The Powell High School golf team continued its early season schedule in Worland last week, as the Panthers took part in an invitational on Aug. 17-18.

Finishing higher in the field was the boys’ squad, as Cody Fisher earned another top 10 finish, taking sixth overall with identical rounds of 77.

“His game is very consistent and his ability to shake off a bad hole or stretch of holes is really a sign of his maturity as a senior and also his confidence in his play,” coach Troy Hildebrand said. “A sixth place finish in this field is a tremendous accomplishment.”

Second in for the Panthers was Park Harvison, who shot identical rounds of 79 and tied for 13th overall.

“Park hung in there again both days to post two more rounds in the 70s. He does such a good job of keeping the ball in play and then playing to the strengths of his game around the greens,” Hildebrand said.

Kason Sherman was the next in the clubhouse, as he recovered from a first round 94 to shoot an 85 on day two and finish 37th.

“This should give him a real boost of confidence and momentum as we head to play Cody and Lander in the next two tournaments,” Hildebrand said. “Kason has a lot of experience on those courses and I expect him to continue playing well.”

The fourth player was Xander Clark, as he continued his steady play with rounds of 92 and 91 to tie for 40th.

“He’s a very smart player and a guy that will use the next week of practice to clean up a couple of things and be at his best for the Cody tournament,” Hildebrand said.

The final Panther for the boys’ team was Tucker Muecke, who finished just one stroke behind Clark with rounds of 94 and 90 to tie for 43rd.

“He’s another very smart player that does a good job of staying in the right frame of mind during his rounds,” Hildebrand said.

Overall, the winner for the boys’ tournament was Wheatland’s Tate Nichols, who posted a total scoreline of 15-under with rounds of 65 and 64 to beat the rest of the field by 18 strokes.

As a team the Panther boys took fourth with a total of 673. Wheatland also took the team title with a 583 total — 36 strokes ahead of second-place Lander.

On the girls’ side the Panthers also had a top 10 finish from Emery Hernandez, who tied for ninth after shooting rounds of 94 and 91.

“Emery had a very strong nine holes each day and then had some struggles on the other nine,” Hildebrand said. “Her shooting in the low 40s for one nine is really just a sign of things to come for her as she gets more rounds under her belt this fall.”

Second for the girls was Ali Scott, who shot rounds of 105 and 103 to tie for 19th.

“Ali had some battles with her swing this week, but she did an excellent job of working hard each round to post the best score she could,” Hildebrand said, “and as she finished up Tuesday she was getting back to being more consistent and hitting more good shots.”

Maddie Croft was the third one in, as she shot rounds of 110 and 121 to tie for 28th.

“Maddie played well on Monday and for a majority of her round Tuesday,” Hildebrand said. “She did have a three-hole stretch early on Tuesday that really challenged her to bounce back which she did very well.”

Grace Gordon was fourth with rounds of 115 and 127 to take 31st overall.

“She had a strong Monday but then Tuesday really struggled to get things going in the right direction,” Hildebrand said. “She is another player that will really be able to use some specific instruction over the next few days to make big strides in her game.”

Hadley Gutierrez was the final Panther competing in Worland, as she turned in rounds of 137 and 124 to take 34th.

“She is a player that is very coachable and she is always willing to work hard to implement the ideas that we are trying to get worked into her game,” Hildebrand said. “She will be seeing all of these courses for the first time the rest of the season so it is very important that she is able to learn on the fly a little bit each week.”

The individual winner on the girls’ side was Addie Bettinger from Buffalo, who won by one stroke with rounds of 82 and 81.

Powell finished sixth as a team with a two-day total of 624. Wheatland ran away with the team title with a 507 — 21 strokes ahead of Cody in
second.

The Panthers had the rest of last week week off, but will head to Cody for a two-day tournament that starts at 10 a.m. Thursday and 9 a.m. Friday.

“It was great to get in two events before we had to start school but these six practices will be very important for us this time in the season,” Hildebrand said.