There are a lot of great teams here and we'll have to earn it. Brighton is the team to beat, but there are a lot of teams right there, so we're looking forward to the challenge (Tuesday). – Lone Peak coach Rob Stanger
ALPINE — Lone Peak leads after one day of competition at the 5A Utah state golf championships, but several teams are nipping at the Knights' heels. Syracuse, defending champion Brighton, Viewmont and West are all within 10 shots of the Knights entering the final day of competition Tuesday at Alpine Country Club.
"There are a lot of great teams here and we'll have to earn it," said Lone Peak coach Rob Stanger. "Brighton is the team to beat, but there are a lot of teams right there, so we're looking forward to the challenge (Tuesday)."
Lone Peak shot a composite score of 295 Monday — led by Cameron Webb and Zane Loveland, who shot 72 and 73, respectively. While Stanger was happy with his team's overall effort, he felt the Knights left some shots out there.
"It was a bit of a roller coaster for us today," he said. "We got off to a hot start and were about four-under after the first hole and gave some shots back. The golf course was playing really, really difficult, so putts were tough to make."
Nipping at Lone Peak's heels is Syracuse, which shot a combined 298 — three shots off the lead heading into Tuesday.
"I'm very happy with how the kids competed today," said Syracuse coach Brett Higgins. "We're very pleased to be where we're at. We're not surprised, and we know there are a lot of great teams."
It's the type of performance Higgins was expecting leading up to the championship.
"We've been peaking at the right time," he said. "Our kids have just kept improving and I feel we're playing our best golf at the right time. It's great to be right there heading into the final day, but with so many great teams out there, it's going to be a big challenge."
Syracuse was paced by Chandler Thomas, who shot a 73.
Viewmont was led by Kelton Hirsch and his 73. The Vikings will enter the final day five shots off the lead after scoring a combined 300 on Monday.
Brighton, the defending champion, shot a combined 301.
West provided the day's two best scores and shot 304 as a team. Austin Banz shot the day's low score of 69, which was just one shot better than teammate Marshall Harris, who carded a 70.
Email: bgurney@desnews.com
Twitter: @BrandonCGurney