Remember when the Lone Peak Knights were the state’s premier high school boys basketball power?
Remember when the Knights were Utah’s most-successful football program?
On Saturday afternoon at Liberty Park, the Knights put emphasis on boys tennis being a part of the school’s impressive athletics program, winning individual titles in all five classifications while rolling to their sixth straight team title.
“It has been a great ride,” said Lone Peak coach Roger Baumgartner. “We should have won it last year, except for COVID. I’m just so happy for the kids that we were able to play and finish like we did.”
The Knights rolled up a perfect score — 28 points — compared to Region 4 rivals Corner Canyon (16) and American Fork (14). Bingham and Riverton tied with six each.
Lone Peak had a comfortable lead after the first day, but Baumgartner said he didn’t feel restful until Griffin Karras avenged a narrow loss in last week’s region tourney with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Corner Canyon’s Spencer Willes. After that, he tried to enjoy the cloudy, warm afternoon and figure how he was going to avoid the traditional postgame Gatorade bath.
Baumgartner was unsuccessful, but his post-dunking smile showed he wasn’t too disappointed. Earlier, he saw TJ Wells and Karras capture singles titles, and the doubles teams of Nate Ashton-Brayden Blodgett and Lucas Jackson-Isaac Downs each rolled to wins. Only one of their matches Saturday went longer than two sets, and Blodgett’s triumph might have been the most impressive since he has battled cancer for the last few years and last season, of course, Utah teams couldn’t compete at state due to coronavirus pandemic restrictions.
Karras’ title was also sweet, and the freshman said he appreciated his teammates and previous opponents for helping him prepare for any nerves he faced for the first time at state
“I’ve played against these guys before and kind of knew what to expect,” he said. “The best part was being part of a team and cheering for each other.”
Karras added that Lone Peak’s players are known for their boisterous cheering and that helped him get through any rough patches. Lone Peak had a lot to cheer about, but so did Region 4 teams, in general.
Every championship match was between foes from that area and Josh Peterson (Bingham), Cody Burke (Riverton), Kingsley Hoang (Bingham), Jay Taggart (Syracuse) and Christian Driggs-Drew Blackwell (Riverton) were the only non-Region 4 athletes to make it to second-day play.
6A boys state tennis tournament
At Liberty Park, Salt Lake City
Final team scores
1. Lone Peak 28
2. Corner Canyon 16
3. American Fork 14
4. Bingham, Riverton 6
6. Skyridge 4
7. Syracuse 3
8. Jordan, 2
8. Pleasant Grove, 2
8. Weber, 2
Final individual results
No. 1 singles
First round
Caden Hasler (American Fork) def. Ian Tucker (Cyprus) 6-0, 6-0. Eric Liu (West) def. Walker Kemp (Layton) 6-2, 6-4. Josh Peterson (Bingham) def. Mason Brophy (Syracuse) 6-0, 6-0. Tristan Buckner-Munteanu (Corner Canyon) def. Isaac McDougal (West Jordan) 6-0, 6-2. Charlie Buxton (Jordan) def. Joseph Jones (Northridge) 6-0, 6-0. TJ Wells (Lone Peak) def. Jordan Chugg (Fremont) 6-0, 6-0. Brock Golding (Skyridge) def. Brandon Khoune (Taylorsville) 6-4, 6-2. Cody Burke (Riverton) def. McKay Renstrom (Davis) 6-1, 6-0.
Second round
Hasler def Lu 6-0, 6-0. Peterson def Buckner-Munteanu 7-6 (0), 6-2. Wells def Buxton 6-1, 6-2, Burke def. Golding 6-1, 7-5.
Semifinals
Caden Hasler (American Fork) def. Josh Peterson (Bingham) 6-0, 6-2. TJ Wells (Lone Peak) def. Cody Burke (Riverton) 6-1, 6-0.
Championship
Wells def. Hasler 6-4, 6-3.
No. 2 singles
First round
Carson McBeth (American Fork) def. Christian Andrewsen (Riverton) 6-0, 6-2. McGwire Rowland (Skyridge) def. Ryan Hicks (Layton) 6-3, 6-3. Kyler Silim (Taylorsville) def. Joseph Kurtz (Weber) 6-2, 6-2. Aidan Rideout (Corner Canyon) def. Noah Jones (Jordan) 6-0, 6-1. Justin Levet (Granger) def. Peyton Perkins (Fremont) 6-0, 6-3. Abe Robbins (Lone Peak) def Fabricio Perez (Cyprus) 6-0, 6-0. Kingsley Hoang (Bingham) def. Wyatt Marriott (Clearfield) 6-1, 6-0. Jordan Fong (Syracuse) def. AJ Brakey (West Jordan) 6-0, 6-2.
Second round
McBeth def. Rowland 6-2, 6-1. Rideout def Silim 6-0, 6-1. Robbins def. Levet 6-0, 6-0, Hogan def. Fong 6-3, 6-3.
Semifinals
Aidan Rideout (Corner Canyon) def. Carson McBeth (American Fork) 6-0, 6-2. Abe Robbins (Lone Peak) def. Kingsley Hoang (Bingham) 6-4, 7-5.
