4-PEAT CHAMPIONS FOR LONE PEAK

It's amazing how many state championships Lone Peak

wins in a year!!!

Shawn Brenchley, left (grew up in my ward)

Max Brenchley, son, 5th from left

MIDWAY -  The majority of high schools participating in the state golf tournament might have one player, who could challenge for individual medalist honors if his drives are straight and his putts find the cup. Some schools might have two players that good, but no one has three.

Lone Peak has six.

On the final day of the state 5A golf tournament on Tuesday afternoon at Soldier Hollow, Lone Peak continued its golf dynasty by becoming the first team to win four straight 5A golf championships.

The Knights turned in a stunning performance. They shot a team score of 283 on Monday, and in Tuesday’s final round they shot a 269, which was the best single-day score in Utah prep golf history. Their overall team score of 552 also set a state record for overall team score.

All six of Lone Peak’s players were under par on Tuesday. Sky View finished a distant second at 581.

“These guys were ready to play today. They knew the course and we knew the hole locations so they just had to go out and execute and play their game,” said Lone Peak coach Rob Stanger. “As a coach it was extremely exciting to see them handle the pressure of the state tournament and play so well.”

Elijah Turner, who was Lone Peak’s No. 3 player based on Region 4 play, began the day as the tournament leader with a first-round score of 68. He shot another 68 and ended up tied with Weber’s Connor Howe for individual medalist honors.

The two needed a playoff hole to break the tie. Turner bogied and Howe made a par.

“Coming down the stretch I missed some putts. I bogied No. 17 and missed about a five-footer and missed an eight-footer on No. 16 for birdie but that’s golf, those things are going to happen,” Turner said. “All in all, I think I played great today and I couldn’t be happier. We played incredible and all of our guys played great today.”

Lone Peak’s Max Brenchley tied for third. After starting the tournament 5-over on the front nine on Monday, he caught fire. He finished the back nine with five birdies and carried that momentum into Tuesday when he shot a 66.

“We had a team meeting and we just talked about not giving up on each other,” Brenchley said. “It’s pretty special to do this with my teammates. It was awesome what we did today.”

Tyler Jones and Josh Rooker both finished with a two-day total of 139 and tied for fifth. Zach Jones checked in at 143 and Jaxon Long completed Lone Peak’s historic run with a 146.

Pleasant Grove finished fifth with a two-day total of 590. It was the best finish in the last 24 years. The Vikings were led by senior Keanu Akina, who made a hole-in-one on Monday. He didn’t ace a hole on Tuesday but did finish with 68 to record a two-day score of 141. American Fork’s Tanner Adams turned in the best score for the Cavemen with a 150.

Daily Herald sports writer Neil K. Warner can be reached atnwarner@heraldextra.com.