Golfers bring home 3A State Championship

After losing the state championship to Richfield in 2022 after four consecutive state championships (2018,2019, 2020, 2021), the Trojans have reclaimed their title. Behind the brilliant play of junior Lance Loughton and senior Zaylin McCleary and bolstered by impressive second-round improvements by freshman Caleb Rees and junior Daxon Loertscher, Morgan won the title in grand fashion by 15 strokes over Union 591 to 606. Richfield, the 2022 champions, was third at 608. Loughton finished the tournament 6-under par while McCleary shot one under at 143 to tie for runner-up.  

The Trojans fought wind, rain, and cold for two days to come out on top Thursday, Oct. 12 at Meadow Brook Golf Course to bring home the school’s sixth title. Head coach Dennis Peterson has led the team to all five titles since 2018.  Neil Carrigan coached the 1994 team who won the only other championship for the Trojans.

The weather may have been horrible, but Morgan was prepared. Loughton shared, “When the team saw the forecast on the days of the state championship, we were not discouraged. Instead, we felt like it was an advantage to us because we all had the correct gear. We also believed that if we came into the tournament embracing the bad weather, we would definitely have an advantage”

“Multiple players on the team have had experience in the rain so they shared tips and good ideas that would help us on the course. Our coach, who has been coaching for a long time, also knew ways to help the team. I believe that our success in the poor weather was all in our mental and physical preparation.”

McCleary added, “Being prepared as we were was essential to playing in the elements and played a crucial part in our win.”

After Day 1 of the tournament, the Trojans held a four-stroke lead, 295, over Richfield at 299. Union and Carbon were both tied at 304. Loughton shot a 67 (5-under par), and McCleary also finished under par at 70.

On Day 2, Loughton and McCleary scored 71 and 73 respectively to earn their individual accolades. Loughton completed the tournament at 138 while McCleary tied Ogden’s Jess Jones at 143. Morgan’s number three and four scoring golfers freshman Caleb Rees and junior Daxon Loertscher made significant improvements in their Day 2 rounds to bolster the team’s efforts and expand their lead. Rees improved his Day 2 score by three strokes from a 77 to a 74, and Loertscher went from an 86 on Day 1 to a 78 on Day 2!

McCleary shared, “While I can’t really point out any specific things that we did better than the other teams other than hitting 15 fewer balls, I can name some of our strengths we have.”

“Our team is a group full of buddies just going out and doing what they love. There isn’t one kid on this team that anyone could look down on. All of the boys are truly awesome, friendly, down to earth, respectable, and just overall fun to be around.”

“Isaac, Daxon, Jackson, and Caleb were major components in our success throughout the season, and more importantly when it mattered most. With our region being especially tight this year, we had to bring out A-game to every match, which means 4 solid scores just about every week.”

“I love how those boys stepped up every week and put forth their best effort in order to get a win. Without those boys, Morgan would not be Region Champs, or more importantly State Champs!” McCleary concluded.

Loughton, who finished tied for third in 2022 at state, credits his “opportunity to play a ton of tournaments of the summer” for the improvement in his game this year. “This helped me learn to score well on the golf course and gain confidence and experience.”

Loughton gave a shout-out to his family, “especially my dad/swing coach, and mom, who rarely misses a tournament.”  

“I’m grateful for their support as well as all of our other supporters!”

Loughton’s favorite thing about golf is “the difficult challenge that it is, and how rewarding it is when you succeed because GOLF IS HARD.” He also likes the relationships that are formed through tournaments and team golf.  

Loughton adds his name to five others from Morgan High who have won the individual medalist honor: Tanner Telford (2021, 2019), Nathan Preslar (2018), Ross Sommers (1973), and Terry Bitton (1971).

McCleary was thrilled to win a state title his senior year after finishing a disappointing fifth last year. “With this being my last season, it was awesome to go out on a high note, but, honestly with all the hard work the team put forth day in and day out throughout the entirety of the season, I would've been very surprised for us to be anything but state champs!”

Both Loughton and McCleary praised Peterson as a coach  Loughton explained, “Dennis is a great coach because he supports us, is a great friend, and promotes a great team culture.”

McCleary reminisced, “Man, these past 4 years with Dennis as my coach have been everything I hoped for and more. Dennis is not only a great coach, but a great friend and I will forever cherish the fun times over the years that I’ve gotten to spend with him”

“Dennis has an awesome sense of humor and definitely isn’t one to sugarcoat things. If you mess up, he’ll let you know, but he does so in a way that makes you feel as though he’s already forgotten about it and looking forward to winning the next tournament.”

“Dennis is the type of guy that will always give you a smile, head nod, then see how you’re doing whenever he sees you.” 

“The thing I’m going to miss the most about Dennis are his little talks he’d give each of his players after they’d had a bad hole. It was always something like- “You’re okay, keep grinding, there’s a lot more golf to play.” Dennis will forever be the best golf coach I’ve ever had, and I can’t wait to see more success from him in the future!”

Morgan’s other golfers who participated in the state tournament were Isaac Belliston and Jackson Palmer.  Both golfers scored for the Trojans throughout the season en route to their Region and State Championships. λ