The Powell Panther wrestlers opened 2010 with a day of dual meets against four Montana schools in Bozeman.The Panthers opened with Bozeman, and lost a close 36-30 match, which, according to Coach Nate Urbach, could easily have been won, as most of his wrestlers were in a position to win their matches.

“We didn't wrestle well at all,” Urbach said. “We could have won almost every match, but didn't wrestle our best.”

Belgrade also pulled out a win over the Panthers in a dual that came down to the last match. A late pin by a Belgrade wrestler who was trailing at the time resulted in a nine-point turnaround, but Powell still had a chance to win before a defeat in the final match, and Belgrade pulled out a 42-36 win.

Belgrade and Bozeman are both among the top teams in Montana, and during the day Belgrade won a narrow victory in their matchup.

The Panthers came back in their final two duals, defeating Billings Skyview and Billings West. Against Skyview, the Panthers found themselves down 35-3 at one point, but ran off a string of wins to finish with a 42-35 team victory. Against Billings West, the Panthers lost only two matches, one by forfeit, and took a 58-10 win.

Individually, Charles Wittick, wrestling at 98 pounds, posted a 4-0 record for the day as did heavyweight Trevor Griffith. Jessee Craig, Trent Gillett, Jim Seckman, Cole Kary, Monte Nickles and Joe Lujan all posted 3-1 marks on the day.

Dylan Rood, Luke Wozney, Olie Olson, and Auston Carter split their matches, while Colt Nix and Beau Williams went 1-3. Zach Thiel wrestled only two matches on the day and was winless.