ST. GEORGE — Crimson Cliffs boys golf ran their way through the Region 9 schedule, and they continued that run into the state tournament, beating the second-place finisher by 25 points.
“It was an awesome experience,” Luke Schone said. “I knew if we just played our game, going up there we could win it as a team. I knew we were expected to win, but we couldn’t just go up there knowing we would win it.”
The team is very easy-going, evident by their light-hearted argument about what their state championship ring would look like. Going back and forth about colors, sizes and logos, the team continually cracked jokes. The room was filled with laughter.
“It was fun to have this team,” Curtis Matheson said. “We’re just a bunch of goofballs, so we just had fun and could rally off each other. We were just trying to beat each other.”
The competitiveness within the team is what led the Mustangs to their success. They never played down to their competitions level, instead they competed against themselves, and aimed for the lowest possible score. Matheson mentioned that sometimes the team would aim to win by 30, 40 or even 50 strokes in some tournaments.
“I think what was so cool is we were all just so competitive,” Cruz Kirchhausen said. “Every single one of us was able to win a tournament. It was like, ‘am I going to beat this person this week and really try to get the number one spot?'”
When Crimson Cliffs opened its doors, no one knew what to expect. Suddenly the pieces started to come together, and Schone said that when the Felts brothers moved into town, he knew they’d be pretty good.
Zach Felts came out on the first day and shot a 68, the best round a player had the entire tournament.
“It felt good. Got the putter rolling on the back a little bit, which helped,” Felts said. “It was nice to pitch in and help the team with that first day lead.”
Schone saw the score and knew that the Mustangs were going to be in a good position.
“Just knowing that anyone on our team could win it, it’s almost more competitive in practices then in some of the tournaments because we’re all playing against each other,” Schone said.
On day two, Kirchhausen led the charge for the Mustangs, scoring a team best 70. That was one of the lowest scores of the day as well.
“I really wanted my score to count at least for one of the days,” Kirchhausen said. “I really just wanted to help the team out and get that first state title.”
This was the first state title for the boys golf team, as well as the first state and region title for the school.
“It was good to get the first state championship for the school,” Ty Felts said. “We all kind of fed off each other and had a good season.”
Mention of the Golden State Warriors dynasty was made during the ring selection process, as some of the players looked at a massive ring filled with crystals.
Head coach Todd Meyer said he didn’t want this win to be the last, and one couldn’t help but think that with the young talent the Mustangs have, and are bringing in, Crimson Cliffs is shaping up to be a golf powerhouse in Class 4A.
“Next year we’re going to add a couple really good freshman, so we’re hoping to go back-to-back next year,” Schone said.
The players began to talk about which Golden State player they were most like.
They agreed that Luke is like Kevin Durant, Curtis is like Klay Thompson because of his consistency, and Cruz is like Draymond Green.
All joking aside, the Mustangs are poised to return to the state tournament and fight for back-to-back state championships. Be on the lookout for the Crimson Cliffs boys golf team for years to come.
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