Boys: Skyridge, Park City, Waterford Win Championships
The final day of the 2026 season brings out the best in 6A, 5A, 4A championships
Another spring lacrosse season has come and gone and the last day of action didn’t disappoint. Our Instagram account has several interviews and highlights from all the action. Cody Elmen recapped the 4A and 5A games while I wrote the 6A gamer.
Hill & Hill Photography was once again on the sidelines and captured all the action. The galleries will populated tomorrow (Sunday) so be sure to check back then!
4A Boys Championship: Waterford v. Juan Diego
5A Boys Championship: Brighton v. Park City
6A Boys Championship: Skyridge v. Corner Canyon
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Skyridge Slays The Giant, Wins First Championship
The UHSAA 6A title game started the way everyone not in black and orange thought it would. Corner Canyon drew a flag early and converted with Ren Neilsen creeping the crease and getting a goal. On the ensuing faceoff, the ball was flipped in the air and Cole Bonham picked it out of the air and took it to the house and scored. The defense of the Chargers was stout and Skyridge was looking to find a groove on the offensive end. Corner Canyon scored again midway through the quarter when Kampton Dutton scooped up a loose ball, made a move, lost the defender and scored. With under a minute to go in the quarter, Tommi Johnson picked off a clearing pass at the midfield and had a 1-on-1 opportunity with Chargers goalie Jack Rasmussen who had hustled back to the cage. Johnson shot but hit the crossbar. The Chargers took a 3-0 goal lead into the second quarter.
Pierson DeGracie scored next for the Chargers to extend the lead. On the ensuing faceoff, Evan Wentworth won the faceoff and took it the distance and almost made it a five goal game for Corner Canyon, but Luke Adams made the save for Skyridge. Adams began to clear and the Chargers jumped into a 10-man ride. Eric Parry jogged up the field unguarded and when he got to the midline, he unleashed a long distance shot that found the back of the net which sent the away fans into a frenzy. Cameron Crayk answered for the Chargers but Skyridge went on a three-goal run including another half field shot from Parry on a nearly identical play that continued to excite the fans on the sideline and gave momentum to the Falcons on the field. Neilsen would pull one back for the Chargers to make the halftime score 6-4 in favor of Corner Canyon.
The Chargers extended their lead out of the break but the Falcons once again went on a three-goal run to tie the game at 7. Corner Canyon didn’t relent and scored two more times to lower the home fans heart rates.
Skyridge tied the game with two goals in three minutes to start the fourth quarter. At that point, it was anyone’s game to win. With 6:53 left in regulation, Corner Canyon made the first move towards victory. DeGracie had the ball on the left side and with a no look pass, found Ashton Brown wide open on the crease. Brown scored to reclaim the lead. The lead didn’t last long though as Skyridge answered back 45 seconds later when Cabell Beuchner had a no look pass of his own to find Kaiden Hobbs on the crease who quick-sticked it in. Skyridge drew the next blow and took its first lead of the game when Dylan Forsgren scored low from the wing. The Falcon faithful believed. They believed they would win.
Brown had other ideas for the Chargers. The veteran senior attackman found space in the top middle of the zone and took a step down bounce shot to tie the game. Wentworth then won the faceoff and almost scored a goal of his own but missed the shot. The Chargers possessed but an errant pass gave the ball back to Skyridge. The Falcons easily cleared and held the ball to make sure the offensive personnel were on the field. Dominic Weaver swept to the left and skipped the ball to Johnson. Johnson paused, cradled, realized his defender wasn’t going to pressure then unleashed a dart to the top right corner to give the Falcons the lead. Skyridge won the faceoff and couldn’t convert, giving the ball back to Corner Canyon.
What came next is what legends are made of. Dutton had a shot go wide for the Chargers. DeGracie hit Adams in the helmet but the Chargers backed it up. On the restart, Neilsen fed Crayk on the crease but Adams made a point-blank save. He couldn’t control it and Luke Fisher grabbed the ball out of mid-air and scored. However, when Crayk took his shot, he entered the crease. The officials called off the goal and the Falcons cleared. A few seconds ticked off but the Falcons exited the box to give the ball back to Corner Canyon. The Chargers cleared and drew a push to give them a man-up opportunity. After moving the ball around the Falcons caused a turnover, cleared the ball and ran out the clock to secure the victory.
