By Stacey Camacho, Head Coach

Year after year, the boys golf program has been in contention for the 2A state championship, but fell a few shots short to the competition. This year, it was different! Led by senior Matt Siegal, the boys were able to take the crown at Glendale Golf Course. Conditions were perfect for low scores. On day one, Matt fired a 2 under par, 70, followed by his teammates, senior Kelton Ferriter, who shot 74, and Nate Kanter, with a 77. The team’s combined total put us two shots behind our nemesis, Beaver High, at the end of day one.

Moving into the final round of the championship, the boys were confident that if they performed the way they did on day one, this could be their year. Starting the round slowly, our Winged Lions found themself falling behind the leaders. Then something happened: Matt started a monumental run that began on the par 59th hole, where he birdied, which kicked off a stretch of amazing golf for him. He birdied seven out of the next eight holes, including five birdies in a row. The news of his run gave his teammates the energy and motivation to make a push to close the gap. Nate, Kelton, and sophomore Jax Salinas knew if they could keep making pars and keep the big numbers off the card, they would be holding the trophy at the end of the day. And that is exactly what they did. As the scores updated, the hope of a victory was becoming reality. My assistant coach, Brady Hansgen, kept reminding them to have fun and that par was a great score.

With one hole left to play, the leaderboard had the team looking at a one-stroke lead. Our team and about 60 spectators surrounded the 18th green to watch the drama unfold. Matt laid up to avoid the out of bounds left of the fairway, which his playing competitor hit his tee shot into. This gave Matt a free run at the green to secure the championship and give us our first title in more than 15 years. This was by far one of the most exciting championship moments ever—I was full of pride. To see the boys grow and claim the title through hard work and dedication was truly spectacular.

Along with a 2A state championship, the first for Rowland Hall since 2009, we had two athletes earn Academic All-Region, as well as Utah High School Activities Association Academic All-State honors. Congratulations to seniors Kelton Ferriter and Mikko Anderson!

In addition, seven of our players shot well enough at state to earn Utah PGA 2A All-State recognition: Matt Siegal, First Team; Kelton Ferriter, Nate Kanter, and Jax Salinas, Second Team; and Mikko Anderson, Henry Damico, and Madsen Varner, Honorable Mention. Teammate Andrew Hanrahan also had a good two days on the course and gained valuable competitive experience.

We had a solid roster of 13 players this season, including the above listed eight varsity players, and Andrew Johnson, senior; Samuel Bateman, Ian Mello, and Miles Krakovitz, juniors; and Lukas Postneiks, sophomore.

Our 2023 award winners included Matt Siegal, Most Valuable Player; Jax Salinas, Most Improved Player; Henry Damico, Heart of the Lion; and Kelton Ferriter, Mikko Anderson, and Nate Kanter, Coaches’ Award.

Thank you for all you gave this season—Coach Brady and I love each and every one of you.