Three members of the Powell High School golf team — Mycah Wainscott, George Higgins and Crandell Sanders — earned All-Conference honors for their efforts at the 3A West Conference Tournament in Evanston last week.

Playing at the Purple Sage Golf Course, Wainscott tied for third place on the girls’ side, while Higgins tied for fifth and Sanders tied for eighth for the boys.

“I was really pleased with how the team continued its steady improvement this week on a very challenging course in Evanston,” said PHS head coach Troy Hildebrand.

As a team, the Panthers’ four varsity golfers’ scores totaled 388 strokes on Thursday and 396 on Friday for a total score of 784. That landed PHS seventh out of the seven teams competing.

Lander shot 311-302 to finish first, followed by Star Valley at 348-325.

As the sole representative for Powell on the girls’ side, Wainscott fired rounds of 99 and 100 to finish in a tie for third. Ahead of her were Lander’s Rachel Stoinski (83-83) and Adessa Lundberg of Lovell (94-82).

“Mycah played solid golf both days,” Hildebrand said, adding, “She is in a great position to go to [the state tournament in] Afton and be right in the mix at the top. The course for state really matches up well with Mycah’s strengths.”

On the boys’ side, Jaren Calkins of Lander ran away with the individual title, shooting 71-67 for a 5-under 138. Dominik Yates, also of Lander, shot 74-74 to finish second.

Higgins finished in a tie for fifth for the Panthers, shooting a 83-82 on an unfamiliar course. He was 6-over after six holes on Friday, but then played the final 12 holes at just 4-over.

“This was his [Higgins] first ever trip to Evanston, and he did a great job of hanging in there on a tough course to post back to back solid rounds,” Hildebrand said. “I was very proud of how well George kept his round together on Friday. That is the type of tenacity that he will need next week to battle for All-State honors.”

Panther senior Crandell Sanders earned his second consecutive All-Conference honor, carding a 84-85 to finish in a tie for eighth place. Though he struggled during Friday’s second round Friday, Hildebrand said Sanders did a number of things well.

“it was great to see him [Sanders] earn that in his senior season,” Hildebrand said. “Crandell has some positive experience on the state course in Afton, and I look for him to play his best golf next week.”

Brandon Sullivan carded rounds of 106 and 109, a showing Hildebrand called Sullivan’s “best golf of his high school career.”

“For him to keep both of his rounds under 110 on the Purple Sage course was a nice step forward and should bode well for him heading to state,” He said. “Brandon has improved every week this year and has really made the best of his sophomore season.”

Yogi Sullivan rounded out the Panther contingent, shooting 115-120.

“I thought he [Yogi] did a nice job on a tough course,” Hildebrand said.  “His round Thursday was easily one of his best rounds as a high school player. Yogi had never seen the course before and he did a great job of managing his round that day.”

Powell was without Steven Stambaugh for the conference tournament due to prior commitments.

The Panthers head to Afton this weekend for the 3A State Tournament, where they will square off against some tough competition. Lander is the three-time defending champion and has been the leader of the pack all season. Worland has been right on their heels and Star Valley has an experienced team on their home course.

“Douglas has proven to be one of the better teams at different points in the season and then there is a large group that includes Buffalo, Cody, Lyman, Powell, Lovell and Pinedale that will be battling for top five team positions,” Hildebrand said.

The Afton course is a short one, and Hildebrand said that should make for an exciting venue for the tournament.

“There will be some very low scores, and the battle on the boys side for All-State (Top Ten) honors will be fun to watch,” Hildebrand said. “It is great to have a couple of our players in that conversation on the boys side and Mycah on the girls side.”