This season was the first for UHSAA-sanctioned boys and girls state lacrosse championships and included three separate division tournaments. The top 16 teams in RPI rankings competed in Division A, the next 16 in Division B and the remaining 25 teams in Division C. After the first few rounds of playoffs, Bountiful and Viewmont’s boys are still alive as are the Woods Cross girls teams.

Davis – Boys

Davis came into the Division A tournament ranked sixth and faced #11 Bingham May 18. The teams were tied 4-all at halftime before the Darts went on to win 12-9.

“Our offense was slow to start the first half but came out in the third quarter and turned it on to score five goals,” said head coach Dillon Yocom. “We played pretty solid team defense from start to finish, but Bingham played us tough and kept fighting the whole game.”

Rhett Rice had six goals and one assist to lead Davis with Blake Williams (two goals, one assist), Kash Gates (one goal), Mason Gagner (one goal), Connor Johnson (one goal), Nick Johnson (one goal) and Mason Kilgore (three assists) also helping the offense.

Yocom credited goalie Kache Allen for his defense. “He played great in the cage for us and made lots of great saves as well as some other great defensive plays on guys around the crease,” Yocom said. Luke Johnson created seven turnovers, playing “huge on defense,” according to Yocom while Emerson Bell also caused some turnovers and “came up big for us in the transition game.”

Against Brighton, the Darts lost 13-9. 

“It was a tough loss,” Yocom said. “Going into the fourth quarter, we were down 7-6 and we kept fighting to the end. We didn’t play our best, but Mason Kilgore single handedly kept us in the game the entire time. He scored our first four goals and he also played lockdown defense. He probably had his best game of the season and stepped up huge for us.”

The Darts’ loss ended a 16-2 season. “That is still such a great accomplishment for these players and shows the consistency that our great group of seniors brought every single week for the past few months,” Yocom said. “This team fought through many adversities, including multiple injuries that you would think would set our team back but everyone kept stepping up to the challenge when they got a chance.”

Davis – Girls

Davis lost to Olympus 21-14 in the Division A tournament May 18. The Darts were down 11-7 at halftime, but couldn’t close the gap in the second half.

Piper Searle led Davis with seven goals and one assist with Sam Wilkes (two goals, two assists), Kaydence Johnson (two goals), Macie Wood (one goal, two assists), Makenzie Coleman (one goal) and Kerri Norton (one goal) also helping offensively.

The Darts end their season with a 14-3 record.

“Overall, I feel like this season was a really good building year,” said head coach Makenzie Hekking. “We were heavily dependent on our experienced upperclassmen, especially at the first of the season. Towards the end, we started to have better distribution of the ball and more girls contributing. While our season didn’t end the way we would have like, it leaves us room for improvement next year.”

Bountiful – Boys

Bountiful, playing in the Division B tournament, came in as the No. 6 seed and faced 11th-ranked Copper Hills, winning 19-4 May 18. Teegan Dougher had four goals and five assists to lead the Braves with nine points while Sam Lefevre (five goals, two assists), Hayden Hanson (four goals), Declan Watt (three goals), Isaac Stout (one goal, five assists), Elijah Lowe (one goal) and Porter Hadley (one goal) also contributed offensively.

Against Sky View May 21, Bountiful won 11-10. Lefevre had four goals and two assists with Hanson also scoring four goals to go with one assist. Also producing offense for the Braves were Dougher (one goal, two assists), Cole Terry (one goal, one assist), Lowe (one goal) and Watt (one assist).

Bountiful was scheduled to face Westlake in the semifinals at West Jordan High School May 26.

Bountiful – Girls

Bountiful lost to Westlake 14-7 in the Division C state playoffs May 19. The Braves were down 7-3 at half and scored four more goals in the second half, but it wasn’t enough.

“It was a good game,” said head coach Olivia Cope.

Synnove Price-Huish led Bountiful in scoring with four goals while Lauren Jensen had two goals and Naomi Bryce one. The Braves finished with a 6-8 record this year.

Viewmont – Boys

After a first round win in the Division C state tournament last week over Mountain View, Viewmont, ranked #11, upset sixth-seeded Logan 11-0 May 19. The Vikings were down 5-2 after the first quarter before scoring three goals by halftime to tie the game. Six goals in the second half lifted Viewmont over the Grizzlies.

