The Powell High School golf teams picked up a couple top 10 individual finishes in Worland on Thursday and Friday. George Higgins tied for sixth place at the invitational for the Panther boys, while Mycah Wainscott secured seventh place.

The smaller, six-team field, coupled with the absence of senior Crandell Sanders, also gave PHS head coach Troy Hildebrand an opportunity to give a couple of his younger players some tournament experience.

Wainscott, the Lady Panthers’ sole representative on the girls’ side, struggled on the first day, carding a 100. She battled back in day two, however, shooting an 86 to secure a seventh-place finish.

“Friday she [Wainscott] came out and played very well shooting 86,” Hildebrand said. “She shot 41 on the back nine and was really on top of her game. She just needs to put two solid days together and she will be right up there near the top.”

Riverton and Lander were the only schools with full girls’ teams with Riverton taking the top spot. Rachel Stoinski of Lander won individual honors for the second consecutive week, shooting 82-82.

Two-time defending state champions Lander won the boys side, shooting 316-296 for a 612 total.

“They [Lander] averaged 76.5 for their top four players, which is outstanding for any team in Wyoming,” Hildebrand said. “Karsten Simmons of Worland, the defending individual champion from last year, shot a 1-under 71 each day to take the individual title.”

The Powell boys finished seventh out of the eight teams that competed, with a total score of 766.

The Panthers were without the services of Sanders, but Yogi Sullivan was back after missing the Park County Shootout earlier this month.

Higgins was the top finisher for Powell, carding an opening-round 79 Thursday and following that with an 81 Friday. His two-day total of 160 landed him in a tie for sixth place.

“George continued his steady play and earned a top 10 finish,” Hildebrand said. “He is doing a great job of knowing what his strong points are and playing to them.”

Steven Stambaugh shot 94-100 for a two-day total of 194.

“Steven had another solid week on a course that he had not seen before,” Hildebrand said. “He is showing himself to be one of our top players as a freshman and this will be very important down the road.”

Sullivan shot a 104 in his first round of the season, and followed it with a 115.

“Yogi was able to pick up about where he left off last spring this week,” Hildebrand said. “He has a solid game, and as he puts some things together this fall I can easily see his scores dipping below 100 consistently.”

Brandon Wentz went 126-116 for a two-day total of 242.

“Brandon played better this week and seems to be figuring things out a little more each week,” Hildebrand said. “He is a smart and athletic guy, and he’ll use what he is learning each week to keep getting better.”

Jacob Thiel began the tournament with a 132, but came back on Friday to shoot a career-best 119.

“He [Thiel] seems to be getting more and more comfortable on the course and did a nice job getting around a course that he had never seen before,” Hildebrand said.

Freshmen Seth Siebert and Sam Hallman competed in their first-ever tournament in Worland, with Siebert carding a 273 (144-129) and Hallman a 282 (121-161).

“... they both did a nice job of figuring out how things work and getting around the course,” Hildebrand said, calling them both “important players for us in the future.”

The PHS golfers are in Buffalo Thursday and Friday, and should have a full contingent of varsity players for the first time this season.