Top 10 Utah Valley Prep Stories of 2025: Memorable for many reasons
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- Spanish Fork players celebrate after winning the 5A championship series against Brighton at UCCU Ballpark in Orem on Saturday, May 24, 2025.
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- Maple Mountain head coach Kalin Hall talks to his team after the Region 7 game against Orem in Spanish Fork on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023.
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- Long-time high school sports announcer Dusty Litster (center), Skyridge head boys basketball coach Jeff Gardner (left) and Lehi athletic director Quincy Lewis watch a video tribute honoring Litster at Skyridge High in Lehi on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025.
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- Lily Alder and Jane Hedengren compete in the 800-meter race during the state track meet at BYU’s Clarence F. Robison Track and Field Complex in Provo on Saturday, May 17, 2025.
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- Lone Peak players celebrate after winning the 6A championship game against Copper Hills at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025.
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- Orem students celebrate a 42-7 victory against Springville for the 5A football state championship at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025.
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- Maple Mountain’s Trey Thornton, right, poses with the 2025 5A Boys State Volleyball Championship trophy with teammate Manase Storey at the UCCU Center in Orem on Saturday, May 10, 2025.
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- The Payson boys basketball team celebrates after winning the 4A state title at the American First Events Center in Cedar City on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025.
Covering high school sports (we refer to them in the newspaper biz as “preps”) is always a joy.
Not only are these athletes playing for the love of the game but there’s always a terrific story that means a lot to a coach, or a player, or even an entire community.
Here’s a look at some of the stories that stuck with us in 2025.
10 Showdown of showdowns
The state wrestling tournament is probably the biggest high school sports event in the state, involving the most athletes and most fans in what is generally a two-day event for both boys and girls for each classification. We dedicated a whole top 10 list to wrestling (thanks to our wrestling expert, Brian Preece) but congrats to Utah Valley squads taking home state gold: Spanish Fork boys and Wasatch girls, plus all the individual champions. That’s hard work out there on the mats.
9 No gold trophies for you
Utah Valley girls volleyball has been so dominant over the past 20 years that the results from 2025 were shocking. For the first time since 2006 no local team won a state championship. No. 1 seed Skyridge lost in the 6A final to No. 2 Corner Canyon 3-1, No. 5 seed Pleasant Grove advanced to the 5A semifinals before getting swept by eventual state champion Woods Cross and top seeded Orem lost to No. 2 Desert Hills in the 4A finals.
8. Coaching drama
Always a lot going so here are a few that stood out. Israel Ingle has been a winner wherever he’s coached boys basketball in the valley, first with Timpanogos and then with Timpview. Even though all five starters returned in 2025-26 for a run at the 5A title, Ingle decided to take on a different challenge and moved on take on of the state’s premier jobs at Lone Peak.
Former BYU running back Kalin Hall coached Maple Mountain football out of the cellar to contender status in Class 5A, but school administrators weren’t happy with his methods and fired him in February of 2025 after an 8-4 record. Despite over 1,000 signatures attached to an online petition, Hall was not reinstated.
In May, American Fork boys basketball coach Ryan Cuff announced he was going to become an assistant coach for Dave Rice at Salt Lake Community College after decades in the high school game. But Cuff had a change of heart about going north of Point of the Mountain and came back to lead the Caveman. Not only that, but he’s also taking over the boys volleyball team in the spring, despite no experience in the sport. Should be a fun year at AF.
7 Lion pride
Maeser Prep, a small charter school in Orem, won its first boys soccer state title in May with a 3-1 win against American Heritage.
“We’re just the 15th Maeser team to ever exist, and we always talk about the boys who came before us,” senior captain Jack Stevenson said. “We dedicate the trophy to the alumni and everyone who has come before us. That’s why I’m so emotional. We all did it for them.”
6 Boys will be boys
Maple Mountain repeated as the 5A state champions in boys volleyball behind two-time Daily Herald Player of the Year Trey Thornton, who signed to play at BYU. The Golden Eagles swept Region 7 foe Wasatch 25-16, 25-15, 25-15 for the title, the school’s 42 straight win against Utah competition dating back to March of 2024.
Orem’s Bill Sefita coached the Tigers to two state titles with the girls program (2023, 2024) before adding one with the boys in 2025. Orem won 16 of its final 18 matches, finishing things off with a sweep of Region 7 foe Timpanogos in the 4A final at UVU’s UCCU Center in May.
5 Knights are winners again
Once Nancy Warner and the Lone Peak girls basketball program takes the floor, championships follow. The Knights were just the No. 6 seed in February’s 6A state finals but topped No. 1 Copper Hills 46-42 to win the school’s fourth straight title. A slow start against a murderous non-region schedule left Lone Peak at 4-8 heading into 2026 but don’t count the Knights out just yet.
4. Tigers on top
Orem football benefited from some top-tier transfers in 2025, including BYU signee Juni Moala from Davis, Utah signee Aisa Galea’i from Timpview and linebacker Easton Kojima from Maple Mountain. Still, the Tigers started the season 1-2 with losses to Lone Peak and Rocky Mountain (Idaho). Lance Reynolds Jr. got the Tigers to buy in and they reeled off 11 straight wins, including a dominating 42-7 victory against Springville for the 5A title.
3 Lions roar in boys hoops
Payson flew under the radar for much of last season but earned the No. 2 seed in the 4A state tournament with a 17-5 record. The Lions defeated Desert Hills, Pine View and Hurricane by a combined 18 points to earn a spot in the finals against No. 1 Green Canyon. Daily Herald Player of the Year Legend Reynoso scored 15 points as the Lions topped the Wolves 54-51 at America First Events Center in Cedar City to win the school’s first-ever boys basketball state title.
2. (tie) Last call
Dusty Litster spent the past 20 years announcing high school sports, helping to stream games on the internet and providing much-needed coverage for thousands of athletes and hundreds of programs. No one had more enthusiasm and love for the coaches, players and games. After a long battle with brain cancer, Litster passed away on September 3, 2025 at the age of 41, leaving a huge void felt by fans all over the state.
2. (tie) See Jane run
Distance superstar Jane Hedengren of Timpview is on a path that might lead her to international superstardom, and that’s not just hype. Hedengren was named the Gatorade National Girls Track and Field Player of the Year in 2025 after dominating races across the country. At the state track meet, Hedengren won the 3200-meter run, finished second in the 800 meters and was the third leg on the 4×400 relay team for the T-Birds 5A state champs in the spring. Now at BYU, Hedengren finished second in the NCAA cross country finals as a freshman and has continued to set records nearly every time she runs.
1. Dons won’t be denied
Head coach Hadley Thorpe and the Spanish Fork baseball team won what is arguably the most improbable state championship in state history in any sport in April, beating No. 2 seed Brighton two games to one to claim the 5A baseball championship as a No. 20 seed.
The Dons posted a 2-11 record after 13 games and were just 9-16 entering the 5A tournament. Thorpe pushed all the right buttons and Spanish Fork beat No. 13 Clearfield and No. 4 Alta in the regionals and super regionals, respectively, then defeated No. 5 Cyprus and top seed Maple Mountain (twice) in bracket play to advance to the three-game championship series. Spanish Fork’s 10-game run through the playoffs (with a 9-1 record) as the No. 20 seed was truly one of the most stunning performances we’ve ever seen.