Championship
Rideout def. Robbins 4-6, 6-2, 6-0.
No. 3 singles
First round
Parker Cummings (Herriman) def. Eduardo De La Paz (Cyprus) 6-1, 6-0. Spencer Willes (Corner Canyon) def. Boston McFarland (Fremont) 6-0, 6-2. Jay Taggart (Syracuse) def. Jacob Duran (West) 6-0, 6-4. Dane Lallis (Riverton) def. Tyler Khopha (Granger) 6-0, 6-2. Adam Clarke (American Fork) def. Kaden Wright (Davis) 6-2, 6-0. Tyler Chambers (Weber) def. Jaiden Womack (Taylorsville) 6-1, 6-0. Dannion Nelson (Bingham) def. Matt Thompson (West Jordan) 6-1, 6-0. Griffin Karras (Lone Peak) def Ben Ortiz (Layton) 6-0, 6-1.
Second round
Willes def. Cummings 6-0, 6-0. Taggart def. Lallis 6-1, 6-2. Clarke def. Chambers 6-1, 6-0. Karras def. Nelson 6-1, 6-2.
Semifinals
Spencer Willes (Corner Canyon) def Jay Taggart (Syracuse) 6-1, 6-1. Griffin Karras (Lone Peak) def. Adam Clarke (American Fork) 6-2, 6-0.
Championship
Karras def. Willes 6-3, 6-3.
No. 1 doubles
First round
Cole Jenkins-Beau Welker (Corner Canyon) def. Brandon Nguyen-Winston Tran (Granger) 6-0, 6-0. Brayden Groll-Spencer Groll (Davis) def. Noah Malloy-Ashton Phelps (Herriman) 6-3, 6-0. Josh Christensen-Isaac Jewkes (Bingham) def. Davis Garlitz-Baden Record (Layton) 6-3, 6-1. Derek Larson-Luke Rich (American Fork) def. Briar Beddow-Joseph Fausett (Kearns) 6-0, 6-0. Adam Ellis-Kade Purser (Pleasant Grove) def. Reed Miles-Brandon Schlappi (Taylorsville) 6-2, 6-0. Cambell Etulain-Dan Colt (Jordan) def. Josh Waldrip-Kaden Banks (Weber) 6-0, 6-3.
Second round
Jenkins-Welker def. Groll-Groll 6-0, 6-0. Larson-Rich def. Christensen-Jewkes 6-1, 7-5. Ashton-Blodgett def. Gowen-Seegmiller 6-0, 6-1. Ellis-Purser def. Etulain-Colt 6-3, 6-2.
Semifinals: Cole Jenkins-Beau Welker (Corner Canyon) def. Derek Larson-Luke Rich (American Fork) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Nate Ashton-Brayden Blodgett (Lone Peak) def. Adam Ellis-Kade Purser (Pleasant Grove) 6-1, 6-1.
Championship: Ashton-Blodgett def. Jenkins-Welker 7-5, 6-0.
No. 2 doubles
First round
Sam Jensen-Treson Hucks (American Fork) def. Tucker Daynes-Sam McCoy (Bingham) 6-2, 6-3. Charlie Jenkins-Connor Snow (Corner Canyon) def. Jack Sargent-Will Parkinson (Davis) 6-3, 6-4. Ty Fergeson-Jeffrey Turner (Fremont) def. Michael Griffith-Simeon Thomas (Granger) 6-3, 6-0. Logan Pickle-Max Ericksen (Skyridge) def. Jackson Osborne-John Seo (Jordan) 6-0, 6-4. Bridger Hunt-Kayden Smith (Layton) def. Tate Seaman-Landon Muir (Taylorsville) 6-4, 6-0. Lucas Jackson-Isaac Downs (Lone Peak) def. Braydon Seeley-Damon Armenta (Cyprus) 6-1, 6-0. Christian Driggs-Drew Blackwell (Riverton) def. Kayden Wageman-Devin Dennis (Clearfield) 6-3, 6-2. Isaac Peterson-Caden Meyer (Weber) def. Joel Myers-Dylan Richardson (Kearns) 6-0, 6-0.
Second round
Jensen-Hucks def. Jenkins-Snow 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Pickle-Ericksen def. Fergeson-Turner 6-1, 6-2. Jackson-Downs def. Hunt-Smith 6-0, 6-0. Driggs-Blackwell def. Peterson-Meyer 6-1, 6-1.
Semifinals
Sam Jensen-Treson Hucks (American Fork) def. Logan Pickle-Max Ericksen (Skyridge) 6-4, 0-6, 6-3. Lucas Jackson-Isaac Downs (Lone Peak) def. Christian Driggs-Drew Blackwell (Riverton) 6-1, 6-0.
Championship
Jackson-Downs def. Jensen-Hucks 6-1, 6-2.
Correction: The original version of this story incorrectly stated that Abe Robbins defeated Aidan Rideout in the No. 2 singles championship match. Rideout defeated Robbins, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0.