nervous going into state my freshman year. I kind of tweaked the shoulder a little bit during warm-ups on the first day and I was pretty scared,” Catlin said. “My parents were thinking about not letting me wrestle at all, but I’m glad they ended up letting me. I told them I was fine and good to go.”

Catlin managed to wrestle through the pain, and went on to play football as a sophomore before wrestling again in the winter of 2013-14 with a shoulder that wouldn’t stay put.

“It got worse,” Catlin said. “It kept popping out and nothing was really working to keep it in the socket.”

Still, the pain and unstable shoulder did little to prevent Catlin from capturing the 145-pound state title as a sophomore.

“It’s one thing to bear the pain, but it’s another thing to maintain a level of success,” PHS head wrestling coach Nate Urbach said. “You don’t see that very often; you don’t see that type of toughness.”

Urbach has seen it once before, as he coached Carter during his four championship seasons. Carter’s runs to gold were nearly marred by a diabetes diagnosis in May 2005, almost two years before ever wrestling on a high school mat.

Nearly four years later, the then-140-pounder dislocated his left shoulder during a practice in the PHS wrestling room. And by the end of his junior season, the shoulder was actually sliding out of socket as Carter slept.

But like Catlin, the shoulder didn’t stop Carter from capturing state gold, even when it popped out during his title bout.

“You get pissed off ... there were a couple of matches that I lost during the season that I know I shouldn’t have lost,” said Carter, who won a state title at 140 pounds as a junior and 145 pounds as a senior. “But you just work through it. That’s all you can really do.”

Catlin did his best to do just that, but during a football practice last fall, he re-injured his shoulder. The dislocation was so significant that doctors and Catlin’s football and wrestling coaches urged him to have arthroscopic surgery to reattach torn ligaments. Catlin did, and was forced to miss the entire football season and the first half of his wrestling campaign.

Catlin eventually returned to the wrestling mat on Jan. 22, earning a pinfall during PHS’s dual victory over Laurel (Mont.). But three days later, the injury bug bit Catlin again, this time in his knee. At the Lander Invite on Jan. 23, Catlin tore the meniscus in his right knee during the championship match. Not only did the meniscus tear, but it also flipped over under his knee cap, preventing extension or bending of the leg.

“You just feel terrible — another thing going on, holy cow,” Urbach said of the knee injury. “I felt terrible, but I thought ‘I bet we can get in there and scope that.’”

Catlin was not so sure.

“Coach Urbach told me I was going to be fine, but I was pretty worried about it,” he said. “Especially on the way home from Lander, I was like ‘Man, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to finish the season.’”

But luckily for Catlin, the tear was actually a minor injury. The grappler underwent surgery on Jan. 29, where doctors clipped the torn part of his meniscus, repositioned it and sewed it back together. Catlin was healthy enough to make his second return to the mat at the Class 3A West Regional Tournament on Friday at Lovell High School, where he went on to take first at 145.

“I’m a little tentative with my knee still, and my lungs, I’m not in as good of shape as I can be, but I can still finish a match,” Catlin said Friday. “Hopefully I can keep improving and trusting my body.”

Fittingly, when first asked about Catlin’s injuries, Urbach immediately brought up Carter, his only four-time champ during his 17 years as a head coach..

“Kye’s situation reminds me of Auston Carter,” he said. “It’s always hard to see a kid who works so hard have to deal with so many injuries. It’s a tough situation. But both of those boys are so tough.”

Urbach and Carter added that the reason behind Catlin’s success despite injury is his will to win.

“Number one, he’s just a special kid ... he’s a special wrestler,” Urbach said.

“He’s got to have a lot of heart to be able to keep wrestling. The shoulder is going to hurt when he’s older, but to have the heart to want it that bad, that takes something special,” Carter added.

Catlin wouldn’t entertain the idea that he’s special, but given the fact he’s just 7-0 this season and still holds the No. 1 ranking in Class 3A’s 145-pound polls, someone somewhere believes in him.

“It would be really awesome, and that’s my goal: to win another state title,” Catlin said. “But I’ve still got to take it one match at a time.”

Powell High School wrestling coach Nate Urbach knew what was at stake from the beginning.

“It set in the first day,” he said Tuesday.

Urbach was talking about a shot at history, which is what 16 Panthers will have when the Class 3A State Wrestling Tournament begins at 9 a.m. Friday at the Casper Events Center.

“We’re looking at the bigger picture. It’s not something we’ve been shy about: we’re here to earn another,” Urbach added.

PHS is out to earn a fourth straight state title this weekend, and appears to be going full steam ahead after running away with the 3A West Regional title at Lovell High School last weekend. The Panthers scored six first-place finishes and four runners-up in winning their second straight regional crown.

But now, the tunnel gets longer, and the prize at the end of it is bigger.

“You’re nervous, you’re excited, you’re determined ... you’ve got a lot of things that are rolling out in there,” Urbach said of what’s ahead. “You want to hope excited and determined are the two top ones that are out there.”

PHS’ recent run of dominance is sure to attract the attention of 3A’s top competitors. Urbach specifically mentioned Star Valley and Douglas as threats to the throne, and he gladly welcomes all challengers.

“I’ve got a ton of respect for all the programs in the state, and they’re going to come at us and that’s something we need to be ready for,” he said. “If that bothers you then you’re crazy. That’s everybody’s goal, to be in that position. I don’t mind having the target.”

Of PHS’ state qualifiers, four will be looking to repeat as state champs. Heavyweight senior Riley Stringer and juniors Nic Urbach (138) and Chance Karst (132) are looking for back-to-back gold medals, while junior Kye Catlin will be searching for a third consecutive title.

But in knowing what he has from some of his veteran grapplers, coach Urbach is hoping the recent success of some of his younger athletes can push his team to the top.

“Coming out of regionals, from what I’ve seen [the young guys have] a little more confidence, and that’s great to see and hopefully it translates into a good performance this weekend,” Urbach said. “They’re excited; I think everybody’s excited.”