Seth Romsa

What was once again a busy fall around the area finally came to a close this past weekend, as Powell High School and Northwest College athletics both finished their respective fall seasons.

There were plenty of highs and lows, as Karee Cooley won the second straight individual state title for Panther cross country, the Trapper men’s soccer team advanced to the Region IX final, while a number of programs fought till the end with youth and inexperience throughout.

Starting at the college ranks, that Trapper men’s soccer team pushed through a midseason lull to advance to the final, capping off a strong year with a second place finish, but will miss a number of sophomores from that team next season.

The Trapper women once again reached the postseason, but were unable to find their way back to the final. Still, that program continues to grow each year.

Trapper volleyball was unable to make the postseason once again, but that team should continue to grow after finishing year one under new coach Nicole Buck.

Northwest rodeo hit some early snags in the fall season, but should hopefully rebound well in the spring.

At the high school level, Panther golf had a strong showing for both the boys and girls, producing three All-State golfers and a fourth place finish for the girls’ team.

PHS tennis also had a strong showing, as Nathan Preator earned a runner-up spot at No. 1 singles and each athlete continued to show growth at the state meet in Gillette once again.

Cross country as previously mentioned saw Cooley take the individual spot and add Anyston Keller as another top 10 finisher to help Powell take second place in the girls’ standings, while the boys showed more improvement and placed fifth, just outside a trophy in Cheyenne.

Panther football and volleyball both had a number of underclassmen on their rosters this season, but both showed significant improvement by the end of the season.

I anticipate that both of those teams will show significant growth when the next season rolls around, as both groups continue to get a year older and gain more experience.

Rounding out the fall season the Panther swim team moved up in the standings from a year ago, led by a strong senior class that will be missed moving forward for that program.

While the fall season has come to an end the winter season is already in full swing at Northwest College.

The Trapper basketball teams are off to a great start while the wrestling team competed in its first action this past weekend and had some strong
showings.

All of those teams will be on the road for a bit, including until mid-January for the wrestling team, as both basketball teams return home next weekend for several games as part of the Coach Collins Heart of a Champion Classic.

High school sports are currently off for a little bit, with basketball and wrestling starting practice on Nov. 24 while boys’ swimming has to wait until the following Monday to begin, and indoor track will wait in the wings until
January.

Each program in the winter again will have a mixture of youth and experience, and I’m sure there will be plenty of thrilling moments throughout each campaign as each team once again tries to perform their best in the postseason once the new year rolls around.