MIDWAY – Desert Hills captured its seventh straight girls golf championship and Dixie junior Gracie Richens came as the individual state 3A champion as the two-day event concluded Thursday at Soldier Hollow Golf Course in Midway.
The Lady Thunder made up a three-point deficit (modified Stableford scoring) with a strong finish, though the outcome was still in doubt until the final scores were tabulated and posted. D-Hills finished with a score of 610, six points better than second-place Park City.
Richens, meanwhile, started strong on Thursday and never trailed, though Desert Hills senior Kyla Smith stayed close throughout. Richens edged Smith 174-172, with Park City’s Saylor Rabe coming in third at 163 and Pine View’s Taylor Bandley placing fourth with a 162. Bandley was second a year ago, losing in a playoff to three-time champ Katie Perkins.
Both Richens and Smith shot 74s on Wednesday, with Richens’ 76 on a windy Thursday good enough to get the win over Smith’s 78.
The Thunder and Miners pulled away from the pack on Thursday, making it a two-team race for the title. Desert Hills ended up with the advantage by placing three golfers among the top seven finishers, including Smith, Tori Thomas and K’Jahna Plant.
Lexi Hamel from Snow Canyon (fifth place) and Makayla Frei from Dixie (tied for 10th) also placed in the top 10.
Dixie grabbed third place in the team race, with Pine View fourth and Snow Canyon came in 10th.
Team scores (Modified Stableford system)
1. Desert Hills 610; 2. Park City 604; 3. Dixie 565; 4. Pine View 561; 5. Bear River 560; 6. Morgan 518; 7. Logan 504; 8. Stansbury 487; 9. Juab 491; 10. Snow Canyon 490.
Individual scores (Modified Stableford system)
174 — Gracie Richens, Dixie
172 — Kyla Smith, Desert Hills
163 — Saylor Rabe, Park City
162 — Taylor Bandley, Pine View
161 — Lexi Hamel, Snow Canyon
156 — Tori Thomas, Desert Hills; K’Jahna Plant, Desert Hills
154 — Sarah Marshall, Park City
151 — Madi Giles, Bear River
150 — Mikayla Frei, Dixie; Sam Prom, Logan; Katie Growe, Juan Diego
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