ST. GEORGE — The Crimson Cliffs High School boys golf team won the 4A state championship Thursday, marking the fourth state title for the Mustangs in the school’s five-year history.
Led by senior Boston Bracken’s 11-under-par score of 133, Crimson Cliffs posted a two-day team score of 579, outdistancing runner-up Orem by 16 strokes. The tournament was played at The Ridge Golf Club in West Valley City.
Bracken shot a 65 on Wednesday followed by a 68 on Thursday to capture top individual medalist honors by five strokes. Remarkably, Bracken’s second-day score included a self-assessed four-stroke penalty.
“He ended up finding out he had an extra club in his bag,” explained Utah PGA executive director Devin Dehlin as he handed out the medals afterward. “That’s a four-shot penalty. And he’s the only one that knew that it was in his bag. He could have just gone on and played off. Luckily, he had made a lot of birdies, so it was all good. Didn’t cost anything.”
Added Dehlin: “Trophies are great, but it’s all about your integrity.”
Crimson Cliffs head coach Cody Felts shared similar sentiments as he talked about Bracken’s inadvertent penalty, which occurred with just two holes left to play on Thursday.
“Boston realized on the 17th tee that he had an extra club in his bag, and at the time thought it would cost the team a championship and also the individual championship for himself, but he did what was right and called it on himself,” Felts told St. George News, adding, “Once we got into scoring, they let us know that it was a four-shot penalty and not worse, like we anticipated.”
“Championships are nice but they’re not the most important thing in life,” Felts said. “So for him to have that level of integrity and then be told he’s still going to win, was a very rewarding moment for him. Boston is a tremendous golfer and showed it in these tough conditions. He’s also a great person with extreme integrity.”
Felts also had high praise for the rest of Crimson’s golfers, including senior Lincoln Markham, who finished fifth overall with a 1-under-par score of 143. Also competing for the Mustangs were juniors Jarren Phillips, Maverick Rhodes and Ryder Davison, plus sophomore Dylan Winona.
“Our younger players showed up and played great as well,” Felts said. “It was a team effort to win today.”
Felts spoke of the challenging weather conditions that the golfers faced both days.
“Conditions were brutal these last two days, with a cold front that moved in with rain and wind,” he said. “As a St. George team we don’t play in those conditions very often, so to see the boys accept the challenge and play well was very rewarding to watch as a coach.”
Adding to the challenge, Felts added, as the fact that the newly expanded 4A classification now includes several schools that Crimson Cliffs had never before competed against, including runner-up Orem and third-place finisher Park City.
“Overall, it was another fun season with a lot of great memories,” Felts said. “These are a great group of boys to be around. They dedicate their lives to the game and it shows that hard work does pay off and I’m so happy for them to be rewarded for their hard work and dedication to this game.”
For complete detailed tournament results, including hole-by-hole scores, courtesy of Utah PGA, click here.
4A boys golf state championship
The Ridge Golf Club, West Valley City, Oct. 11-12
Top 10 team scores
- Crimson Cliffs, 579 (+3).
- Orem, 595 (+19).
- Park City, 598 (+22).
- Desert Hills, 599 (+23).
- Timpanogos, 608 (+32).
- Sky View, 610 (+34).
- (tie) Dixie, 621 (+45).
- (tie) Snow Canyon, 611 (+45).
- Cottonwood, 626 (+50).
- Ridgeline, 638 (+62).
Top 10 individual scores
- Boston Bracken, Crimson Cliffs, 65-68-133.
- Noah Moody, Timpanogos, 69-69-138.
- Maddox Nielson, Orem, 69-70-139.
- Miles Cromwell, Sky View, 68-73-141.
- Lincoln Markham, Crimson Cliffs, 69-74-143.
- Forrest Summers, Park City, 71-73-144.
- Preston Cheney, Jordan, 73-72-145.
- (tie) Brock Porter, Desert Hills, 72-74-146.
- (tie) Carter Papke, Timpanogos, 76-70-146.
- (tie) Jack Griffith, Stansbury, 73-73-146.
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