“You know, it’s probably twice as fun when it’s a team that has that much history here,” said Skyridge Head Coach Bart Butterfield. “They made us work for every single point and honestly, I think we played some of our best lacrosse of the year at the end of the year.”
The Falcons ended the reign of the Chargers who had dominated 6A since sanctioning and Class A before that. Entering the game, Corner Canyon was 36-5 in the playoffs in 12 seasons.
“You know, we’re playing with house money the whole time,” said Butterfield. “That’s been the message. There is no pressure on us. They are trying to maintain perfection and we just have to go out there and land one good jab and it happened.”
Adams made 18 saves for the Falcons.
“I think this is the best game of my career,” said Adams. “I think it’s only going up from here. I think keeping a positive and level mindset is the attitude that you need to keep throughout a game like this.”
The Falcons had five different goal scorers in Forsgren, Weaver, Hobbs and Johnson, but none bigger than the two by defensive midfielder Parry who entered the game with just 3 goals on the season. The savvy junior had two goals from beyond the midfield line.
“I think the unsung guy of the game, the low recognition was probably our D-middie Eric Parry,” said Butterfield. “He canned two half field shots in a 10-man ride and it really forced them to start reevaluating what they were doing. We practiced it a lot knowing we were going to see it this season and practice makes perfect.”
After the game I chatted with a few fellow lacrosse fans who were asking about teams from Utah County who had won championships.
According to my records, there have been seven other teams to win a championship. I’m just presenting the list, not diving into the nuances of iterations of Class B, Division II, etc. I’ll leave that up to the coaches and fans to do between games on the summer circuit. Here’s a list of Utah County champions:
2007 - Timpview, Class B - Rob Shaw led the T-birds to a 13-4 season and a win in the championship game over Logan.
2008 - Lone Peak, Class B - The great Randy Stout led the Knights to an undefeated season and beat Woods Cross in the title game.
2009 - Orem, Class B - The Tigers, led by Daniel Mortimer, beat Sky View in the championship game.
2010 - Timpanogos, Class B - Mike Schow, who you may recognize in refs stripes these days, led the T-Wolves to the title.
2011 - Spanish Fork Warriors, Division II - Phil Dunn led the Warriors to a title over Timpanogos.
2016 - Westlake, Class C - Erick Wiedmeier helped the Thunder beat Lehi in overtime.
2021 - Pleasant Grove, Class C - In the final game of the coaching career of Brae Burbidge, the Vikings beat Viewmont, 15-5.
2026 - Skyridge, 6A - See above.
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Miners Control Game En Route to Sixth Championship
The best thing about 5A lacrosse is that you are guaranteed a heavyweight showdown in the championship. That was true once again, as No. 1 Park City and No. 2 Brighton slugged it out for the UHSAA 5A Boys Lacrosse Championship Saturday afternoon. These two blue-bloods of the sport faced off earlier this year, with Park City prevailing 5-3 over Brighton in a defensive battle. While Park City won the earlier matchup, they had revenge on the mind, as Brighton had come back to beat the Miners in the championship game the year before. For the Bengals, the last game of the season would come down to the Miners once again as they looked to secure another championship.
Brighton would look to prove that the three-goal outing last time against Park City was a fluke, as they would score on their first settled possession. Burton Klc would look to the reliable Gabe Carrera to get the Bengals on the board first, as Brighton would look to establish a fast tempo for this game. But it was the Miners who would look to play fast, as Reid McCurdy would force the turnover for Park City and push the fast break. Just as the Miners looked like they tied the game, the very edge of the plastic from Landon Stosich’s stick would tip the ball out of the goal. On the other end, Brighton would find Carrera wide open to extend its lead to two, if not for Max Gordon coming up with the huge save for Park City. The Miners would answer on offense as Henry Alnwick beat his defender on a sweeping cut, and Wade Birch delivered him the perfect pass to tie the game with less than a minute remaining. Just as the quarter looked to be over, Thomas Fannon would draw a penalty for the Miners and start the second quarter with possession.