“The boys came to life and handled Logan,” said head coach Don Stringham.

Against Bonneville May 21, the Vikings won 10-5, going up early and holding a 4-3 lead at the break before scoring six second-half goals to widen the gap in the win.

“We have found our groove and are playing really well,” Stringham said. “The defense locked down Bonneville’s top scorers and the offense found opportunities to score.

Viewmont faced Bear River in the semifinals May 26 at Bingham High School.

Viewmont – Girls

12th-seeded Viewmont moved on in the Division C state playoffs after a win over Logan last week and defeated fifth-ranked Sky View 8-7. The Vikings came back from a 5-3 halftime deficit to put up five second half goals in the narrow win.

Against Lehi May 21, Viewmont lost 10-5.

“Our Viking warriors put up a great fight,” said head coach Dana Fisher. “The match was well played and we walked away with our heads held high.” Viewmont finished the season with a 5-10 record.

“Over half the team was brand new to lacrosse and to make quarterfinals says a lot about the players,” Fisher said.

Woods Cross – Boys

Woods Cross, coming off an upset win over 14th-ranked West Jordan last week in the Division C state tournament, came up short against third-seeded Bonneville 12-7 May 19. The Wildcats went into halftime down 5-0 and played the Lakers evenly in the second half, but it wasn’t enough.

“Our offense began to work more fluidly as a group, and our defense really found its stride, so much so that we went into West Jordan knowing for the first time all season that we were going to win that game, and win we did,” said head coach Josh Hanks. “We followed that with another extremely competitive loss to Bonneville, a team that had already beaten us by a combined 31 to 7 in our first two meetings. Our boys played incredibly hard, but sadly our season ended with a loss that was closer than the final score.”

Hanks said the 1-1 start to the season showed a lot of “promise and optimism,” but senior Will Johnston and sophomore Seth Laycock both suffered torn ACLs early in the year while concussions and back, knee, ankle and wrist injuries also put several main players on the sidelines.

Woods Cross finished with a 2-15 record. “Despite our season-long challenges, I am very proud and honored to have had the privilege of coaching this team in their inaugural season as a sanctioned sport,” Hanks said.

Senior goalie Noa Aguayo was named First Team All-Region while junior Connor Williams earned Second Team All-Region honors along with Jeff Fauonuku being recognized as Honorable Mention All-Region. Thomas Larsen was an Academic All-State recipient as well.

Woods Cross – Girls

Woods Cross received a first round bye in the Division C state playoffs as the #1 seed and defeated 16th-ranked Skyline May 19 11-6. Against ninth-ranked Payson May 21, the Wildcats won 11-7.

Woods Cross was set to face #4 Lehi in the semifinals May 25 at West Jordan High School.

Farmington – Boys

Farmington entered the Division A playoffs as the third seed, but lost in the final seconds to 14th-ranked Brighton 9-8 May 18.

“We tip our hats to a great Brighton team who fought hard and came out on top,” said head coach Christian Taylor. “It was neck and neck all game and with 4.6 seconds left on the clock.”

The Phoenix squad’s first loss of the season through 17 games ended up closing out their season.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our boys this year,” Taylor said. “This is only our third year as a program and to end top three in the state this first year of sanctioning is just a tremendous accomplishment and a result of their hard work. It’s been so gratifying as a coaching staff to see the success, passion and brotherhood of these boys grow throughout the year and we pay tribute to our remarkable senior class who has led out on and off the field from day one. We will keep building on the foundation laid, regroup, retool and be ready to go again next year.”

Farmington – Girls

Eighth-seeded Farmington defeated ninth-ranked Fremont 7-6 in overtime May 18 in the Division A state tournament. 

“Man, what an exciting game,” said head coach Annabelle Roche. “Our team did well on our transitions up the field and our patience on attack. Fremont had the toughest defense we have seen all season so it was crucial to be patient and wait for the right shot.”

Senior Paige Burwell scored the sudden death goal to put Phoenix into the next round. “She has been a top scorer all season with impressive stats in the midfield as well,” Roche said, and also noted the “outstanding game” from Riley Sant. “Riley was eager to get turnovers and quick to transition the ball up to the attack. She played a key role in keeping possession in the game.”

Against top-ranked Park City May 21, Farmington lost 27-0 to end the Phoenix squad’s 14-2 season.