2022 HS Girls Championships: Mountain Ridge, Olympus, Bear River Win Titles
Issue 98 - An excellent way to end the season!
Good morning lacrosse fans! It has been an excellent season and I want to thank you for following the action all year. We’ll have a couple more newsletters over the next week so stay tuned!
As always, please visit our title sponsors Tribal West Lacrosse (website) & MinersTown Strength and Conditioning (website).
Mountain Ridge Wins Its First Girls Lacrosse Championship
The underdogs won the 6A State Championships! No. 2 Mountain Ridge took a strong win over Skyridge, 11-9. This was an amazing game for Sophomore Emmery Clark who had 2 goals right off the bat, ending the first half with a hat trick and stepping into the second half with 2 strong assists. Senior Morgan Mackey left this season with a splash. Mackey had 4 goals and 1 assist. As the Mountain Ridge players ran to their families, I was able to step aside with the Sentinels head coach Angie Brescia - “My emotions are super high, in absolute disbelief that it just happened, I’m so proud of my team and how hard they worked. They pushed it today and they deserve that win.”
When asked about the growth of the team Coach Angie Brescia states, “honestly all over, when we first faced them earlier this year, we had a lot of freshmen on our defensive end so we weren’t quite ready to play them. We’ve been focusing on building the program and individual players, they know how to connect and execute. It was an exciting game. I hadn’t realized until the buzzer went off that we had won.”
Sliding over to Skyridge I asked Falcons head coach Colin Gill what his final message to his seniors was.
“Don’t let this game be the defining memory of their high school lacrosse career, because they are really great people, really great players, and have had tremendous accomplishments throughout their career.”
Skyridge Senior River Buechner had 3 amazing goals in her final high school game.
Scoring Summary
First Half
1-0 MR | 23:54 Mountain Ridge - G: Emmery Clark
2-0 MR | 19:06 Mountain Ridge - G: Emmery Clark
2-1 MR | 14:47 Skyridge - G: Haven Buechner A: Kaylie Cooper
2-2 TIE | 10:09 Skyridge - G: Haven Buechner
3-2 MR | 9:37 Mountain Ridge - G: Morgan Mackey A: Paige Runia
4-2 MR | 6:46 Mountain Ridge - G: Emmery Clark
4-3 MR | 5:19 Skyridge - G: Haven Buechner
5-3 MR | 4:32 Mountain Ridge - G: Paige Runia A: Morgan Mackey
6-3 MR | 1:03 Mountain Ridge - G: Kiarra Clarin A: Paige Runia
Second Half
7-3 MR | 24:05 Mountain Ridge - G: Morgan Mackey A: Emmery Clark
7-4 MR | 23:48 Skyridge - G: Haven Buechner
7-5 MR | 21:48 Skyridge - G: River Buechner
8-5 MR | 21:29 Mountain Ridge - G: Morgan Mackey A: Emmery Clark
9-5 MR | 19:08 Mountain Ridge - G: Paige Runia A: Tessa Mortensen
9-6 MR | 17:42 Skyridge - G: River Buechner
9-7 MR | 15:34 Skyridge - G: Brooklyn Gibson A: Haven Buechner
10-7 MR | 12:50 Mountain Ridge - G: Morgan Mackey A: Tessa Mortensen
11-7 MR | 10:08 Mountain Ridge - G: Tessa Mortensen
11-8 MR | 5:58 Skyridge - G: Haven Buechner
11-9 MR | 5:19 Skyridge - G: River Buechner (Free Position)
No. 3 Olympus Knocks Off Favorite Park City in 5A Classic
Olympus had a phenomenal one goal win over the undefeated Park City Miners, 10-9. From the first draw, Olympus brought the energy, fight and passion to the game. With the first Titan goal being taken away by a goal circle violation, the energy shifted. When Olympus made their way back to the attacking end, Junior Eva Thorn had an amazing assist to Sophomore Hannah Nelson to kick start the game for the Titians. As the game ran on with back and forth goals, Thorn was key in scoring back to back to back goals. Nelson had a shining game, putting 4 goals on the board. As the game clock counted down, the Park City Goalie Junior Ava Kimche stepped up and played defense on the ball on the sideline to pressure Olympus. As all of the Titan nation rushed the field to congratulate the 5A State Champions, I was able to pull Olympus assistant Coaches Maddy Finlayson, Sarah Heasley and Whitney Davidson.
“Both teams played a really great game. We were able to possess it just a little more,” said Sarah Heasley. I followed up by asking them what they said to the players as they called a timeout during the first half.
