Crimson Cliffs wins 2nd straight state 4A golf title; Desert Hills runner-up

Crimson Cliffs players and coaches winning the 4A state golf tournament, Taylorsville, Utah, Oct. 8, 2020 | Photo courtesy of Steve Schone, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The Crimson Cliffs Mustangs won their second straight 4A boys golf state championship Thursday, rolling to a 45-stroke victory at Meadow Brook Golf Course in Taylorsville.

Senior Lucas Schone of Crimson Cliffs holds team trophy after the Mustangs won the 4A state golf tournament, Taylorsville, Utah, Oct. 8, 2020 | Photo courtesy of Steve Schone, St. George News

The Mustangs shot 9-under during the tournament’s first round Wednesday, then followed that with a 3-under 285 during Round 2 on Thursday to finish with a 12-under team score of 564.

Coming in second place was Region 9’s Desert Hills. The Thunder shot 303 the first day and 306 the second day to finish with a +33 score of 609, just four strokes ahead of third-place Ridgeline’s 613. 

Crimson Cliffs, which has gone undefeated in boys golf matches since the school’s inception last year, was led by senior Luke Schone, who fired a 67 the first day and a 68 the second to finish with a 9-under score of 135, three strokes better than runner-up Braydon Griffith of Stansbury.

Taking third overall individually was Crimson Cliffs freshman Boston Bracken, who birdied the 18th hole Thursday to finish 1-under for the day and 5-under for the tournament. Junior Zach Felts of Crimson Cliffs shot 1-under both days to finish with a 142 and earn fourth-place individual medalist honors. The Mustang’s fourth-best score was by junior Cruz Kirchhausen, who shot 4-over (73-75) and placed ninth individually.

Crimson Cliffs head coach Todd Meyer said he was pleased to have all four of his team’s top golfers make it into the top 10, including top individual medalist winner Schone.

“I thought last year’s team was good, and they set the bar pretty high,” Meyer told St. George News. “This year’s team surpassed them almost all year, every meet.”

“Other than the low under-par round, which the first year’s team score of 11-under still stands. But other than that, I think we pretty much surpassed all of last year’s marks.”

Golfers compete in the 4A state championship tournament, Taylorsville, Utah, Oct. 8, 2020 | Photo courtesy of Desert Hills High School Athletics, St. George News

With the Mustangs losing only one player (Schone) to graduation next spring, Meyer said he thinks next year’s team is poised to be even better.

“The kids that we presently have are going to work and practice and give this year’s team a run for their money,” he said. “With Boston and some of the freshmen that we have, we should continue to compete in the state tournament at a high level for a while.”

In addition to having the top two teams, Region 9 also saw the Pine View Panthers finish fourth overall and the Hurricane Tigers take ninth. 

Although the Dixie Flyers didn’t make the cut to continue as a team for the second round of the tournament, Dixie junior Jax McMurdie competed individually and ended up in fifth place overall at 1-under.

The runner-up Desert Hills Thunder were led by Boston Dixon, who finished tied for eighth individually with a score of 147 (71-76). Click here to see full tournament results, including hole-by-hole scorecards of every player.

UHSAA state 4A boys golf championship

Meadow Brook, Oct. 7-8 (36 holes)

Individual top 10 medalists

  1. Lucas Schone, Crimson Cliffs -9 (67-68, 135)
  2. Braydon Griffith, Stansbury -6 (68-70, 138)
  3. Boston Bracken, Crimson Cliffs -5 (69-71, 139)
  4. Zach Felts, Crimson Cliffs -2 (71-71, 142)
  5. Jax McMurdie, Dixie -1 (71-72, 143)
  6. (tie) Beckham Johansen, Ridgeline +2 (73-73, 146)
  7. (tie) Michael Stirland, Hurricane +2 (69-77, 146)
  8. Boston Dixon, Desert Hills +3 (71-76, 147)
  9. Cruz Kirchhausen, Crimson Cliffs +4 (73-75, 148)
  10. (tie) Tristan McKinney, Cedar Valley +5 (71-78, 149)
  11. (tie) Braden Alder, Sky View +5 (73-76, 149)

Top 10 team results

  1. Crimson Cliffs -12 (279-285, 564)
  2. Desert Hills +33 (303-306, 609)
  3. Ridgeline +37 (310-303, 613)
  4. (tie) Green Canyon +45 (304-317, 621)
  5. (tie) Pine View +45 (313-308, 621)
  6. Cedar Valley +51 (307-320, 627)
  7. Sky View +55 (318-313, 631)
  8. Bear River +58 (313-321, 634)
  9. Hurricane +61 (312-325, 637)
  10. Logan +85 (328-333, 661)

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!