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It was a case of zero-to-hero for Panther senior Colt Nicholson Saturday in Casper.
The scrappy 106-pounder, whose ferocity and skill belie his diminutive size, went from zero wins his entire …
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It was a case of zero-to-hero for Panther senior Colt Nicholson Saturday in Casper.
The scrappy 106-pounder, whose ferocity and skill belie his diminutive size, went from zero wins his entire freshman season to winning state on Saturday as a senior.
Fellow Powell High School wrestler Seth Horton, a junior, also took his title at 152 pounds, defeating Clay Reiner of Buffalo by a 5-2 decision.
The two champs were among nine PHS medalists at the Class 3A State Meet — including runner-up performances from Bo Dearcorn (170) and Carson Olsen (220).
In retiring head coach Nate Urbach’s final state tournament, the Panthers finished fourth in the team race with 158.5 points. Star Valley won the event with 244 points, while Douglas was second (198) and Worland third (168.5).
Nicholson’s win came at the expense of Anthony Martinez from Worland by fall in 3:34. At the referee’s slap of the mat the coaches in Powell’s corner launched themselves into the air in raucous celebration.
At some prompting from Urbach, Nicholson acknowledged his 0-25 freshman season.
“I weighed 80 pounds” at the time, he explained.
Urbach said Nicholson wasn’t bad, “he was just too small” for even the sport’s lightest weight class.
“From zero and a million as a freshman to nobody better as a senior” amazes Urbach, who clearly holds the young man in highest regard.
“I remember as a sophomore when he won his first match how excited he was and how excited his dad was,” Urbach said. “He channeled all that into a drive that is unbelievable.”
Nicholson appeared to have his way with Martinez from the start, however the Panther quickly noted the two had split their four previous meetings this season. The match was halted several times for Nicholson’s stubborn bleeding and once for a shoulder injury.
Expect no fanfare from this champion. Asked how he took Martinez to his back for the stick, he said, “legs to a power half” with a shrug, as though it was no big deal.
“I’m really happy,” Nicholson said in obvious understatement.
Horton pulled off a late takedown to win the title 5-2 over Buffalo’s Clay Reiner in a gutsy performance by both wrestlers. On the way to the finals he made victims of the 152s from Star Valley, Rawlins and Pinedale.
Horton took fifth last year and did not place as a freshman.
What was his strategy?
“Pace up,” he answered, “and don’t do anything stupid. I wrestled like I did all year long and got the job done.”
“What do you say about that kid? He is absolutely the team’s center” in terms of leadership, said Urbach. Horton, he added, epitomizes the saying, “If you work real hard it’s real hard to give up.”
“Seth’s work ethic is as good as I’ve ever coached,” Urbach said — high praise indeed from a man who has coached nine state championships teams in two states.
Horton overcame a season’s worth of accumulated injuries, including a thumb that was yanked and dislocated twice during the championship match. Evidence of Horton’s toughness is easy to see on his right arm and hand which almost appeared Macgyver’d together with tape, string and chewing gum.
Speaking quietly, Horton said he felt a sense of relief in addition to the joy of his accomplishment.
“I always thought of this day” when, as a kid, he watched some of his current coaches and other wrestlers he knew take state, he said. “It’s great to be a part of all that.”
Carson Olsen was second at 220 with wins over Lander, Torrington and Worland before being pinned by Cody Pinkerton from Douglas in the title bout.
Again, perhaps Olsen’s biggest fan is his coach.
“Everybody I know who deals with him loves him,” he said of Olsen. “I love him.”
Despite a resume that paled in comparison to Pinkerton’s — a now three-time state champ — Olsen did not take a single backward step.
Bo Dearcorn won at 170 over Cody, Douglas and Burns-Pine Bluffs by two pins and decision, then was upended by fall himself (3:22) by Jack Sweeney in the finals to take second.
“Bo had a good tournament,” said Urbach. “He just ran into a tough guy in Sweeney.”
Logan Werner dropped his semifinal match at 113 on the championship bracket then battled his way back to fourth.
“Logan had a great year,” said the coach. “He’s only a sophomore so he’s got a great future. He can do anything he wants in this sport.”
Riley Bennett won his medal match and finished fifth.
Chuckling, Urbach said Bennett “was going crazy” the first day of the tournament (Friday), but a little stern coaching up brought his 145-pounder back to earth. “He showed some guts” returning to the mat following a painful shoulder injury, Urbach added.
Matt Seckman, who had to battle constant bleeding stoppages in addition to Gabe Mitchell of Torrington, fought through to fifth.
“Matt was finally able to put it together at state,” Urbach said of his combatant at 182; Seckman has worn a brace this season to help get through his own shoulder injury.
Dallas Oliver, an arrival this year from Lovell High School, finished sixth at 285.
“He wasn’t very good there,” Urbach said of Oliver’s success as a Bulldog.
The PHS coach initially had someone else in mind for his heavyweight, but when the coach saw Oliver’s motor, work habits and unlimited potential of Oliver the first time he worked out with the Panthers, the sale was made.
“Dallas never stops,” Urbach said, saying that Oliver will not stop until “an adult tells him, ‘You cannot continue’ and hauls him off the mat.”
Nate Balderas also medaled, taking sixth place wrestling at 106 pounds in the same bracket as Nicholson.
Balderas “wrestled a great tournament” and “came close to upsetting Martinez [the runner-up] in the semis,” Urbach said.
Looking back at the whole year, “it was up and down, definitely,” Urbach said. “There were some great things and some frustrating things for sure.”
How it turned out “was a tiny bit of a shame, really,” he observed. “I feel bad for [Michael] Maddox and [Corey] Linebaugh.”
Maddox suffered a head injury late in the season and was still in mandatory concussion protocol at state. Linebaugh “basically had his knee locked open” Urbach said, and, though he tried, could not wrestle to his own high standards.
“It was frustrating from the beginning to the end of the year,” the coach admitted. The cause? Knowing where the team could have been but wasn’t.
At the start, Urbach looked at the quality of talent on his squad and knew, “we could be in the hunt [for a state title]. We could be right there.”
Some challenges were self-inflicted while others were “just bad luck,” he said.
“My job as a coach is to extend the talent as far as I can,” he said adding, “In the end, when my teams don’t perform at state that’s my fault. The buck stops here.”
Still, Urbach added, “There have sure been some bright, shining moments.”
Urbach expressed appreciation for his coaching staff of Nick Fulton, Juston Carter, Cody Kalberer, Zach Thompson and Sean Munger.
