One for the thumb: Lone Peak boys golf wins fifth straight 6A title, Akina edges Jones for medalist
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- Lone Peak golfers celebrate winning the state title after the final round of the 6A tournament at TalonsCove golf course in Saratoga Springs on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022.
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- Lone Peak senior Trevor Lund (center) accepts the first-place trophy after winning the state title following the final round of the 6A tournament at TalonsCove golf course in Saratoga Springs on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022.
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- Lone Peak golfers celebrate winning the state title after the final round of the 6A tournament at TalonsCove golf course in Saratoga Springs on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022.
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- Lone Peak golfers celebrate winning the state title after the final round of the 6A tournament at TalonsCove golf course in Saratoga Springs on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022.
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- Lone Peak senior Trevor Lund (center) celebrates winning the state title after the final round of the 6A tournament at TalonsCove golf course in Saratoga Springs on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022.
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- Lone Peak sophomore Kihei Akina watches his shot during the final round of the 6A tournament at TalonsCove golf course in Saratoga Springs on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022.
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- Lone Peak senior Cooper Jones hits a drive during the final round of the 6A tournament at TalonsCove golf course in Saratoga Springs on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022.
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- Lone Peak sophomore Kihei Akina watches his shot during the final round of the 6A tournament at TalonsCove golf course in Saratoga Springs on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022.
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- Lone Peak senior Cooper Jones watches his birdie putt attempt during the final round of the 6A tournament at TalonsCove golf course in Saratoga Springs on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022.
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- Lone Peak sophomore Kihei Akina checks the distance during the final round of the 6A tournament at TalonsCove golf course in Saratoga Springs on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022.
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- Lone Peak sophomore Kihei Akina (right) and senior Cooper Jones (center) wait for their turns to tee off during the final round of the 6A tournament at TalonsCove golf course in Saratoga Springs on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022.
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- Lone Peak senior Cooper Jones smiles at his teammates during the final round of the 6A tournament at TalonsCove golf course in Saratoga Springs on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022.
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- Lone Peak senior Quin Abbott watches his shot during the final round of the 6A tournament at TalonsCove golf course in Saratoga Springs on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022.
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- Lone Peak senior Quin Abbott watches his putt during the final round of the 6A tournament at TalonsCove golf course in Saratoga Springs on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022.
A number of names of Lone Peak golfers were certainly highlighted during Tuesday’s final round of the 6A state tournament at TalonsCove golf course in Saratoga Springs.
There of course was senior Cooper Jones, who shot a course-record 61 in the first round on Monday and was back at it with a 68 (4-under-par) on Tuesday to finish at 15-under-par.
Then there was sophomore Kihei Akina, who rallied from trailing Jones by three strokes to pull in front with his second consecutive round of 64 (8-under-par) to edge his Knight teammate for medalist honors for the second straight year.
And don’t forget senior Quin Abbott, who shot a blistering 30 (6-under-par) on the front nine on Tuesday and finished the day flirting with Jones’s score before settling at 62 (10-under-par) and getting third place for the tournament at 10-under-par.
Senior Luke Seaquist may not have had the stunningly low numbers the other three had but he still had a solid tournament to be proud, finishing as the fourth qualifying score with a two-day total of 1-under-par.
The name of the Lone Peak golfer that may have had the biggest impact, however, wasn’t on the leaderboard at all.
Knight senior Trevor Lund may not have been able to participate because of a tough accident,but having him there to support the Lone Peak squad galvanized the Knights into their best performance of the season.
“We played for him and got the job done,” Jones said. “It is his senior year and he qualified for state. It was brutal. Who could imagine someone getting hit by a golf ball and being out for the week? Playing for him was really fun.”
Lone Peak had one of the most dominating victories in Utah high school sports history, firing a 533 as a team (43-under-par) and beating second place Corner Canyon by 27 strokes (560, 16-under-par).
Knight head coach Derek Farr said that Lund’s situation gave his golfers an added reason to elevate their game.
“We were out for a practice round and he got injured,” Farr said. “It was a sad situation because he worked extremely hard. But I would pinpoint that as the real rallying call for our kids. They needed a little juice and they got it. Trevor is the best of the best. It was well deserved for Trevor to get the recognition. It was cool to see the kids rally around him.”
Akina agreed, saying playing for his hurt teammate made a big difference.
“We did this for Trevor,” Akina said. “It was unfortunate what happened but it was huge. Our coach has instilled into all the players the mentality of playing for something bigger than ourselves for this hole tournament. This was for him.”
The unifying factor didn’t keep Akina and Jones from being extremely competitive and battling back and forth for the top spot.
After Jones took the lead on Day 1, Akina came roaring back with a strong start in the final round to surge in front.
“We’re best buds and we help build off each other,” Akina said. “We’re so competitive. On the last like couple holes. we were going for the individual medalist. We both wanted one really, really bad.”
Jones tied things up heading into No. 17 but Akina was able to get a birdie on No. 17 to take the lead for good.
“I played really well,” Akina said. “I’ve kind of been struggling throughout the high school season but the last couple of weeks I’ve been playing really well. My putting has really been on. It’s helped me win.”
Jones was proud of how he did but had a wry grin when talking about how Akina was able to hold him off for medalist honors for the second straight year.
“Kihei got me again,” Jones said. “Kihei played great so he deserved it.”
But Jones couldn’t help but be proud of completing his time on the Lone Peak golf team with four state championships.
“The whole team played great,” Jones said. “This is why we do it. This is the only team aspect of golf for me, at least throughout the year. And that’s why we do it. Team wins are sweet.”
Farr lauded the way every golfer stepped up to the challenge and played their best golf when it mattered most.
“I told them we had a great first day but that it could all be for nothing unless we took advantage,” Farr said. “They played awesome. All the kids, one through six, did what we needed them to do.”
In the 5A ranks, Spanish Fork senior Jackson Rhees made a huge charge and put the pressure on at the top of the leaderboard.
In the end, however, his final round 65 (7-under-par) wasn’t quite enough to overtake Skyline’s Jackson Shelley. Rhees ended up tied for second with another Eagle golfer, Peter Kim, with a two-day total of 138 (6-under-par).
Thanks in part to Rhees, the Dons were able to finish in fourth place with a score of 597 (21-over-par). Skyline won the state tournament with a score of 574 (2-under-par).