While Park City wasn’t able to convert on their extra-man opportunity, the possession would prove vital as Crew Kimble, fading to X, hit a perfect lever pass to Hunter Hutchison on the crease to give the Miners the lead. Carson Riely would proceed to win the next faceoff and every faceoff in the second quarter for the Miners. Stosich would have an incredible save wiped out by a push into the crease, allowing Park City to keep the ball. Samuel Gould would make the extra chance count as he would pick up his own dropped pass, dodge down the lefty alley, and fire a low-to-low missile to increase the lead for Park City. On the next faceoff, Wyatt Knapp would knock the ball forward to himself, giving himself a fast break where he would find Alnwick to score for the Miners, only 15 seconds after their previous goal. Riely’s wings would come through for him again as Matix Black would deliver a huge hit on the faceoff and pick up the ground ball, giving Park City another possession. Allnwick would return the favor to Birch as the two connected again. Just as Alnwick looked like he was fading to X, he fired a pass to Birch on the crease, resulting in another goal for the Miners. If Riely hadn’t already made a big enough impact on this game, he secured his fantastic performance as he would win the faceoff to himself and score only 6 seconds after the previous goal for the Miners, resulting in a huge pop from the Park City faithful. Brighton would finally get the ball back on offense and let their myriad of shooters set up. Max Gordon would turn all of them away on the possession with three huge saves on Brighton’s best shooters, including a seemingly impossible kick save at the last moment. Park City couldn’t let such a fantastic performance go to waste, and Parker Jones would hit Thomas Fannon on the left wing for a picture-perfect low to high to the top right corner. Park City played nearly a perfect quarter of lacrosse in the second quarter and carried a 7-1 lead into halftime.
Brighton would look to seize momentum in the second half as they had in so many games before. If you give the Bengals an inch, they’ll take a mile. They had done so to Park City in the final last year, and they would strike first in the second half as Dylan Despain would split a double team and find Cole Murray, who made the extra pass to Zac Anderson to try and get the momentum rolling for Brighton. Sebastian Ramirez would win the following faceoff, a major factor in Brighton’s momentum swings, but Park City has seen this before. Matix Black would fly in from the wing and cause a turnover to give the ball and momentum back to Park City. Brett Hughes would sneak through the defense on a cut from X, and Alnwick would find him to answer right back for Park City. While Brighton would win the next faceoff, Max Gordon would stand tall once again, and the Miners would add to their lead as Hutchison would fade down the alley and fire a low to low burner to put Park City up by 7 once again. Park City looked like they had forced another turnover, but touched the ball at the last second as it went out of bounds. The Bengals would act quickly, and Anderson would find Owen Hanson to finish right on the crease for Brighton. The Bengals were able to get a run going as Anderson would get the defense hung up. Despain would find some space for Anderson to find him and rip a low-to-high snipe to the top right corner. Park City tried to end the run, but Carson Hanks made a risky, but perfectly timed slide on a fast break to keep Park City’s lead limited to 9-4 going into the final period.
No lead is too big against Brighton. In the semifinal, the Bengals scored six goals in less than three minutes to punch their ticket to this game. Last year in the final, a Brighton run in the fourth quarter crushed Park City’s championship dreams. Brighton looked to repeat that performance and Park City would do anything to prevent it. Riely won the opening faceoff of the period, halting Brighton’s momentum. Brighton was called for a penalty, which proved costly as Birch was left wide open on the wing to increase the Miners’ lead to six. Brighton would need a huge effort to come back against one of the best defenses in the state. Park City looked to extend their advantage, but Stosich came up huge for the Bengals to give them a chance. Gordon prevented any quick chances, but Carerra eventually broke through to cut the lead to five. Brighton wouldn’t score again until a minute left in the game, as Anderson’s diving attempt found a way through. But Brighton was never able to set up their fabled late-game comeback, as Riely controlled the tempo at the X, Park City’s offense played slow and controlled, and the Miners’ defense didn’t allow anything easy. Park City’s fans gave their team a rowdy standing ovation as their Miners secured the championship with the final score, 10-6.
“We’ve been trying to get better all year long,” said Park City Head Coach Mike Persky. “We’ve been focusing on getting the best shots not just good or average ones and I think the boys great job on the shot election and the defense has just been great all year long.”
The Miner’s defense made sure the Brighton stars couldn’t get in a groove.
“They have some great players, they have some great shooters,” said Persky. “Eric, my son, did a great job designing a plan to sort of just make sure we kept an eye, particularly on 15 [Gabe Carerra] and 6 [Zac Anderson] and the boys did a great job. They still put up six and made it close at the end. We got outstanding effort from Max Gordon and Carson Riely who studied film and studied film and studied film at the X and just battled.”