“We told them to breathe, calm down, have fun and play our game,” said Maddy Davidson.
“Tidy it up and change the momentum from one side to the other and we won,” said Whitney Davidson.
Despite the loss, the Park City program has continued to set the bar high for girls lacrosse as it played in its 10th straight title game spanning back to the 2012 season. The Miners are 6-4 in title games in that time frame.
Scoring Summary
First Half
1-0 OLY | 21:13 Olympus - G: Hannah Nelson A: Eva Thorn
1-1 TIE | 19:02 Park City - G: Kathleen Whiteley
1-2 PC | 18:16 Park City - G: Madeline McHenry
1-3 PC | 13:58 Park City - G: Charlie Iacobelli
1-4 PC | 13:47 Park City - G: Megan Magee A: Colomba Gonzalez
1-5 PC | 12:28 Park City - G: Madeline McHenry A: Samantha Riely
2-5 PC | 10:48 Olympus - G: Eva Thorn
3-5 PC | 10:34 Olympus - G: Eva Thorn A: Hazel Baker
4-5 PC | 3:10 Olympus - G: Eva Thorn
5-5 TIE | 0:35 Olympus - G: Lizzie Anne
6-5 OLY | 0:07 Olympus - G: Hannah Nelson
Second Half
6-6 TIE | 23:46 Park City - G: Samantha Riely
6-7 PC | 20:10 Park City - G: Samantha Riely
7-7 TIE | 19:29 Olympus - G: Hazel Baker
8-7 OLY | 17:32 Olympus - G: Hannah Nelson
9-7 OLY | 12:51 Olympus - G: Hannah Nelson
9-8 OLY | 8:40 Park City - G: Lilly Hunt
9-9 TIE | 7:32 Park City - G: Lilly Hunt
10-9 OLY | 1:56 Olympus - G: Hazel Baker
Bear River Caps Off An Undefeated Season by Winning The 4A State Championship
Congratulations to Bear River as they won the 4A state championship as they defeated Juan Diego, 12-8. Junior Marley Kierstead had a striking game with 3 goals for the Bears. Kierstead excelled at finding the back of the defender’s head and finding her opportunity to shoot. The queen of the night is hands down Junior Jenna LaCroix as she burst out of the center circle into amazing draw assists and finished the night with 4 goals.
“We always practice with great intensity and the team has been focused on this goal for a year now. They were not going to let anything stop them from achieving it. We made sure they were hydrating and preparing for the heat all week,” said Bear River Head Coach Jeremy Webb. “We told the seniors how proud we were of them and how they have become such great leaders on and off the field. I know the team played so hard to make sure that they had a proper send-off with a state championship.”
Scoring Summary
First Half
0-1 JD | 24:36 Juan Diego Catholic - G: Julie Holly A: Kyra Hoffman
1-1 TIE | 22:52 Bear River - G: Bentley Lorimer A: Jenna LaCroix
2-1 BR | 22:31 Bear River - G: Marley Kierstead A: Sydney Wilkinson
3-1 BR | 21:13 Bear River - G: Gracee Butler
3-2 BR | Juan Diego Catholic - G: Olivia Prosper
4-2 BR | 11:43 Bear River - G: Sydney Wilkinson A: Savanna Pehrson
4-3 BR | 9:58 Juan Diego Catholic - G: Kyra Hoffman
5-3 BR | 4:38 Bear River - G: Jenna LaCroix
6-3 BR | 1:08 Bear River - G: Marley Kierstead A: Jenna LaCroix
6-4 BR | 0:00 Juan Diego Catholic - G: Julia Hettinger
Second Half
7-4 BR | 20:58 Bear River - G: Marley Kierstead A: Sydney Wilkinson
8-4 BR | 20:39 Bear River - G: Jenna LaCroix
8-5 BR | 18:59 Juan Diego Catholic - G: Rachel Strelow
8-6 BR | 17:14 Juan Diego Catholic - G: Rachel Strelow A: Gracie Bathurst
9-6 BR | 16:30 Bear River - G: Makenzie Mickelsen
10-6 BR | 11:08 Bear River - G: Jenna LaCroix (Free Position)
11-6 BR | 6:24 Bear River - G: Jenna LaCroix
12-6 BR | 5:46 Bear River - G: Jenna LaCroix
12-7 BR | 2:05 Juan Diego Catholic - G: Olivia Prosper
12-8 BR | 0:29 Juan Diego Catholic - G: Kyra Hoffman A: Nola Christensen
That’s it for today, stay safe out there and see you on the sidelines!
— Kenzie Christiansen