Monticello girls golf earns second place at state meet, boys take fifth

By Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The Monticello High School girls golf team was looking for their second state championship in a row and the boys were vying for their first title since 1979 when they headed to Layton for the 1A Utah State Golf Championships at the Lakeside Golf Course Tuesday and Wednesday, May 14-15.
It was a beautiful two days for golf and both teams played beautiful rounds. The girls opened on Wednesday with a 203-stroke front nine, then shot 205 in the back nine for a total of 408.
Unfortunately, Manila, who had been second to the Lady Buckaroos all season, were a few shots better going out and coming in for a total of 392 strokes and the 1A Utah State Championship.
The second-place finish is slightly disappointing for a Monticello team that is one of the most talented in school history. Still being runners-up is nothing to shake a stick at, and the girls can truly hold their heads high.
Individually, Alise Lewis shot a very nice 93 to finish second to Manila’s Abby Schofield by just 11 strokes. Cambree Chamberlain took third with a 97-stroke day.
Alli Young shot 104 to earn a spot in a five-way tie for eighth place. Lilli Burton tied Rich’s Hilary Rex for 24th with 113 strokes on the day. Jane Burton was 39th with 132 strokes and Annaleigh Nebeker was 40th with a 133-stroke outing.
It was a two-round tournament for the boys team with a round played on each day. The Buckaroos shot 373 as a team on Tuesday and found themselves just above the day-one cutline in fifth place.
They tightened it up even more on Wednesday to shoot 359 for a total of 732. In the final 1A Utah State Championship standings Monticello finished fifth, just one stroke behind fourth-place Panguitch.
The Bucks were just seven strokes out of third place, 12 strokes out of second place, and 26 strokes behind the state champion Rich Rebels in what was a very tightly-contested five-team race.
Traken Lee led Monticello with a two-day total of 169 to finish fifth overall in the state. He moved up three spaces thanks to a very strong round on day two. Darrin Westcott tied for 13th in the state with his two-day total of 182.
Jackson Keyes shot a 189 at the tournament to finish 20th and teammate Kooper Nielson was right behind in 21st with a 192. Curtis Bunker was 26th with his two rounds totaling exactly 200 strokes. And Canyon Christensen tallied a 235 for both days and came home 37th.
Traken Lee ended his trip north in a third-place tie for most pars at the tournament with 15. He was tied in fourth place for most pars or better with 16.
Lee was the third-best player on the front nine of the course at just nine over par. His bogey-free streak of five holes in the second round was second-best in the tournament.