High school golf: Rowland Hall wins 2A title

PLEASANT VIEW – When Rowland Hall finished its round of golf Tuesday afternoon at The Barn Golf Course, reality sunk in. The Winged Lion had accomplished a remarkable milestone with their third straight state championship – winning by 27 strokes over second place South Summit with a final tally of 624.

Although confetti didn't fall from the sky and there weren't any parades scheduled for the following day – everyone in attendance was fully aware that they were witnesses to quite possibly one of the greatest teams to ever play 2A golf in the state of Utah.

Rowland Hall's head coach Shawn MacQueen was speechless out of emotion. After holding back tears, he was able to finally express his joy.

"It's just unbelievable," stated MacQueen, "I'm just so proud of them, and I'm gonna miss them. Groups like this just don't come around often. It's been an honor to coach them, and it's been an honor to be a part of their lives."

After leading by a slim three strokes after the first day – the Lion ignited a spark with four players shooting lower scores than the previous day. As a team – they dropped the team total by an astonishing 14 strokes to run away with the championship.

"I think more than anything it just shows the type of people they are. They've been such a joy to coach them and it's a testament to the type of people they are," said MacQueen, "They came to practice every day for four seasons since they were freshman. Never once did they complain, they're always excited to get to the range and hit a bucket of balls. They're just so passionate about golf."

With the championship trophy sewed up, the Winged Lion players made an appearance at Rowland Hall in support of the volleyball team, where they presented the trophy as a motivational technique. That is, of course, after they celebrated with the traditional team dinner.

When all was said and done, after a close medal race with Rowland Hall's Carson Huiskamp, South Summit's Taylor Haws defended his title for the second straight year with a second round score of 73 – finishing with 143 for the tournament.

"I feel great. It's nice to repeat," said Haws," I didn't play as well as I'd like to, but I got it done."

With the Tiger Woods attitude – in which he's never quite satisfied with his performance fueling his fire to improve his game with an undeniable work ethic – Haws is in a prime position to garnish the same title as Rowland Hall did Tuesday – win three straight medals.

When asked if he thought he would continue the streak, Haws answered without hesitation. "Yeah, I'm going to. For sure."

e-mail: tphibbs@desnews.com