Domination: Berlin Long, Lone Peak girls golf replace sad memories with joy by winning 6A title
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- The Lone Peak girls golf team poses for a photo after winning the 2022 6A state title at Stonebridge Golf Club in West Valley on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
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- Lone Peak players celebrate by spraying Martinelli’s after winning the 2022 6A state title at Stonebridge Golf Club in West Valley on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
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- Lone Peak senior Berlin Lone hits a sand shot during the final round of the 6A state girls golf tournament at Stonebridge Golf Club in West Valley on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
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- Lone Peak sophomore Aadyn Long (left) congratulates her older sister, senior Berlin Long (center) after the final round of the 6A state girls golf tournament at Stonebridge Golf Club in West Valley on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
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- Lone Peak senior Berlin Long hits a drive during the final round of the 6A state girls golf tournament at Stonebridge Golf Club in West Valley on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
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- The Lone Peak girls golf team celebrates winning the 2022 6A state girls golf tournament at Stonebridge Golf Club in West Valley on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
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- Lone Peak senior Berlin Long (left) and sophomore Aadyn Long (center) stand next to Herriman senior Millie Terrion after they placed first, second and third respectively in the 6A state girls golf tournament at Stonebridge Golf Club in West Valley on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
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- Lone Peak golfers celebrate with Knight senior Berlin Long (left) after she won the 6A state girls golf tournament at Stonebridge Golf Club in West Valley on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
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- Lone Peak sophomore Aadyn Long prepares to hit a drive during the final round of the 6A state girls golf tournament at Stonebridge Golf Club in West Valley on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
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- Members of the Lone Peak girls golf team poses for a photo after winning the 2022 6A state title at Stonebridge Golf Club in West Valley on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
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- The Lone Peak girls golf team poses for a photo after winning the 2022 6A state title at Stonebridge Golf Club in West Valley on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
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- Lone Peak players celebrate by spraying Martinelli’s after winning the 2022 6A state title at Stonebridge Golf Club in West Valley on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
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- The Lone Peak girls golf team hoists the first-place trophy after winning the 2022 6A state title at Stonebridge Golf Club in West Valley on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
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- The Lone Peak girls golf team poses for a photo after winning the 2022 6A state title at Stonebridge Golf Club in West Valley on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
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- Lone Peak senior Eliza Zolman (left) congratulates American Fork sophomore Lily Shin for being one of the top 10 in the 6A state girls golf tournament at Stonebridge Golf Club in West Valley on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
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- Lone Peak golfers watch the conclusion of the final round of the 6A state girls golf tournament at Stonebridge Golf Club in West Valley on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
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- Lone Peak senior Berlin Long hits a chip shot during the final round of the 6A state girls golf tournament at Stonebridge Golf Club in West Valley on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
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- Lone Peak senior Berlin Long walks across a bridge during the final round of the 6A state girls golf tournament at Stonebridge Golf Club in West Valley on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
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- Lone Peak sophomore Aadyn Long watches her putt during the final round of the 6A state girls golf tournament at Stonebridge Golf Club in West Valley on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
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- Lone Peak senior Eliza Zolman watches her drive during the final round of the 6A state girls golf tournament at Stonebridge Golf Club in West Valley on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
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- Lone Peak senior Berlin Long watches her drive during the final round of the 6A state girls golf tournament at Stonebridge Golf Club in West Valley on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.
As Lone Peak senior golfer Berlin Long walked the fairways and lined up putts during the final round of the 6A girls golf tournament at Stonebridge Golf Club in West Valley on Tuesday, she couldn’t help but think back to 2021.
That was when dreams had crumbled for both Long and the Knights as they let team and individual championships slip away by a single stroke, ending up finishing third as a team in a playoff.
“It was definitely on my mind,” Long said. “Our motto the whole year was ‘one stroke,’ not just as a team but for me personally. It was tough losing like that and it just motivated me that much more. I didn’t want to do that again.”
Chilly temperatures, gusty winds and a challenging course could’ve been a mixture that upended the objectives for Long and Lone Peak once again.
But the senior and her Knight squad showed with their play they had an emphatic answer: Not this year.
Long didn’t scorch the course with a crazy-low round but played consistently to finish at even-par for the two-day tournament (144), to give her the three-shot win over her younger sister, Lone Peak sophomore Aadyn Long.
“I left a lot out there and didn’t take advantage of the par-5s like I wish I would have, but it was good,” Berlin Long said. “But after last year was such a tough loss, it felt right to get it done this year.”
Berlin Long got a little choked up with emotion as she talked about getting to compete with her sister.
“I said that if anyone was going to beat me, I would want it to be her — but I really didn’t want to lose to her, especially my senior year,” Berlin Long said. “But she’s the best. It was fun going into the day seeing our names tied atop the leaderboard, but I wasn’t going to let her beat me. I’m always going to remember walking off the last hole and her coming and talking to me. It was really cool.”
For her part, Aadyn Long said she knew how much winning meant to Berlin Long but as a competitor she wanted to give it her all.
“I told her before we went out on the first hole that she was going to have to go low to beat me because I wasn’t going to let her win easily,” Aadyn Long said with a grin. “She was like, ‘it’s my last one. You gotta give it to me.’ But I came out just trying to play my game. I didn’t play great but it was super fun to be able to have that competitiveness with her. I’m happy for her, but I’m still bummed that I didn’t beat her.”
Lone Peak head coach Derek Farr said Berlin Long earned the success by putting in the time, especially after the disappointment of 2021.
“A year ago, I wrote her a little note that said, ‘heavy is the head that wears the crown,'” Farr said. “I can’t imagine the pressure that Berlin has been under, with a lot of it being self-imposed. She’s a perfectionist. But way she handles herself and the way she fought through these last two days and not great conditions, what she did is incredible. She’s just a tremendous young woman.”
Aadyn Long said that even though she wasn’t able to win the individual title, she had a great time competing.
“Everyone was like, state is so fun and that it’s the one to look forward to,” Aadyn Long said. “But I kind of underestimated how fun it is. It was super fun. But it was also very emotional, being the last year with Berlin since next year she is off to college. It’s kind of like an ending.”
Having both of the Long sisters atop the leaderboard gave Lone Peak a big boost in the team competition. The Knights also got excellent performances from senior Eliza Zolman (161, tied for seventh) and freshman Adley Nelson (166, 13th), while seniors Carly Belliston and Meagan King finished in the Top 27 on the leaderboard.
The result was no hint of the drama that took place last spring as Lone Peak overwhelmed the 6A field, finishing 59 strokes in front of second-place Herriman (624-683).
“What’s so awesome is that we had only three seniors last year,” Berlin Long said. “Having a lot of the team come back meant a lot of us knew how that loss felt. Being able to come back this year and get it done the way we did, it feels really good.”
Farr said he couldn’t have been more proud with the way his team rose to the challenge.
“I told them that I had a picture last year of what I thought was going to happen but it didn’t happen,” Farr said. “I had that same picture for a year and to see them do it was awesome. It makes everything worthwhile, seeing them happy and celebrating success. This was such a special group.”
Berlin Long said that being able to end her high school career this way was exactly what she wanted.
“There is something about state that just feels so important,” the Lone Peak senior said. “To be able to finish this way, it just feels so good.”
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