This is the fourth time the Miners boys and girls teams have won championships in the same years.
2026: Boys over Brighton, Girls over Fremont
2023: Boys over Olympus, Girls over Olympus
2018: Boys over Brighton, Girls over Herriman
2014: Boys over Herriman, Girls over Riverton
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Ravens Youth Key in 4A Title Game Win Over Juan Diego
The 4A UHSAA Boys Lacrosse State Championship game featured the top two seeds in the class with No. 1 Juan Diego facing No. 2 Waterford. Both teams are very familiar with each other, having played twice this year, once in the regular season and again in the region championship game. Juan Diego won the regular-season matchup on 4/22, 11-10, in overtime. Waterford got its revenge in the region tournament on 5/8, 11-9. The tie-breaking contest couldn’t come with higher stakes, with the state championship on the line on a beautiful morning at Zions Bank Stadium.
From the opening faceoff, you could feel the electricity, nervousness and pressure in the air from both teams and their fan bases. Waterford would get the first chance on offense, but Logan Chould shut it down, forcing a crease violation. On the other end, Parker Stolz would pull up from the still-visible PLL 2-point arc and score the opening goal of the game for the Soaring Eagle. The nerves seemed to be getting to Waterford as the normally disciplined team would make a mistake in the substitution game and be called offside. Juan Diego would take advantage as Stolz would skip a pass across the defense to Noah Schuyler, who unselfishly made the extra pass to Jack Stoback for the goal. Waterford was given a golden opportunity to bounce back from the early deficit as a big hit during a ground ball scrum would net the Ravens a two-minute full-time man-up opportunity. Andrew Rurka would get Waterford on the board as he found space in the defense to fire a laser to the bottom corner. Juan Diego would win the next face, but Waterford would quickly force the turnover. Zander Petrovich’s shot would rebound right to Noah Chao and suddenly the game was tied once again. The championship jitters would strike both offenses as golden chances to take the lead were dropped right on the crease and the first quarter would end in a 2-2 deadlock.
Cooper Pecora was a standout for Juan Diego in the first quarter, winning 4 of 5 faceoffs. His dominance continued, and the Soaring Eagle came out firing in the second quarter, but Waterford goalie Sean O’Brien turned Juan Diego away. On the other end, Max Mishurda drew a penalty on a slick roll-back. On the extra-man opportunity, Noah Chao found Gavin Rurka through traffic to put the Ravens in front. Their lead wouldn’t last long, as Pecora won the next faceoff, leading to Chris Jimerson tying the game with a lethal step down from the outside. Waterford would stop Juan Diego’s roll at the faceoff X, but Michael Moore forced a turnover leading to a fast break. Stolz would find a cutting SSDM Brandon Backman to put Juan Diego on top once again. The physicality of the game took over from here, as a ground-ball scrum at the faceoff resulted in big hits, broken sticks and upset fans. Juan Diego would gain possession, leading to Schuyler wrapping from X to hit Trey Nicolodemos on the backside of the defense to score again. Both defenses would ramp up the pressure from here and neither offense could respond. Luke Hunter would force a turnover for Waterford, leading to a fast break, only for it to be shut down by Kai Faribanks, who knocked down the final pass. Waterford would get the last opportunity of the half, but Backman would shut down any chances, and the half would end with Juan Diego leading 5-3.
The defenses continued to dominate into the second half, and the goal drought persisted for both teams. Waterford kept attacking as they usually do, pulling the other team’s defensive midfielders into space and using their athleticism to create offense. However, Juan Diego’s SSDMs were up to the challenge. Backman and Aidan Janiga were excellent, especially in the third quarter, and didn’t allow any good opportunities for Waterford’s offense. Waterford remained patient and tried to initiate, eventually drawing a penalty on Juan Diego. The Ravens looked to have a chance on the extra-man, but the Soaring Eagle defense quickly collapsed on a cut from X, causing a turnover and killing the rest of the penalty. Waterford got one last opportunity at a goal, as a contested shot nearly trickled in, but goalie Brayden Andersen dove on the ball just in front of the goal line as the buzzer sounded for the end of the third quarter. The score remained 5-3 for Juan Diego.
