Top of his game: Buechner leads Skyridge to first boys lacrosse state title
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- Skyridge senior Cabell Buechner carries the ball against Corner Canyon in the 6A boys lacrosse state finals at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Saturday, May 23, 2026.
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- Skyridge senior Cabell Buechner (99) celebrates with his teammates after winning the 6A boys lacrosse state title at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Saturday, May 23, 2026.
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- Skyridge senior Cabell Buechner (99) celebrates a goal with teammate Tamanuitoi Johnson during the 6A boys lacrosse state finals against Corner Canyon at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Saturday, May 23, 2026.
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- Skyridge senior Cabell Buechner moves against the Corner Canyon defense in the 6A boys lacrosse state finals at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Saturday, May 23, 2026.
Skyridge senior Cabell Buechner, who won the Daily Herald Boys Soccer Valley Player of the Year in 2025, saw his overall numbers go down this season.
Yet he probably deserves the award even more.
Here’s the story behind that.
The Falcons lost to Davis 11-10 in the 6A semifinals in 2025, an overtime defeat where Buechner was hobbled with a sore knee.
Skyridge head coach Bart Butterfield decided he would do a much better job of keeping his best players healthy in 2026.
“Cabell especially had a couple of injuries in the past,” Butterfield said. “I was really sensitive this year to try to get him to the end of the season. Any game we were ahead by more than five points, a good portion of starters were not near the field. The stats for our guys were good but also a reflection of our depth and the need to develop our younger guys with eight or nine seniors graduating.”
There was enough depth to cut back on the minutes for Buechner and some of the other key Falcons, losing only to 5A power Olympus and five-time 6A champion Corner Canyon during the regular season.
The Falcons were healthy and ready during their state tournament run, which culminated in a 12-11 victory against the Chargers for their first boys lacrosse title.
“There were nerves because it was our first final,” Buechner said. “Corner Canyon was going to come out cocky and we were going to come out confident. The entire week the coaches stressed that we could win this game. The whole time we were thinking that we could. We made mistakes the first time we played so we knew what to do better. We believed it was the year to do it.”
As for the numbers, Buechner totaled 122 points in 2025 (70 goals, 52 assists) and shot .398, averaging 6.1 points per game. This season, Buechner had 89 points (50 goals, 39 assists), shot .446 and averaged 4.5 points per game. His shot attempts dropped from 176 to 112, but he was even more efficient in the minutes he played.
Butterfield recalled an early season game against Menlo, Calif., where Buechner flashed his immense talent.
“Menlo finished third in the CIF Northern Division last year,” Butterfield said. “In the first quarter, Cabell outscored them 7-6 all by himself. When he’s healthy and teams haven’t seen him to develop strategies, they take about a quarter to figure it out.”
Buechner had just two assists in the final against Corner Canyon but Butterfield said his senior still played a key role.
“Corner Canyon’s best defender is Maddox Green,” Butterfield said. “He’s a sophomore but he’s reclassing and going back East to a really good school out there. He’ll probably be an ACC/D1 guy. Cabell’s role in the game was to be occupied by their very best defender an he did just enough. Our game plan was not for him to score a bunch. If he was open, great, we love goals. But it wasn’t a situation where we needed points from him.”
Buechner relished the two assists he got in the game.
“I beat my guy and Tommy Hobbs, he’s a freshman and kind of short but a great inside finisher,” Buechner said. “I fed it to him and he scored. It was such a good feeling.”
As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Buechner found himself with the ball in his stick.
“I was carrying the ball and when the horn went off I tossed it up like I was a little kid,” he said. “I was just so excited that we finally did it.”
Buechner comes from a lacrosse family. His older sister, River, won the Daily Herald Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year twice (2021 and 2022) and is playing college lacrosse at Pomona Pitzer. Another older sister, Haven, plays at the University of Richmond. Younger sister Summer won Valley Player of the Year at Skyridge last season.
“Lacrosse is an amazing sport because of the creativity you can have,” he said. “They call it the fastest game on two feet because you’re going up and down the field. There are so many ways you can be a good player. You don’t have to just score goals.”
Butterfield said: “When he was playing — primarily the first through third quarter most of the time — he was a dominant game-changer. If there was a pile of guys going for a ground ball, it was weird to see someone else come out with it.
“Cabell is one of the best 11 guys in the state and he’ll probably be first team All-State again this year. I don’t know another guy in the Utah Valley that’s anywhere close, and if there is, it might be another one of my guys.”
Buechner will serve a church mission in Texas beginning June 24 and when he returns will play college lacrosse at Washington & Lee, an Eastern powerhouse in Lexington, Va.
“Last year I did most of my recruiting stuff,” he said. “They saw me at one game in a tournament and really liked me. Everything about the school is very cool. They have very good academics and are really good at lacrosse. I’m excited to go out there and learn the East coast style.”
