The girls and boys state golf championships took place at Lakeside Golf Course in West Bountiful on May 14 and 15, 2024. The girls golfed only on the second day.
The individual and team scores for golfers along the Byway are as follows:
Individual Scores
Girls Golf
Of the girls who went to state, Savannah Williams, a senior from Wayne, was the only one to score in the top ten.
“The thing that got me interested in golf was honestly the boys golf team!” she said. She and Hadlee Tayler had started doing golf three years ago with the boys’ encouragement. Throughout the years the determined girls golf team has slowly gotten more people to join, “and we had a successful season this year!” said Savannah.
She took 7th with 102 strokes on the 18-hole course.
When it came to her score at state, Savannah was grateful to her coaches, Mike Hinkle and Stephen Ellett, for supporting her and helping her be her best.
“I am also very competitive,” she said, “so I wanted to be able to keep up with the other players!”
Boys Golf
The boys’ course was twice as long, and golfing was spread over two days. Of the boys who went to state, four of them placed in the top ten. Swade Olsen, a senior from Piute, was one of them.
Swade wasn’t always into golf, but he really picked it up when he and his friends all decided they wanted to play.
He said the reason he was able to place so well at state was because he played every chance he got. “I pack my clubs everywhere I travel to,” Swade said. “I also study and watch the game a lot and try to put it to use for myself so that I learn.”
Swade tied for 3rd with another senior, Ivan Spencer from Valley. They made 167 strokes on the 36-hole course.
Ammon Peterson, a senior from Wayne, took 6th with 171 strokes.
Camden Englestead, a sophomore from Panguitch, also finished with a tie. He tied for 7th with a senior from Rich named Jaden Desch. They made 172 strokes.
And Miles Hinkle, a sophomore from Wayne, took 10th at 176 strokes.
Team Scores
The top seven girls teams and their overall team score are as follows:
- Manila, 392
- Monticello, 408
- Valley, 417
- Milford, 438
- Rich, 440
- Wayne, 452
- Tabiona, 468
And these are the top 5 boys teams:
- Rich, 706
- Wayne, 720
- Valley, 725
- Panguitch, 731
- Monticello, 732
The top two teams from each region qualified to go to state golf 2024. After that, remaining teams could qualify according to overall average score.
Additional individuals from other teams qualified if they were in the top 12. Wayne was the only school to take a team to both events, but individual boys from Piute and Bryce Valley, and a girl from Panguitch also competed.
– by Abbie Call
Feature image courtesy of Swade Olsen.
*This story was updated May 23 to include subsequent comments from Wayne senior Savannah Williams.
More Pictures
Read all about the events of the 2024 spring sports seasons here.
Abbie Call – Cannonville/Kirksville, Missouri
Abbie Call is a journalist and editor at The Byway. She graduated in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in editing and publishing from Brigham Young University. Her favorite topics to write about include anything local, Utah’s megadrought, and mental health and meaning in life. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hanging out with family, quilting and hiking.
Find Abbie on Threads @abbieb.call or contact her at [email protected].