An early state preview for the Powell Panther girls’ wrestling team at the Ron Thon Memorial in Riverton saw three Panthers place in the top four, including junior Nalani Jordan taking home the individual crown at 135 pounds after a 5-0 record.

“I told the girls before the tournament that sometimes these bigger tournaments can cause athletes to put pressure on themselves and then when they go out, they do not perform well,” coach David Holland said. “I told the girls that this was just like any other tournament and to go out there ready to push the pace, focus on their style of wrestling and to have fun.”

Jordan was dominant throughout the weekend, winning all of her matches through the semifinals via pin, with none of those matches lasting over four minutes.

Jordan has come close to tournament victories several times this season, having already placed second in three tournaments this year.

In the championship bout, Jordan came up against Star Valley’s Remington Aullman and dominated again from the start.

She pulled away for a 24-9 tech fall, claiming the title at 135 pounds.

“It feels great to get over that hurdle. I’ve been working really hard these past few weeks trying to get over that and I was a little worried going into the finals that it was going to be the fourth week of getting second,” Jordan said. “I thought I was going to get her pinned a little bit earlier, but a tech fall feels really good when you come in and you’re kind of under the radar.”

Jordan said that winning Ron Thon will help motivate her through the rest of the season as the Panthers approach the regional tournament in just over two weeks.

“I think it gives me a little bit more reason to keep pushing forward,” Jordan said. “It is really cool to know that I could be up there come regionals and state time. It’s just going to be important to keep focus from now on.”

In addition to Jordan, the Panthers had two placers inside the top four, starting with Eleasah Horsley who took third at 115 pounds.

Horsley started with three straight wins, two by pin and one by tech fall to advance to the semifinals.

She came up short in the semifinals to Kemmerer’s Laynee Walker via pin, before responding with consecutive pins of her own in the consolation semis and the third place match.

“Eleasah had a great tournament placing third as she was in a tough 115 bracket,” Holland said. “We knew coming in that Walker is tough on the mat. Eleasah went out there and gave it her best shot, but Walker came out on top. This lit a fire in Eleasah to come out and win out, she did that and placed third.”

The third placer for the Panthers was Caydee Eden, who went 5-2 and took fourth place at 100 pounds.

She won her first two matches by pin before losing a 16-4 major decision in the quarterfinal.

She responded with three straight wins, two by pin and one by a 16-3 major decision, before losing the third place match via a 13-2 major decision.

“She wrestled pretty well and faced some tough opponents that she has faced before and competed pretty well,” Holland said. “She got caught in a few situations that would cost her in the quarters against Cheyenne East, but after the match Caydee said she knows the fixes that she needs to make if she faces that opponent again, as that was the second time she has faced her this season.”

The Panthers also had several other Panthers compete who did not place, including Allison LeBlanc going 3-2 at 110 pounds, Ellidi Joy going 1-2 at 170 pounds, River James going 0-2 at 115 pounds, Harley Spinden going 0-2 at 120 pounds and Addison Farnsworth going 0-2 at 145 pounds.

The Panthers will be at home on Thursday to take on Thermopolis in a dual at 5 p.m. before heading on the road to Greybull for a tournament on Saturday.

“We came out of Ron Thon healthy and injury free, which is important as we gear up for regionals and state,” Holland said. “As we prep the next few weeks of the season, we can tighten up the areas on the ship to get us primed and ready for regionals and state. Greybull will be a nice tournament to apply those fixes and we get to enjoy some home duals before the regular season comes to a close.”