Andrew Rurka would take the faceoff with his long pole in an attempt to slow down Pecora. The strategy was successful, as a well-timed check from Rurka led to a scrum that gave Waterford possession. Their offense would finally come alive as Gavin Rurka would win his match-up on the invert to get the defense moving, leading to Mishurda finding Kellen Kemper for the goal. Waterford would continue their LSM faceoff strategy as Luke Hunter would force another ground ball on the faceoff, which the Ravens would come up with. Andrew Rurka would tie the game off a screened shot that just crept in on the near pipe. Pecora would stop the bleeding on the faceoff X, giving Juan Diego possession for the first time in the quarter. Juan Diego had two great looks to retake the lead, but, just like the semifinal, Sean O’Brien turned into a brick wall in the fourth quarter. The freshman goalie had two big saves, and Kemper’s diving effort would win the runout, giving Waterford the ball once again. With 5:11 remaining, the Ravens would call timeout and look to take the lead. Andrew Rurka would put the team on his back once again as he found some space down the lefty alley and scored through contact to give Waterford the lead. Pecora would win the faceoff to give Juan Diego a chance to tie, but Luke Hunter would force the turnover, giving Waterford a chance to put the game away. However, an interference violation on the clear gave Juan Diego another chance. They would convert as Westley Buck would feed Nicolodemos on crease to tie the game with only 2:23 remaining. Pecora would give Juan Diego the ball with a chance to take the lead, but O’Brien came up with a clutch save, leading to Waterford calling timeout with 1:26 remaining.
Fans were on their feet as they looked on to see who would be the hero and lead their team to their first 4A state championship. Waterford would look to Max Mishurda, the speedy junior midfielder, to initiate the offense. Max found space down the left alley and made his way to the crease. Finding a sliver of sunlight, Mishurda forced a pass through the middle of the defense, somehow finding Gavin Rurka, surrounded by Juan Diego defenders. Rurka only had a moment to get the shot off, finding the back of the net to give the Ravens the lead with only 45 seconds remaining. Waterford would back off on the faceoff, letting Pecora win it back to himself. Juan Diego called its final timeout with 36 seconds remaining, attempting to send the game to overtime. The Soaring Eagle would turn to 4-year starter Noah Schuyler who would find some space on the wing, dive bombing towards the crease, finding just enough space to get the shot off, but it went just wide, leaving Juan Diego with 16 seconds. Schuyler would wrap the crease to his left hand, and the entire Waterford defense would collapse on him. The last gasp for Juan Diego was blocked, sending the ball well wide of the goal, sealing the win and the state championship for Waterford.
Waterford has one of the smallest rosters in the state, often relying on offensive personal to also play defense.
“We’re the Waterford militia,” said Waterford Head Coach Will Manny. “We play 14 guys and Andrew Ruka is a warrior, right? Gavin and Max are our two way guys. Danny Hodge, you know, plays D-mid as a freshman. I start five freshmen. In those moments you go to guys you trust the most and have been in the most lacrosse games. I asked and Kellen said, ‘I’m good’. We just we look around and say who’s good, and then we get the thumbs up and you’re out there on defense. And that’s how we roll.”
O’Brien, just a freshman, was the standout in cage for the Ravens.
“This past week I reached out to a bunch of my friends who are pro lacrosse players and I got Colin Kirst and Blaze Riorden to send Sean a hype video,” said Manny. “They sent him videos about just being present, moving on to the next play and that was the best game he’s played all season long, as a freshman to be able to do that with his confidence. I don’t think he lets much get to him and I credit Coach Z [Zion Dechesere] for sticking with him all season long, the amount of time they spend together, it’s for these moments, especially as a freshman. The first one went in and then he just settled into the game which is what playing lacrosse game is all about.”
This is the Ravens sixth championship. I noticed Waterford Athletic Teams Coordinator Craig Morris standing to the side during the ribbon cutting ceremony. Morris has been on the sideline either as a coach or admin at each of the Ravens championships.
“This one feels amazing,” said Morris. “It feels as good as all the others. They’ve worked so hard to get them back in this position and then to to play the kind of game they did and gut it out and come back and they’ve been doing that all season long. It’s it’s just fantastic and just so proud of the boys and what they represent.”
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That’s it for this season! Don’t be a stranger and be kind to each other.
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