Woods Cross High junior Dylan Markisich finished off last season in a slump, getting beat out in a team playoff and left off the Wildcats’ state team which ended up placing 10th. “It broke his heart,” dad Corey Markisich said. “So, he made a goal that that was not going to happen again.”

Instead, Dylan’s hope for a top-10 showing in Region 5 individually turned out even better than imagined. On Oct. 2, he won medalist honors for the season after an even-par round of 72 at Round Valley Golf Course.

“It was a good day,” Dylan Markisich said. “I knew if I came out on top in my foursome [of the top four in the region] I could win region. I played good and then I had to wait for everyone else to come in. When I finally saw the final scores, I thought, ‘Wow, I did it!’”

“For him to win region overall, it was a little touch and go,” said Corey Markisich. “He got off to a hot start this season and then he stalled a bit the next few tournaments where he played well, but everyone else kind of caught up. It came down to this last tournament. I almost had a heart attack with how nervous I was for him as we were waiting for the scores.”

“I was proud of the way Dylan played,” said WXHS head coach David Simon. “There are some really great golfers in this region and for him to battle to the end to win medalist honors is a huge accomplishment. He was actually down a couple of points going into the tournament so he had to beat a couple of other golfers to have a chance to win and he was able to do that by one stroke.”

Woods Cross was led at the Region 5 tournament by Brooks Bybee, Jackson Bodily and Clayton Schmitt who all had rounds of one-under-71. Markisich’s 72 rounded out the Wildcats’ team score of 285 with Josh Allen and Lance Henriksen both shooting 75s, Sam Bennett bringing in a 77 and Landon Day an 86. Their performances helped the squad hoist the team Region 5 trophy at Round Valley.

“It was a great day!” said Simon. “I will be honest, I was a little worried about how we would play in this tournament. We have been in a situation to win the region the last couple of years but did not end the season as well as we would have liked. That was not the case this time around. The boys played really well and focused and I was really proud of all of them.”

“Woods Cross has a really great team this year,” said Viewmont High head coach Cameron Gardner. “I hope they can win state.”

Joining Markisich on the All-Region 5 team were Schmitt, who tied for fifth, and Bennett, who tied for 12th.

What began as a 6-year-old with a golf club on a mowed-down lawn in the backyard has turned into something that WXHS’ Dylan Markisich is simply “crazy about,” according to his dad Corey, after he made a shift from soccer a couple of years ago because he felt he was better at golf.

“Three years ago, I realized that as an adult who had simply caught the bug of golf, I had taught Dylan all I knew,” said Corey Markisich. “I knew he needed something else, so we found him a coach [Rusty Obcemea] and he took off. Within six months, that coach told me that Dylan needed more than he had as well. So, we found him another coach [Chris Mulhall] and he’s been with him for the past two years.”

That work – coupled with the mental training with Mulhall of ‘letting the bad shots go and focusing on the next shot’ – paid off in the first tournament of the season at Bountiful Ridge Aug. 19 where the junior shot a personal-best 65. “On the 15th hole, I remember being 3-under and thinking that I could beat my best score,” Dylan said. “And then I proceeded to birdie three of the last four holes.”

He also tied for medalist honors at Eaglewood Aug. 27 with a round of 71 and finished in the top 10 in four of other six Region 5 tournaments this season.

“I love that golf is mostly an individual game where I have the control for bad and good,” he said. “It’s all on me. If I put the work in, I can fully affect the outcomes.”

Dylan said he has learned patience and focus through the sport that helps him on and off the course while his dad has seen other benefits as well. “Dylan’s really become more confident in himself, knowing that things can be bad and he can still work through them,” Corey Markisich said. “It’s also great to watch the drive he has for this passion where he practices on his own. Above all though, he’s a great kid first, and secondly, he’s a really good golfer. We’re super proud of him.”

Dylan plans to continue to put in the work to improve his game and play Utah Jr. PGA and UJGA tournaments, hoping to play college golf in 2026. But, for now, his focus is on the 5A state tournament Oct. 14-15 at Glen Eagle.

“I’m super excited and hope our team can make a good run at it,” Dylan Markisich said. “I’m excited to see where we can go.”

“I’m very proud of this team and hoping we can play our best golf at the state tournament,” Simon said.

Bountiful

Bountiful finished second as a team in the Region 5 standings overall after a fifth-place showing at the Region 5 championship at Round Valley, scoring a 3-1.

Ty Cottle tied for sixth individually with a 72 with Jett Danowski (74), Cody Forbes (76), Jack Jordan (79), Joe Stobbe (80), Luke Smith (81), Lincoln Smith (82) and Andrew Johnson (84) also competing at region.

The Redhawks had three golfers place in the top-12 at season’s end, led by Cottle, Jordan and Smith, who – who tied for fifth, ninth and 12th, respectively.

Viewmont

Viewmont came in second as a team – eight strokes back of Woods Cross – at the Region 5 tournament at Round Valley behind a first-place showing from Corver Barnes, who shot a 70. 

James Gardner tied for second with a one-under-par 71 and Oliver Gladwell’s 73 tied him for 10th place.

Also competing for the Vikings, who ended up finishing fourth in the region, were Joe Gladwell (79), Kimball Essig and Brigham Shupe (82) and Chase Dalton and Isaac Tingey (86).

“We had a great day and a great showing from our team,” said VHS assistant coach Blake Barnes. “Corver was even par going into the par-3 11th hole where he lost a ball and ended up with a double bogey. He then birdied four of the last six holes to finish two-under and take first.”

“The team played great!” said coach Gardner.

Viewmont finished the Region 5 season in fourth place as a team with Corver Barnes placing second individually, Oliver Gladwell eighth and James Gardner tying for ninth. λ