In their quest for an unprecedented sixth straight state title, the Lone Peak boys golf team simply had too much ground to make up.

The Knights trailed Corner Canyon by 17 strokes after Day 1 of the Class 6A state championships, staged at Old Mill Golf Course in Holladay. Lone Peak shot even par on the second day of competition to stay at -8 for the tournament and although the Chargers came back to the field somewhat with a +6 performance (290) still won the event with a final score of -1 (567), the school’s first boys golf state.

With its 284-stroke finish on Tuesday, Lone Peak scored a 576 to finish second in the team race.

“It was a great run,” Knights coach Derek Farr said, referring not only to the five-year state title reign but to the strong finish on Tuesday where they outscored Corner Canyon by six strokes. “The whole thing. Some things have to end but that doesn’t mean we can’t start something back up. That’s the way we’re going to approach it. There’s no shame in the way we played today. We had a great year and fell a little bit short. The odds were against us and it was a tall task but the kids battled and did what we needed to do. We can do the ‘what if?’ from the first day but it just didn’t happen. We have resilient, tough kids at Lone Peak and it was amazing to watch.”

Knights junior Kihei Akina chased Corner Canyon junior Bowen Mauss for medalist honors and shot a -3 on Tuesday, but Mauss was -4 to finish at -7 (135), two strokes better than Akina at 137.

“Kihei did a phenomenal job,” Farr said. “He’s one of the best in the state and the whole country. He’s a special kid. He was able to make some birdie putts and just do Kihei things. He was disappointed about the team finish but there was nothing for him to hang his head about. He played super well.”

Junior Luke Seaquist (+4, 146) was tied for 12th, sophomore Austin Jones tied for 21st (+6, 148), senior Austin Phillppi tied for 29th (+10, 152) and senior Jaxson Allen tied for 34th (+12, 154) to aid Lone Peak’s second place finish.

The Knights’ feat of five straight state titles is tied for sixth in Utah prep history. The record is 11 straight by Park City (2008-2018).

American Fork, which placed seventh at -32, finished with two athletes in the top ten. Senior Trevor Plewe (+1, 143) tied for sixth with Syracuse junior Landen Green and Caveman sophomore Jack Davis ended up tied for eight at +2 (143) with Farmington senior Cole Taylor.

Other local Top 20 finishers include Lehi junior Toa Ofahengaue, who tied for 12th (+4, 146), Skyridge junior Calvin Armstrong, who tied for 16th (+5, 147) and Westlake senior Taven Boatwright, who also tied for 16th.

5A

Being in the hunt at the state tournament was a new experience for the Timpview boys golf team.

The T-Birds hadn’t made it to the second day in state competition since 2017, so locked into third place after Day 1 was a big step for the program.

Timpview couldn’t make up any ground and struggled on Tuesday at Fox Hollow Golf Course in American Fork, shooting +22. Olympus won its first boys state golf title since 2017 by shooting +1 (289) and +3 (579) for the tournament. East was second at +20 (596) and Timpview ended up third at +29 (605).

“We had a rough day and couldn’t get anything going,” T-Birds coach Jeff Ward said. “I know the kids are disappointed. It was our highest round score of the year. My kids hung in there and battled all day.

“At the beginning of the year before we played our first region tournament, I knew we had a good team with good depth. I told them that in my mind, if we can get to the state tournament, make it to the second day and make the top three, that would be a successful year for us.”

Individually, Bonneville senior Parker Bunn and Olympus sophomore Will Pedersen went to a playoff hole after tying at -7 (137) after two days of competition. Bunn carded a birdie on No. 9 to claim 5A medalist honors.

Spanish Fork junior Ben Clayson and Timpview sophomore Mo Lecheminant tied for sixth with Skyline junior Jackson Shelley at +1 (145) to clear the top 10.

“It was a great learning experience going forward for every single one of my guys,” Ward said. “I lose two seniors but we have a good group of kids coming back next year that got vital experience and what it feels like to be in the mix. It will pay huge dividends going forward.”

Other local finishers in the Top 2 included Timpview freshman Calvin Lillywhite tied for 11th (+4, 148), Salem Hills senior Cooper Nelson tied for 14th (+6, 150) and Wasatch junior Graham Winzeler tied for 17th (+9, 153).

For complete results, go to http://UHSAA.org.

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