Four Panther wrestlers reached the finals at the season opening Powell Invitational, helping the team secure a second place finish in the stacked tournament that included competitors from Wyoming class 4A and Montana.

Senior Bo Dearcorn led the Panthers with their lone championship at the Friday-Saturday meet. He dominated the 170-pound class, pinning all seven of his competitors and all in the first period except the championship match; in the final, he pinned Lander Valley’s Jack Sweeney in the second period.

Dearcorn hopes to bring home another state championship in the family. His brother Ty Dearcorn, also a 170-pounder, was a state champion for Powell in 2017.

“Bo is a returning state finalist and puts a ton of time in,” said PHS assistant coach Nick Fulton. “He’s a great role model — a leader on the team.”

Going into the finals, it was a two-team race for the team title between 4A Natrona County and Powell. Natrona had a 223-205 lead with five wrestlers heading to the finals versus Powell’s four finalists. Emma Karhu was in the only head-to-head competition between the two teams in the finals, facing off against the Mustang’s undefeated Landon Roberts.

Karhu, who struggled Friday with a 1-2 record, won two straight matches on Saturday before being pinned by Roberts in the final. PHS head coach Nate Urbach was impressed with her turn-around.

“She’s always been very good and wrestled great on Saturday,” Urbach said. “She’s legitimate.”

Karhu beat Riverton’s Brady Stingley, the sixth-rated wrestler in the state at 120, 2-0 in the semifinal round.

Michael Maddox (132) and Corey Linebaugh (138) also made the championship round for the Panthers. Maddox dropped his final match to Wright’s Preston Seamands, but he beat two Natrona County wrestlers en route to the final to help Powell stay close in the team race. Linebaugh lost in the finals to Laurel’s Keagan Campbell.

Two Panthers scored well in the 106-pound class and met in the consolation match: Colt Nicholson pinned Nate Balderas in the third period for the third place medal. Other Panthers placing included Matthew Seckman (195) and Dallas Oliver (220), who placed third, and Trevor Feller (126) and Riley Bennett (145), who placed fourth.

Natrona County finished the tournament with all five of its finalists winning the championship round, topping the 22-team field with 270 points. Powell finished second with 227.5 points and Class 4A Sheridan was a distant third with 184.

Other Big Horn Basin teams placing were Cody, which took eighth place with 106.5 points and Lovell, which finished 18th with 35 points.

Powell’s Invitational was the first tournament that Natrona County head coach Scott Russell led his team to 23 years ago. Over the decades, Russell said the level of competition has been up and down, but the tournaments have been “barn burners” in recent years, he said.

“They’ve really upped the ante this year by adding quality teams from Montana. It’s nice to see the high caliber of wrestlers here,” Russell said.

Laurel finished in fifth place and Park/Sweet Grass took the 14th spot.

Powell didn’t field wrestlers in three weight classes, 113, 152 and 160, but Urbach said those holes would soon be filled.

“Its early and we have a lot of things to fix,” he said. “We wrestled well on Saturday and wrestled well as a team.”

This weekend, the PHS wrestlers will head to Worland for an invite on Friday and Saturday.