Urbach, Karst win as eight PHS wrestlers reach finals

The Powell High School wrestling team took second place in the season-opening Powell Invite over the weekend in Panther Gym.

With 20 teams in attendance, and just 10 Panthers in the varsity competition, the Powell squad sent eight wrestlers to the finals on the way to 258.5 team points.

Seniors Chance Karst and Nic Urbach won their weight class while six Panthers claimed second place.

“They’re seniors, they got a lot of experience. That’s expected from them,” PHS head coach Nate Urbach said. “They’ve been factors, along with Kye Catlin, every year.”

Nic Urbach, who was named the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler as voted on by the coaches, won a 10-7 decision in the 152-pound finals to claim the title.

“Nic won a gutty match in the finals against the No. 1 2A kid (Thatcher Spiering, Saratoga),” Nate Urbach said.

A pin in the quarterfinals and a 21-8 technical fall in the semis sent Karst to the 145-pound finals, where he won by decision.

“He’s dominant,” Nate Urbach said. “His closest match was 16-6, so he looks good.”

Coach Urbach said the six second-place finishes provided his wrestlers with valuable early-season experience.

“It gets tougher and tougher the farther you go up the chain,” Urbach said. “It’s hard to grow until you’re challenged, some of those guys were cruising then ran into a tough kid.”

Freshman Cole Davis (106 pounds), freshman Reese Karst (132), senior Tucker Darrah (160), junior Ty Dearcorn (182), junior Eli Briggs (195) and junior Zach Easum (220) were all runners up in their respective weight classes.

“Tucker looked much improved from last year, already,” Nate Urbach said. “He was ahead of where he was even from the end of last year.”

Junior Logan Lamb excelled on the junior varsity side of the tourney.

“Lamb wrestled well, he was undefeated and pinned everybody so I was happy with him,” Nate Urbach said.

The strong showing suggests the Panthers have a foundation upon which they can build another title run, but plenty of work has to be done.

“We got a lot of little things to fix, but that’s expected at this time of the year,” Nate Urbach said. “We lost some matches that we need to be more prepared for. But those are all fixable things.”

Natrona County (Class 4A) won the tournament with 22 wrestlers and 272.5 points.

“Natrona wrestled well, especially a good final round,” Nate Urbach said.

The Mustangs were 2-1 in the finals, though the 170-pound title bout featured a pair of Natrona wrestlers.

“And that’s OK for us to not be on top right away,” the coach added. “We’re going to have to earn our wins.”

Catlin, who is recovering from knee surgery, did not compete, but is able to participate in practice and is expected to return after the new year.

“I just want him to come back strong. As far as his knees — he’s good to go, it’s just pain,” Nate Urbach said. 

Powell will face more stiff competition in Gillette this weekend. The invite-only duals feature teams from Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska, and will further challenge the Panthers.

“I’m interested to see how we match up in Gillette,” Nate Urbach said. “There’s a lot of good teams there, so it will be a good test for this team.”

Powell will dual seven teams across Friday and Saturday, and not wrestle again until a home dual against Lander on Jan. 7.

“(Gillette’s) a great fit for us, then we’ll come back and get in the heart of our season,” Nate Urbach said.