Panthers claim State 3A wrestling crown

The Powell Panthers left town in an underdog’s role but returned as the top dog after capturing the 2012 Class 3A state wrestling title in Casper over the weekend. In doing so, the team set what is believed to be a school record for most top-six placewinners with 15.

“We wrestled really well; I’m really proud of the kids,” said Panther head coach Nate Urbach, whose team returned to the Class 3A pinnacle after a two-year absence. “The wrestleback round on Saturday morning was one of the best I’ve had. That really kind of sealed the deal for us.”

Indeed, the Panthers were able to take their narrow 8.5-point lead at the end of Day 1 and build it into an insurmountable margin on Saturday morning. Unlike the drama of recent seasons, the Panthers entered Saturday’s championship round knowing the team title was already in the bag.

“That was nice,” said Urbach. “It’s nice to be able to relax — well, as much as you possibly can relax before a final round — and go out there and wrestle. It’s nice knowing that none of it matters as far as the team score goes. It gives you a bit more freedom.”

Olie Olson (160) and Waylon Bays (145) both earned individual state titles over the weekend. For Olson, the title was the third of his Panther career.

“Olie fought through some injuries this year,” said Urbach. “This was not a smooth year for him. He started out the beginning of the year looking really good, but then he hurt an ankle at the Bozeman tournament and really hadn’t looked like the old Olie until the regional tournament. It was a heck of a tournament for him.”

While injuries impacted Olson’s senior season, Bays’ senior campaign was highlighted by a return from inury.

“Waylon was hurt last year really bad,” said Urbach. “We thought he could have contended last year, but he was wrestling pretty much on one ankle and took fourth. He came back this year with some pretty high goals. It was really good for him to get that win.”

Three other Panthers — seniors Charles Wittick, Randy Andrews and Kurt Bullinger — also advanced to the championship match. Wittick and Andrews both were the victims of late two-point losses.

“Randy was a four-time medalist for us and he wrestled a tough match against a good Douglas kid, losing on a last-second takedown,” said Urbach. “He’s been a really big leader in the room for us. He’a a big part of the team championship.”

Wittlick’s loss came on a late-match reversal, resulting in his second state runner-up finish.

“It was hard to swallow, but he took it pretty good,” Urbach said of the defeat. “He lost to a real good kid from Lander. I talked to him and told him if you win a team championship, everyone’s a champion so he gets to share in that.”

Bullinger, meanwhile, took second despite having recently bumped up to 285 from the 220-pound weight class where he spent the majority of the season competing. It was a strategic decision that reaped dividends.

“We bumped him up because we thought he’d have a better chance there, but that Lander heavyweight he met in the finals is a big boy,” said Urbach. “It was kind of a man vs. boy situation because Kurt was giving up a lot of pounds. Kurt has come a long way. As a freshman, you wouldn’t believe he’d be a state finalist.”

While those five were busy on the mat in Saturday’s championship round. several other Panthers spent much of the day fighting their way through the elimination side of the bracket for a place in the top six. Ten Powell wrestlers staved off elimination to earn medals.

“Rowdy Gard at 285 was the surprise of the tournament for us,” Urbach said of the freshman who ultimately placed fifth for the Panthers. “You never would have thought he’d place, but he got two big wins in the wrestlebacks.”

While Gard’s performance was turning heads, it was a freshman performance at the other end of the weight spectrum that Urbach credited with lighting the Panthers’ Saturday morning fire in the wrestleback rounds.

“Colton Parham upset Douglas’ varsity wrestler at 113 pounds and that really got us going in the wrestlebacks. Colton really turned it up the last few weeks of the season.”

Parham eventually placed fourth, falling in the third-place match to Panther teammate and sophomore Colbee Craig.

“It was good to see them out there meeting each other for third place,” said Urbach. “Colbee’s been real good for us all year. He’s been ranked all year and wrestled tough all year.”

Also placing third for Powell was senior Zach Thiel, who had to navigate a long uphill road through the elimination half of the bracket to reach the consolation final match.

“Zach was upset in the quarterfinals, but came back like a champ,” said Urbach. “That really bothered him and he really came back on fire Saturday. He had to work his way through what I thought was one of the two toughest weight classes and then he got to avenge his quarterfinal loss in the third-place match.”

Fourth-place finishers included junior Tyler Patterson and sophomore Zach Thompson.

“Tyler had cut down to 160 and wrestled there for us most of the season, but then we moved him back up to 170 late and that hurt him,” said Urbach. “He kind of sacrificed himself and took one for the team a little bit. It was great to see him do that and I look forward to seeing what he can do for us next year. Zach is pretty new to the sport. He’s got lots of talent and lost a couple close ones this year. If we can get him smoothed out, he’ll be awfully good.”

Junior Mike Mundy joined Gard as a fifth-place finisher for the Panthers. Urbach noted the key to Mundy’s season came when the junior “learned to limit his mistakes.”

“He won some really close matches in Casper,” Urbach noted. “He wrestled just fine.”

Sixth place finishers included sophomore Dylan Rood, junior Andrew Feller and junior Spencer Shultz.

“Dylan battled injuries all year long, but he came back and persevered. He had a big match against the Lyman kid. He did great,” Urbach said. “Andrew wrestled his heart out. I really thought he could have finished third or fourth, but he lost some really tight matches. Shultz wrestled for us as a freshman, moved to Montana for a year and then came back. He’s really improved. He came back late in his match against the kid from Glenrock to earn a spot in the medal round.”

Urbach noted the leadership of this year’s senior class played a tremendous role in the team’s performance. It was a luxury the coaching staff made use of throughout the year.

“You don’t get these sorts of senior classes very often,” said Urbach. “They’d go and talk to the kids and it would mean something to the underclassmen. You could tell them to go talk to the kids or to warm them up and you’d just know it would get done. We just had great seniors, all around.”

The Panthers’ coach also spoke highly of the support he received from his assistant coaches and from the community.

“I want to thank Mary Olson, the other wrestling parents and the community, as always they were great again this year. We’re pretty spoiled,” said Urbach. “Coach Zach Coombs did a great job with the big guys. Eric Jacobs was the first state champion I ever had at Powell and he came back and really brought some enthusiasm. The kids really like him and he’ll be a really good coach when he gets his degree and ends up being a teacher.”

Sixteen members of the Panthers’ state tournament roster will be back on the mat next season.