A season full of growth came to an end on Saturday, as the Panther wrestling team finished the Class 3A state championships in 10th place. The Powell High School squad laid the groundwork for a bright future for a team seeking a return to the top, as they’re set to return 66 of the team’s 78 points.

At last weekend’s state tournament, the Panthers were led by sophomore Jimmy Dees (34-17), who advanced to the semifinals and eventually finished in fourth at 195 pounds.

Dees won his first two matches by pin in the first period, and matched up with eventual state champion Harrison Hoopes in the semifinals, who finished the season undefeated.

“He [Dees] wrestled him [Hoopes] really well and had him really frustrated,” Panther head coach Nick Fulton said.

Dees lost the match by a 6-1 decision to drop into the consolation semifinal and again pinned his opponent to advance to the third place match. In that bout, Dees faced the east regional champion, Colter Haws of Burns-Pine Bluffs, for their third bout of the season.

Haws took advantage of an early takedown and pulled away for a 7-2 decision to give Dees the fourth position at the tournament.

The next-highest placer for the Panthers was junior Weston Thomas at 113 pounds, who took fifth.

According to Coach Fulton, Thomas came into the matchup with injured ribs he’d been dealing with all season, but despite limited mat time during the season, he came to wrestle early.

Facing the No. 1 seed out of the east, Thomas (9-9) pinned Kobe Swain from Worland in under a minute. In the quarterfinals, Thomas took down his opponent in just 17 seconds, setting up a match with Bridger Smith from Star Valley as he tried to advance to the state championship.

Smith got a takedown in the first period and a reversal in the second before pinning Thomas in the second period.

Dropping down to the consolation bracket, Thomas lost in the semifinal matchup to Caleb Morrison from Star Valley, but came out with something worse than a loss heading into the fifth place match.

“He re-injured those ribs pretty bad in that semifinal matchup; he was in quite a bit of pain,” Fulton said.

However, that didn’t stop Thomas.

“He went out and got the pin for us in the fifth place matchup which showed a lot of determination on his part,” Fulton said. “I was awfully happy for him and I look forward to getting him back healthy next season.”

Going into his final state tournament, senior Karson Lamb was determined to make up for the disappointment of falling short in the “blood rounds” last year and get a top placement.

Lamb (16-21) won his first round matchup by pin in the first period, but fell short in the quarterfinal, being pinned in the first round.

Lamb battled back, however, winning his first consolation matchup by pin in the second period, and his second by major decision 10-2.

In the consolation semifinal, Lamb took a 4-3 lead heading into the third period, but a late push propelled by a three-point near fall and a takedown led to Lamb being pinned and sent to the fifth place matchup.

Lamb again held a lead 4-2 heading into the final period, but an escape and a takedown led to a pin as Lamb finished his final state tournament in sixth place.

“Karson [Lamb] lost last season in the blood round, that was something that really motivated him all season long,” Fulton said. “He was steady and consistent, and ran into some tough guys, but I am awfully happy for Karson. He is coming away with a state medal, he is a great kid and did a lot for the guys in our room.”

Overall the Panthers had a strong showing on the first day of the competition, as they sat in fifth place on Friday night

On day two, Fulton said the team just fell short in six blood round matches to make it into placing, which may have provided an extra boost for the team.

“We did not wrestle badly on Saturday, we just lost some tough matchups in that first round of the day,” he said. 

Other Panther results included:

Wyatt Nicholson (17-17) went 1-2 at 106 pounds;

Wyatt Heffington (7-14) went 1-2 at 126;

Patrick Haney (7-8) went 2-2 at 132;

Vinny Timmons (19-18) went 1-2 at 132;

Mikey Timmons (3-6) went 0-2 at 138;

McKale Foley (9-14) went 1-2 at 145;

Jack Van Norman (13-26) went 0-2 at 152;

Lannon Brazelton (15-19) went 2-2 at 160;

Stetson Davis (33-13) went 2-2 at 170;

Jonathan Harms (11-9) went 2-2 at 195;

Doug Bettger (12-11) went 1-2 at 220; and

Adam Flores (19-19) went 2-2 at 285.

Coming out of the state tournament, Fulton feels the Panthers have a bright future.

The Panthers are graduating four seniors in Lamb, Mikey Timmons, Brent Childers and Carter Gines, but the team is expected to welcome back a large majority of its initial 45-man roster.

“We return a majority of our points,” he said. “All season we have had young wrestlers coming up. All of those freshmen got wins at the events center; we can certainly build on that.”

Star Valley won its sixth straight team title, but Fulton said the Braves are expected to move up to Class 4A next year with Evanston dropping down to compete in 3A.

One thing is certain: The experience gained this season is expected to help the Panthers as they make a push to return to the top of 3A.

Team results

1. Star Valley 216 points, 2. Douglas 213.5, 3. Green River 146.5, 4. Cody 146, 5. Pinedale 137.5, 6. Worland 113, 7. Lyman 106, 8. Rawlins 103, 9. Lander Valley 100, 10. Powell 78, 11. Newcastle/Upton 67, 12. Wheatland 57, 13. Buffalo 54, 14. Burns/Pine Bluffs 49, 15. Mountain View 46, 16. Riverton 33, 17. Torrington 10.