High school golf: Lone Peak looks to repeat

Last golf season the Lone Peak Knights were considered a strong team in their own region but really didn't earn a lot of respect from the established powerhouse golf programs around the state until the state championships.

But after every Knight played his best golf of the season at the 5A state tournament at Soldier Hollow to win the state championship, Lone Peak opened a lot of eyes. Now, the attention and respect the Knights earned last season has turned into high expectations for this year — especially considering they have every contributing player back from last year's championship team.

"I've told the kids that the No. 1 thing that they can't do is get arrogant," Lone Peak coach Troy Nordick said. "They have to continue to work hard because any arrogance is going to kill them this season."

So far, at the season's midway point, the Knights are handling the pressure pretty well with a dominating lead in Region 4. Nordick hasn't had to deal with any letdowns at all. Defending state medalist Garrett Fotu is currently third in the region standings, with teammate Joe Parkinson sitting atop the league standings.

Depth is again Lone Peak's biggest strength, with the Knights having seven of the region's top 14 in the medalist standings. Parkinson, in particular, has been outstanding this fall not only in his prep matches but in weekend tournaments as well. He was the second-low amateur at the Utah Open last month.

"I don't think there's one player on our team who didn't get better during the summer," Nordick said. "Our depth is so good that it's going to be tough to decide which six kids will go to state."

Up north, Syracuse and Fremont, the two favorites heading into last year's state tournament, are paying attention. Both return most of their core players as well and are taking charge of Region 1. The Silver Wolves — currently leading the league standings — are led by Patrick Fishburn, Ryan Sarlo and Cody Wass. The Titans have three stars in Colton Ogden, Devon Purser and Colton Dallimore.

"Golf is crazy. Any team, if it plays well, can win any tournament. So I think there's two or three teams from every region that can play," Nordick said.

In Region 2's standings, Skyline is leading Cottonwood. In Region 3, the Bingham Miners are in charge.

The 5A leagues also have most of the state's top players. Even though their teams might be underdogs at this point, Brandon Kida (Layton), Travis Norseth (Skyline), Jaden Jackson (Skyline), Kenny You (Alta), Andy Sluder (Cottonwood) and Jaxson Taylor (American Fork) are good enough to challenge for the state medalist crown.