By a slim margin, the Farmington boys tennis team came up just short of winning the Class 6A state crown. 

The Phoenix were runners-up in the 6A state tournament, held May 15 and 17 at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City. Farmington had participants qualify at every position and advanced in all five as well. The Phoenix accumulated 49 points in the tournament, just two behind Lone Peak, the champions. Farmington was 11 points in front of third-place Skyridge and well in front of Weber, which, with 16 points, was the second-highest finisher from Region 1. 

Two singles players won individual state champions for Farmington.

At second singles, Justin Steed completed a dominate tournament with a convincing win in the finals. Steed won in the final round 6-0, 6-0, sparing any doubt that he was the top player in 6A in his division. Steed opened with a 6-0, 6-1 victory in the round of 16, followed by another 6-0. 6-1 win in the quarterfinals. The semifinals proved to be his most challenging matchup. There, he beat Luke Golding of Skyridge 6-1, 6-2. 

The championship capped a standout, memorable year for Steed, who was tough to beat all season long. 

Third singles player Nathaniel Bullard was equally as impressive. 

Bullard rolled to the final round with a 6-0, 6-0 win in the round of 16, followed by a 6-2, 6-0 win in the quarterfinals. Bullard moved by Skyridge’s Stockton Dyer 6-0, 6-2 in the semifinals to propel him to the championship. With the state crown on the line, Bullard did the same to his final opponent, beating Lone Peak’s Cache Carner 6-0. 6-2. 

First singles competitor Charles Frey nearly made it three individual champions for the Phoenix. 

In the championship match, Frey took on Calvin Armstrong of Skyridge. Frey gave his opponent all he could handle before falling 6-4. In the second game, he lost 6-2. Frey blanked his first opponent 6-0, 6-0 and then got past his quarterfinals foe 6-2, 6-0. In the semifinals, Frey beat Corner Canyon’s Beau Walker 6-3, 6-2. 

Farmington’s doubles teams earned the squad some points as well. 

The first doubles tandem of Spencer Ostermiller and Landon Packer had no trouble in the round of 16, prevailing 6-0, 6-0. In the quarterfinals, their season came to an end with a close 6-4, 6-4 loss. At second doubles, Jacob Stone and Blake Geddes nearly reached the finals. The duo won in the round of 16 by the count of 6-1, 6-0 and then advanced past the quarterfinals with a tough 7-6 (7-5), 6-0 win over a team from Corner Canyon. With a trip to the championship on the line, Stone and Geddes came up short, losing 6-2, 6-4. 

Farmington’s second-place showing was the best the school has ever produced. Last season, the Phoenix were third in 6A. 

Davis 

The Darts had some notable performances at the state tournament as well. 

Davis placed eighth in 6A out of 18 teams, compiling 12 points. The Darts were third among Region 1 teams, four points behind Weber (as well as Region 2 foe Bingham), which had 16. Like Farmington, Davis had participants at all five positions in the state tournament, a feat that helped the team earn points and move up the standings. 

The top performer was the first doubles team of Scott Finlinson and Will Parkinson, who were seeded first in the bracket. Finlinson and Parkinson had a grueling first game in the round of 16, outlasting a duo from Layton 7-6 (7-0). But the pair took game two 6-0 to advance to the quarterfinals. There, Finlinson and Parkinson had an even longer match, this time against a team from Bingham. The Davis tandem prevailed in a marathon math 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4. In the semifinals, Finlinson and Parkinson were just one win away from the right to play for a title. However, they couldn’t overcome Skyridge’s first doubles team and lost 6-4. 6-0. 

Second singles player Everett Halverson was seeded seventh coming into the tournament. He took on Bridger Hunt of Layton and won 6-0, 6-1. In the quarterfinals, however, Halverson lost 6-4, 6-3 to Tate Squires of Lone Peak, the No. 2 seed in the tournament. 

Owen Putnam made the first singles bracket as the No. 9 where he took on eighth-seeded Griffin Karras of American Fork. As expected, the match was close and exciting, but Putnam lost 7-5, 6-4. 

At third singles, the Darts’ Jacob Williams seeded ninth, gave eighth-seeded Sage Christenson of Pleasant Grove everything he could handle. After losing the first game 7-5, Williams took game two 6-3. However, he lost 6-4 in game 3 to end his chance of advancing. 

In second doubles, the Davis pair of Jeffrey Cook and Luke Edgington were seeded 11th in the bracket. They had a challenging draw against a team from Lone Peak but were able to take game one 6-4. The next games didn’t go their way, though, with Lone Peak winning 6-2, 6-2. 

Davis’ eighth-place finish was just below last season’s seventh-place showing. However, like this season, last year’s team also scored 12 points. The 2021 squad placed 11th, so the Darts are improving as a program. 

The Darts will regroup as a team next March, with some of its players playing club tennis between now and then. The Darts will also be looking for some of this season’s JV players to step up and replace those seniors who graduated at the end of the school year.