More Copeland News

Two years ago, I was in Utah helping out with Kevin and Angie's kids when Connor was trying out for the Lone Peak Golf Team.  When some of the cousins and I heard that he had made the team as a ninth grader, we were so excited!  The kids made congratulations cards, and we put up posters and balloons.  We, also, had a cake all ready for him when he got home.

  

 Since his parents couldn't be there for the exciting announcement, we wanted to make it extra-nice for Connor--and all the grand kids really did pull it off!

Last year, Lone Peak took second place in state against some very fantastic teams.   This year after winning Region, they wanted so badly to win first.  This must have been one of the most exciting tournaments ever!

I am going to put in the article from the "Daily Herald" which tells some of the excitement:

As the 11 teams who made the cut after the first day of the state 5A golf tournament worked through the Riverbend Golf Course in Riverton Tuesday afternoon, neither the event officials nor the coaches had any idea who was going to win.
Brighton led by eight strokes over Lone Peak and nine over Syracuse coming into the second round, but as the Titans fell out of contention, the Knights fought through the warm, windy conditions to slowly gain ground on the Bengals.
Even as the final group wrapped up at the 18th hole, the players didn’t know either. When the combined tally was finally announced, Lone Peak had caught up to Brighton at 584 and the two teams led everyone else by 20 strokes or more.
Two other Valley teams made the cut and played the second round. American Fork finished ninth at 626 and Pleasant Grove was 10th at 631.
No one present could remember the last time teams were tied at the end of the state tournament, but the rules allow for an eight-man derby to settle the question.
So after the teams had a few minutes to select the four players who would compete on their behalf, they and most of the spectators headed over to the first hole for the playoff.
The crowd reacted to every shot taken and the pressure continued to mount. It wasn’t until the final putt fell that the Bengals clinched the championship by a combined score of 17-19.
It’s the fifth year in a row that the Knights have taken a trophy home in this sport. They won titles in 2010 and 2008, and also finished second in 2011 and 2009.
Junior Connor Copeland shot the best score of his career as he shaved seven strokes off his first-round mark to lead the Lone Peak charge.

Senior Nick Emery was right behind him, dropping five strokes to post a 70. The pair each had a combined 145, tying them for fourth place in the individual medalist standings.
All six participating Knights placed in the top 30, an achievement not matched even by the winners.
“They played their hearts out,” said Lone Peak coach Tyler Pack. “What an incredible comeback. I can’t say enough about how they played today.
“It’s the state tournament and the pressure is so high. There’s jitters on every tee, but these guys just settled themselves and got the job done.”
The coach continued, “They’ve played awesome all year. We won the Region 4 title by 175 strokes and they’ve continued to improve the whole season. Last year our scores got worse at the end, but this year they’ve kept the fire going.”
Pack added that his players have posted some other low scores in earlier events. Cameron Webb shot a 66 and Emery a 68. Copeland’s 69 was the next-best this season.
“It’s been fun out here,” he said. “This is the first time I’ve shot in the 60s. I just wanted to do whatever I could to help my team win. We just fell a little short today.”
“I’m so proud of all the guys,” Emery said. “To come back from eight down is really hard. We had our game plan. Each of us set a goal for what we needed to do today to help the team win. We even made a Power Point.

 Lone Peak High School Regional Golf Champs, 2012, and State Runners-up, 2012

(Connor is third from left.)

I, also, want to put the exact words of his dad, Kevin, who, was there both days of the tournament, along with Connor's mom, Angie.  (Kevin should have been a sports analyst, as you will see.)

What an amazing last two days following Connor and Lone Peak around for the golf state championship. The format was the top 4 teams in each of the 5A state regions for a total of 16 teams. Each team had their top six players that played two days and the top four scores count for the team score each day. Connor shot a 76 on day one and honestly played out of the best tee to green rounds I have ever seen him play. Unfortunately, he couldn’t putt. He three putted three different greens (meaning he was putting for birdie and ended with a bogey…three different times). He was so upset because how well he hit the ball. After day one we were behind by 8 strokes to Brighton. All of the team had heard about Taylor’s (Connor's older brother) junior year when the team got a crazy idea to sleep over at our house after the first day of the tournament and they were behind by 9 strokes. I remember calling the coach and telling him how crazy I thought he was to allow the kids to sleep over at our house before the final round of the state championship. Anyway, I lost that battle and the team went out and shot lights out and we won by 10 strokes. So, Connor’s team looking to repeat their performance all slept over. I didn’t fight it this time.

