Though Powell didn’t end up on the right side of the scoreboard on Tuesday, the Panther wrestlers showed great progress in the senior-night loss to Cody.

The Powell High School squad won seven of the first eight duals in the match, winning four via pin. Cody, however, was able to escape with the match victory, thanks to strong showings in the heavier weight classes.

Still, PHS head coach Nick Fulton was pleased with his squad’s effort.

“I went back and watched it three times, and there were a lot of positives,” Fulton said. “There were a lot of tough matches that we came out on top of. Our overall performance was better, and I saw us being more aggressive.”

Each of Powell’s four seniors — Nate Balderas, Emma Karhu, Seth Horton and Riley Bennett — wrestled well on Tuesday, according to their coach.

Balderas pinned his opponent in 5:54 and had a “good match,” Fulton said. “He created flurries and was being aggressive.”

Karhu is “continuing to get better” and earned a “hard-fought” win by a 8-2 decision. Fulton said, “she looked fatigued in the third period but was able to clear bottom and get a nice takedown.”

Though he didn’t win via pin, Fulton described Horton’s 16-4 win over Cody’s Brady Deming as his best outing of the season. “Seth’s pressure was relentless and helped him earn a major decision over a tough kid,” the coach said.

Bennett was unable to win Tuesday, falling in 4:16, but he still wrestled well, according to Fulton. “He paused for a second and his opponent capitalized, but Riley still wrestled good.”

The coach added of his seniors, “It was a good night to honor them, and I’m really proud of them.”

Elsewhere on the squad, Fulton noted Jack Van Norman as a standout in Tuesday’s dual. A sophomore, Van Norman pinned Kale Mickelson in 4:35 for his second win in a row.

“I’m really happy with him right now,” Fulton said. “He’s relatively new to the sport and always gives 100%. It’s great to see kids like that experiencing success.”

The team will get a few days off before returning to competition Friday. PHS will face Green River at a dual invite on the road, with the event beginning at 2:30 p.m.

“We’re going to turn around and get ready for Green River,” Fulton said. “I saw us being more aggressive against Cody, so we’re going to keep preaching that and get after guys.”

Results:

106: Trey Freemen over (Cody) (Forfeit)

113: Nate Balderas over Ty Peterson (Cody) (Fall 5:54)

120: Logan Werner over Ben Hogan (Cody) (Fall 0:58)

126: Emma Karhu over Kash Merritt (Cody) (Dec 8-2)

132: Brent Childers over (Cody) (Forfeit)

138: Gavin Vance (Cody) over Mikey Timmons (Fall 5:28)

145: Jack Van Norman over Kale Mickelson (Cody) (Fall 4:35)

152: Seth Horton over Brady Deming (Cody) (MD 16-4)

160: Jackson Wood (Cody) over Riley Bennett (Fall 4:16)

170: Grayson Beaudrie (Cody) over Stetson Davis (Technical fall 25-10 6:00)

182: Keaton Stone (Cody) over Lannon Brazelton (Fall 1:31)

195: Collin Lindemann (Cody) over Karson Lamb (Fall 2:46)

220: Jonas Mickelson (Cody) over Clayton Emmett (Fall 0:25)

285: Danny Becker (Cody) over Nevan McDonald (Fall 1:48)