With an ugly weather forecast Wednesday, Monticello coach Shane Brewer knew his team had what it took to claim the title.
“I just reminded them that everyone is playing in the same conditions and one thing we’ve learned down in Monticello is that we have a lot of experience playing in this kind of weather,” he said.
It turns out Brewer’s trust was well-earned as his team played a phenomenal round to claim the 2025 1A girls golf state championship. Monticello had five golfers finish inside the top nine, with three posting sub-100 scores.
“We just wanted to let them play the way we knew they could. Just to help them play like they played all year long,” Brewer said, when asked what his message was to the team going into Wednesday’s tournament.
Monticello finished the day with a total score of 384, allowing the Buckaroos to claim their second state title in three years. Behind them was Valley High School, which finished with a total score of 405 to claim second place, and Rich who scored 440 to place third.
The individual bracket featured several Monticello golfers with senior Alli Young leading the way, shooting a 90 to win the individual championship medal. The Buckaroos also had senior Alise Lewis, who shot 94 to finish in third place, while freshman LE Olsen’s 99 placed her fifth overall.
Young, who finished eighth in 2024’s state tournament, struggled a bit with finishing so closely to her friends and teammates, especially her best friend, Lewis.
As the day wound down it seemed that the individual crown would come down to Young, Lewis and Valley senior Kaylee Brinkerhoff, with Lewis holding a two-stroke lead over Young heading onto the 17th hole before experiencing some trouble to end her round, eventually landing her in third place.
“I’m really proud, we worked really hard this season, and I’m just really proud of my team, specifically my friend Alise Lewis. She has been working so hard all year,” Young said, when asked about her feelings on closing out her senior year with a state title.
Young’s positive attitude was her biggest strength as she bounced back from back-to-back triple bogies on the second and third holes to par the next seven holes consecutively.
“I’m just very proud of her… she has had ups and downs in her game and she kept coming back. She has a great golfer’s perspective and attitude,” Brewer said, when asked about Young’s four-year journey with the program.
“I was honestly really sad that I beat her (Lewis), I just think she deserves the world. She has been working her butt off all season long,” Young said, when asked about competing so closely with her close friend.
Behind Young was Valley’s Brinkerhoff, who finished with a score of 91, while Lewis trailed them with her score of 94. Bree Torgerson from Wayne finished fourth with a 95 and Monticello’s Olsen rounded out the top five with her 99.
Class 1A state tournament
At Mountain View Golf Course
Final Team scores
- Monticello, 384
- Valley, 405
- Rich, 440
- Milford, 443
- Manila, 446
- Tabiona, 467
Final individual results (Top 20)
- 90 — Alli Young, Monticello
- 91 — Kaylee Brinkerhoff, Valley
- 94 — Alise Lewis, Monticello
- 95 — Bree Torgerson, Wayne
- 99 — LE Olson, Monticello
- 101 — Tayt Miller, Panguitch
- 101 — Sadie Davis, Manila
- 101 — Cambree Chamberlain, Monticello
- 103 — Rachel Cox, Valley
- 103 — Emmie Cluff, Milford
- 104 — McKinlee Curtis, Milford
- 105 — Emma Cox, Valley
- 106 — Kimber Cluff, Valley
- 106 — Jaylin Lutz, Rich
- 107 — Kallie Bair, Manila
- 108 — Morgan Ward, Rich
- 109 — Rylee Curry, Tabiona
- 109 — Lilli Burton, Monticello
- 110 — Leah Petersen, Rich
- 111 — Tailyn Ambrose, Milford