Monticello golf teams win Region 19 titles

By Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The Monticello High School girls golf team concluded a convincing regular season in defense of their 2023 Utah State Championship with another Region 19 title at the Hideout Golf Course on Monday, May 6.
It’s the fourth-straight region championship for the girls team and third in a row for the boys. And it sets both teams up for an excellent state tournament on May 14-15.
In the Region Championships the girls shot a combined 414 on their home course. Alise Lewis led the way with a round of 95. Cambree Chamberlain shot a 100, Alli Young carded a 107, and Lilli Burton scored 112.
Going back to April 24 the girls shot their best round of the season at the Carbon Country Club in Price with a 395 team score.
Chamberlain, Lewis, and Young all shot identical scores of 93 to pace the team. Lilli Burton rounded out the top four with a 116.
On May 3 the team played the Green River State Park Golf Course, scoring a very nice 398. Lewis led with her round of 92. Chamberlain carded a 96, Young scored 100, and Annaleigh Nebeker shot 110.
Not only have the Lady Buckaroos dominated Region 19 all season, but they’ve also been atop the 1A standings for the entire state all year.
Heading into the state tournament they’re almost 13 strokes ahead of second-place Manila based on the team average adjusted score and 21 strokes ahead based on team gross average.
Individually Alise Lewis is second in the state with a 93-stroke average. Cambree Chamberlain is fourth with an average of 98 strokes, and Alli Young is right behind in fifth with a 99-stroke average.
On the boys side Monticello crushed Pinnacle 356-504 to win the 2024 Region 19 Championship. Traken Lee shot a very nice 4-over par 76 to take the individual region title.
Darrin Westcott scored an 81 to finish second in the region, Jackson Keyes carded a 99 for fourth place, and Canyon Christensen shot 100 to earn fifth.
On April 24 the Buckaroos outscored the Panthers 335 strokes to 484 to win their region 19 event at the Carbon Country Club in Price.
Monticello golfers swept the top seven places with Traken Lee and Darrin Westcott both shooting 77s, Jackson Keyes a 90, Kooper Nielson 91, Curtis Bunker 106, Canyon Christensen 108, and Ryan Holt 110.
A trip to the Green River State Park Golf Course on Friday, May 3 produced the same result with the Bucks beating the Panthers 349 strokes to 494.
Traken Lee led once again with a round of 79 and Darrin Westcott took second with an 81-stroke performance. Jackson Keyes was fourth with a 93 and Kooper Nielson scored 96 to finish fifth.
Like the girls the MHS boys have led the region for the entirety of the season and they’re second in the state among 1A teams as they head into the state tournament, just barely.
The Buckaroos trail the 1A-leading Wayne Badgers by a measly .65 of a stroke based on the average adjusted team score. Rich is 5.21 average strokes behind Monticello in third.
Individually, Traken Lee is second in the state among 1A golfers with an average adjusted score of 79.34 and Darrin Westcott is third with an 80.07.
The girls are looking for their second state championship in a row and the boys are vying for their first title since 1979 when they head to Layton for the 1A Utah State Golf Championships at the Lakeside Golf Course Tuesday and Wednesday, May 14-15.