Powell High School senior Chance Franks signed his letter of intent on Wednesday, Dec. 13, to continue his soccer career at Casper College next fall. He will be following in the footsteps of two former Panthers and teammates in becoming a Thunderbird.

“I wanted to stay in Wyoming,” Franks said. “I didn’t want to go too far from home but I wanted to experience college life.”

Franks has starred for the Panthers since his freshman year, with the team taking second in his first season.

In his sophomore year he made the leap, earning All-State honors after finishing with 17 goals and 22 assists for the Panthers from a midfield role.

Moving into a more forward role last season he took over as the leading scorer for the team, finishing with 15 goals and seven assists while garnering All-State honors for a second consecutive year.

Making the move to Casper College came with a little help from former teammates Garrett Morris and Hawkin Sweeney, who both were on the Thunderbird roster this past season.

“I heard how they liked the community in Casper along with the support, the players, the coach and the overall aspect of the program so I figured it would be a good fit,” Franks said. “I wanted to experience college soccer first and see if I really want to do it.”

At the next level, Franks expects to mix in as a winger or midfielder for the Thunderbirds after playing different roles at Powell over his high school career.

In college, he will return to Powell as part of Casper College and take on his current high school coach David Gilliatt, who helps as an assistant coach for Northwest during the fall season.

“It will be interesting and kind of fun to play against my high school coach,” Franks said. “I’ve never had to play with him, it will be an interesting experience. It will be cool to play in my hometown.”

This season the Thunderbirds made a run to the national tournament, finishing 10-7-5 after winning the Region IX tournament and finishing 1-1 at nationals.

“That definitely influenced me a lot,” Franks said. “They get lots of looks by college coaches and they had a really good year. They have a large graduating class this year, there will be a lot of new guys but the overall program and everyone seems to be going for it next year.”

Now that the process is over, Franks said he is relieved to be able to focus on his academics and final season of soccer before heading to Casper in the fall.