Kicking off the new year, Powell High School athletics will be spread throughout the region, with competitions taking part from Powell all the way to Bozeman.

HOME SWIM MEETS THIS WEEKEND

The PHS boys’ swim team is hosting a pair of meets this weekend, starting with a triangular at 4 p.m. on Friday.

That triangular will be between the Panthers and conference foes Worland and Newcastle.

Heading into Saturday, the Panthers will host the annual Gene Dozah Invitational starting at 10 a.m. at the Powell Aquatic Center.

In addition to Worland and Newcastle, Powell will welcome Cody, Riverton and Buffalo to town on Saturday.

To date, the Panthers have eight qualifying athletes for the state meet in February, including all three divers in Jon Hawley, Taggart Shumway and Garrett Lennon. Top swimming qualifiers include Gabe Rose, who has qualified in all eight events, and Adam Williams, who has qualified for six of eight events.

Other qualifiers include Hugh Carpenter in three events, Will Fuller in three events and Trystan Preator in the 100 fly.

The Gene Dozah Invitational will be the second to last home meet for the Panthers, with the final one on Tuesday, Jan. 23.

BASKETBALL STAYS CLOSE TO HOME

The Powell Panther basketball teams will be staying close to home, heading to Cowley to take on 2A Rocky Mountain on Friday.

The 3A No. 2-ranked Panther boys look to continue rolling after the winter break, after the Panthers finished December riding high with a 4-0 record and a 73-52 win over Cody.

Powell will match up against a 2-7 Rocky Mountain squad, with the boys’ attempting to remain one of three undefeated 3A teams with the game tipping off at 7 p.m.

The Panthers average 63 points a game and give up just over 48.

On the flip side, the Panther girls will attempt to rebound from a buzzer-beater rivalry loss just before break, dropping a 48-47 game to Cody.

Powell currently has a 2-2 record with those two losses coming by a combined four points over the first two weeks of the season.

The No. 4-ranked Panthers will be taking on the 2A No. 3-ranked Lady Grizzlies (8-1) at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.

Despite the 2-2 record, Powell is averaging just under 45 points a game while giving up 32.

Both teams will be looking for momentum this weekend, before the girls host the Big Horn Basin Classic on Jan. 12-13 while the boys head to Thermopolis and Worland for the same tournament.

The junior varsity squads will follow the same schedule this weekend and next with action tipping off for both teams at 4 p.m. on Friday in Cowley.

Freshman basketball will have a busy week, kicking off Thursday (today) at home against Cody with the girls’ team tipping off at 5 p.m. and the boys’ team tipping off at 6:30 p.m.

Both teams then head to Buffalo on Saturday for three games before another road trip to Worland on Tuesday at 5 and 6:30 p.m.

WRESTLING STARTS MONTANA SWING

After a quick pit stop at home just before the break with a victory over Greybull-Riverside, the Powell Panther wrestling team is set to start a string of Montana competitions in January.

That will start with a trip to Bozeman for the Tom LeProwse Tournament on Friday and Saturday.

The Panthers will then quickly return to Montana on Tuesday, heading just east of Billings to Worden, Montana to take part in a quad between Powell, Cody, Laurel and host Huntley Project.

In the quad, the two Wyoming teams will dual against the two Montana teams.

Next weekend Powell will again return to Montana, going to Missoula for an invitational before finally returning to Wyoming for a home dual against Worland on Thursday, Jan. 18.

INDOOR TRACK PRACTICE STARTS

This week the indoor track season swung into action, kicking off the final winter sport.

The team is eligible to practice as of Jan. 1, with the Panthers beginning this week.

Powell will have several weeks to prepare, with the first competition set for Jan. 20 in Gillette.

The Panthers are planning to compete in four meets in Gillette before the state meet, which is once again in Gillette on March 1-2.