It was a tale of two days for the Powell Panther golf teams at the state tournament in Worland on Friday and Saturday, where the Panther boys experienced a poor start on Friday before rebounding on Saturday. The girls also gained vital state experience at the Green Hills Golf Club.

A difficult day on Friday for the boys was capped off by a score of 368, stopping the momentum the Panthers had built for weeks dead in its tracks to start the state tournament.

“It was disappointing on Friday that we weren’t able to maintain the momentum that we had built as a team over the past three weeks,” coach Troy Hildebrand said. “We had been in the low to mid 340s for the past few tournaments so that 368 was really out of character.”

After a difficult Friday the Panthers regrouped to shoot a 348 on Saturday.

“The boys did an excellent job of regrouping for Saturday and getting back to where we expected,” Hildebrand said.

Leading the way for Powell was Gunnar Erickson, who finished with a pair of 83s to end his career with an 18th place finish.

“He battled through a thumb injury this fall and as a coach I really appreciate what he has brought to our team during his career,” Hildebrand said.

Behind Erickson was Jackson Hill, who shot rounds of 89 and 85 to finish in a tie for 29th.

“He is a player that has really made leaps and bounds in the past three years and as a senior (next year) he will be a leader for us,” Hildebrand said.

Third up for the Panthers was Trey Scott, who scored 95 and 91 on both days to finish in 44th.

“Trey has a ton of golf experience and with one more high school season remaining I know that he will be working hard next spring and summer to take that next step forward,” Hildebrand said.

Fourth on the team in his first state tournament was Cody Fisher, who had rounds of 101 and 89 to take 49th.

“He puts a lot of time in over the summer and as he gets bigger and stronger he is only going to get better,” Hildebrand said. 

Wrapping up the boys’ team was Andrew Jones, who finished with rounds of 105 and 91 in a tie for 57th.

“Andrew wrapped up his career with a strong second day in Worland,” Hildebrand said.

For the boys’ side, Parker Paxton posted an 11-under over two days to win his fourth championship in a row and help Riverton win its third straight team title.

The girls had a good opportunity to grow, rounding out their freshman and sophomore seasons.

Emery Hernandez earned a 26th place finish paced by a strong first day 92 followed by a second day 104 and Coy Erickson finished in 35th with consistent rounds of 104 and 105.

“Emery’s two day total was about 15 shots below her season average and was an excellent finish to her freshman season,” Hildebrand said. “While Coy had a tough back nine on Saturday, her 44 on the front nine was her career best and really gave her an idea of what she is capable of moving into next year. These two have gotten better all year and we’ll be looking for a third member to give the girls a team score.”

Lovell’s Erika Cook came back from a one shot deficit the first day to earn her fourth straight individual title, while the Wheatland girls ran away with their third straight team title.

“Green Hills was in excellent condition and the players enjoyed two of the best weather days that we have had for a state tournament in recent memory,” Hildebrand said.

The state tournament wrapped up the fastest fall sports’ season, as the Panther boys will look to replace three state golfers and the girls will look to continue growing heading into next season.