Connor came out on Day 2 in windy conditions and immediately bogeyed number one. I was concerned knowing that the conditions were very tough…cold and windy. Last year, the temperatures got down into the 40’s and Connor played two of his worst rounds of the year during the tournament. But, there was a completely different sense about him on day 2. I could see it right out of the gates. The parents and spectators can’t talk to the players so I stood and observed him. He was so incredibly focused like he knew he was going to do something special. With each passing hole Connor made difficult up-and-downs (meaning that his second shot missed the green and he needed to chip up close to the hole and make a putt to get a par.) He sank difficult par putt one after another and fought the windy conditions. About an hour or so into the round, the wind started to die down a bit and the temperatures began to rise. By the 8^th hole he was still one over and was on a tight par 5. He chipped up on his third shot to about 3 feet and made his putt to go even par. Then on hole 9, a short par 4 (320 yards) with out-of-bounds on the right side, Connor pulled out his driver. I was so nervous thinking that if he pushed the ball right he would be re-teeing with his third shot and basically putting himself and team out of the tournament. Again, Connor had a different demeanor about him. Totally focused. He smashed his drive to five feet from the green. The other group in front of them were putting and stopped to look back who hit the ball. Connor chipped up to about one foot and made his birdie to go one under.

Then came the fun on the back 9. The Brighton coach kept driving up to watch Connor play as the buzz around the course started to mount. Angie and I went and tried to be pleasant with him on the first day and told him that we were former Bengals, etc. The guy was basically unresponsive..complete jerk. I could see the tension in his face as every shot he watched of Connor’s rolled next to the hole. On the par 5 11^th hole, Connor took a huge short cut over a hazard with his second shot and put the ball to about 20 yards from the green. He then chipped over the sand and stopped the ball one foot from the hole (with the Brighton coach watching) and sank the putt to go two under. The Brighton coach was now completely tense. The next hole was a long 450 yard par 4…toughest hole on the course. Connor pulled his drive to the left and had to hit a blind shot over trees. He hit a great shot just a little long and into the rough. Now with the Brighton coaches and Syracuse coaches watching and more spectators starting to see what Connor was doing, he chipped out of long rough to about 3 feet and sank the par putt. On 14, a short par 4 (300 yards) with bunkers around the green, Connor again pulled his driver left. He faced a 40 yard chip over sand into a tight narrow green. Anything long goes into the sand and anything short goes into the sand. Connor proceeded to pull off the most difficult shot I’ve ever seen him hit where he chipped it over the first set of bunkers onto a mound and rolled it up to about 4 feet. He made the putt in front of all the coaches from several teams who were now coming to see what Connor was doing. Now three under. The next hole is a long par 4 with a hazard surrounding the green. Connor piped his drive and was out about 150 yards. He hit his second shot just past the hole, but it rolled about 30 feet from the cup. Again, with everyone watching, he sank the 30-footer to go -4.

Unfortunately, the next hole was a short par 3, but one of the players in the group in front had lost his ball so Connor waited on the tee for about 15 minutes to tee off. I said to Angie while we waited that waiting so long was a big concern of mine. He was playing so well and now had to wait while the rules officials helped one of the players on the green with a ruling. Finally, Connor got to tee off and just missed the green. His chip checked-up on him and he was left with a 10 foot par putt, which he missed. Now back to -3. Connor went on to par the last three holes and finished with a 69. Just an amazing round of golf.

From there, we waited for the other groups to finish. We knew that our first guy made up two strokes on the Brighton player from his group and Connor had gained five strokes on his Brighton player. After the last group came in, we learned of a controversy that happened on one of the holes with Brighton’s #1 player. Apparently, he picked up his ball that he thought was in the hazard, which it wasn’t, and got a two-stroke penalty. He finished the hole and got a triple bogey 7. With the hole finished and the group waiting on the next hole, the rules official went back to the Brighton player and said that he was distracted and that he could reply the hole without a penalty. They allowed him to replay it and he got  a 6 (one stroke better). Anyway, that stroke ended up being huge because after all the groups were in we were tied with Brighton. Had the 7 counted on his score card we would have won without a playoff. Regardless, they allowed it to count and now it came down to a playoff.

The format was four guys from Brighton and four guys from Lone Peak. All 8 guys hit their drives and played the hole out together. The aggregate score of the four players determined the state champion. Unfortunately, we lost in the playoff. I can’t imagine how tense and stressful it was for the players with now every player, coach, and parent following them up the fairway and onto the green.

Connor played amazing and gave his team a chance. The links below all mention Connor, but the Daily-Herald link has a picture of the team and a quote from Connor. We came up one shot short, but we lost with class although the ruling wasn’t something we agreed with. Anyway, that’s the report. Very proud of Connor. 

Connor with his proud mom, Angie
 

 We, also, are very proud of you, Connor.  As I was looking at the pictures of when you made the team two years ago, I see how much you have grown.  We admire how hard you have worked to become the champion that you are.  Fantastic job, Connor!

One more thought before I close.  I just had to put a couple more pictures here at the end because they make me smile every time I see them.  The other day, I was over at Jeff and Amy's when Lola wanted me to see how she could ride her tricycle.  We went outside, and she started down the street.

 She was pedaling along so well, when she suddenly stopped . . .

to let the geese cross the road so she wouldn't scare them.

 Once they had crossed, she started on her way again.  Hah!

   That is one thing I love about Florida--you never know what creatures you'll find unexpectedly.  The other day, I had to go around a mother duck who was sitting in the road warning everyone that she had some little babies who hadn't learned yet that it wasn't safe to get out in the road.  Do you see the disgusted look she has on her face???