A Giant Congratulations!

All I can say is, "Wow!"  How excited we were to learn the news that our grandson's team, Lone Peak High School, was the Utah 5A State Golf Tournament champions.  This was a huge win, and we are so proud of the team's effort, as well as all Connor did to contribute to that effort!

 Lone Peak High School Team.  Connor is second from left.

I included two newspaper articles:  In the first, Deseret News, interviewed Connor which I have highlighted and underlined.  In the second, The Daily Herald, the Lone Peak Golf Coach really praises Connor.  Both were such great articles.

  

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High school boys golf: Lone Peak caps undefeated season with 5A championship

By Brandon Gurney, Deseret News

Published: Tuesday, Oct. 8 2013 9:10 p.m. MDT

Updated: Tuesday, Oct. 8 2013 9:08 p.m. MDT

HIGHLAND — Lone Peak's boys golf team dominated its competition during the regular season. When it mattered most, the Knights did it again.
Lone Peak capped its undefeated season with a convincing win Tuesday at the 5A state golf championships held at Alpine Country Club.
The Knights shot a combined 591 over two days — a full 14 shots clear of both Viewmont and Syracuse, who tied for second place.
“It feels amazing. I can’t even describe it,” said Lone Peak’s Connor Copeland. “This team worked so hard all year and we had a big chip on our shoulder coming into the tournament, but that’s now gone and we’re state champions. It feels amazing.”
Copeland himself had two chips on his shoulder entering the final day of competition. The first was courtesy of Brighton, which edged out Lone Peak in a sudden-death playoff last year to take the title. The second was placed there by himself after shooting a lackluster 78 during the first day of this year's competition.
His score earned him the first tee time Tuesday, and he responded just like his coach wanted — and his team needed.
“Connor has been so solid for us all year and I knew he’d respond the way we needed him to,” said Lone Peak coach Rob Stanger. “He got off to a very good start and really paced our team and drove everyone to play their best. I’d go back to the players behind him and tell them that Connor is now 1 shot under par or 2 shots under par, and that really got all of them going since all our players are so competitive.”
Ultimately, Copeland carded a 72 in blustery and subsequent poor scoring conditions Tuesday at Alpine Country Club. Cameron Webb added a 73 and Berkley Stulce a 74 to help secure the championship.
“We’ve had such a deep and consistent team and that showed today, just like it has all year,” Stanger said. “This team really had a desire to improve after coming so close last year and that really drove us this year. I can’t say enough about the kids and the time they put in.”
Last year saw the Knights finish just one putt away from a state title. They made sure it was not nearly as close this time around.
--> "We all wanted to make sure not to come up short this year and it really motivated us seeing how close we were last year," Copeland said. "All our hard work paid off and it was a complete team effort."
Viewmont took second place after winning a one-hole playoff from Syracuse. The Vikes were led by Kelton Hirsch, who carded a 70 on the final day to take the 5A individual title with a combined score of 143.
"I've put in a lot of hard work the last two years and it feels great to finally get it done," Hirsch said. "Last year I had a disappointing showing, so I wanted to make a good run at it this year."
Hirsch entered the final day four shots off the lead held by West's Austin Banz, who shot a 69 the first day. The deficit caused Hirsch to not think much about the individual title until reaching the 18th tee.
"I didn't think I'd be even close coming in," Hirsch said. "I just thought the guys would come in lower than they did today, so it was a complete surprise that I had a two-shot lead heading into the final hole. I was definitely surprised, but excited."
5A GOLF
Tuesday's final results
Lone Peak — 591
Viewmont — 605
Syracuse — 605
Davis — 612
Brighton — 613
American Fork — 617
Bingham — 626
West — 635
Pleasant Grove — 652
Layton — 652

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Lone Peak dominates on second day to win 5A state golf crown

Daily Herald

Provo, Utah

--> It’s what the Lone Peak boys golf team had used all season to win 12 straight region events and lead after the first round of the 5A state tournament Monday at the Alpine Country Club.
On Tuesday, when the majority of players were unable to even match the first day’s results, the Knights once again tallied four scores in the 70s to capture the title by 14 strokes.
After a combined 295 Monday, Lone Peak turned in a 296 on Tuesday with a different combination of players. Those scores are good enough for fifth and sixth place all-time in the state records book.
It’s the third title in six years for the Knights, who also finished second the other three of those years.
After a very pleasant fall day for Round 1, temperatures were considerably cooler with the help of a swirling wind which did affect play.
In addition, the course was laid out about 300 yards longer than is typical for a high school event, providing a championship-worthy test for the state’s best prep golfers.
Lone Peak junior Cameron Webb tallied a two-day score of 145 to tie three other players for second place in the individual medalist standings.
“I felt the need to have another solid round today,” Webb said. “I had a couple of shaky holes, but overall, I was satisfied with how I did today.” He followed the first day’s par 72 with a 73 on Tuesday.
“It feels good to be able to perform well both days,” the player continued. “Last year I didn’t hold up in the second round. This year, the pressure felt worse the first day.”
Webb attributed an improvement in his mental toughness to first-year coach Rob Stanger.
“He’s an incredible golf teacher,” Webb said of Stanger, who does just that as the teaching pro at the Alpine Country Club. “He’s taught me a lot about attitude.
“He always tells us that emotion creates motion. I’ve been able to master my temper a lot better this year,” Webb said.
Two of his teammates also finished in the top 10. Berkley Stulce tied for seventh with a two-day total of 149, following his first-day 75 with a 74, and Connor Copeland was 10th with a 150.
However, it was how Copeland got there which made the difference for his team at the end.
His first-round score of 78 didn’t even count towards the first day’s tally. That put him in the first group of the top four teams to tee off, and he dropped six shots off his first round to turn in the overall third-best score of the second day at 72.
“Connor was huge for us,” said Stanger. “He set the tone for the day by battling through. We knew with a start like that, if the other guys could just stay steady, we had a great chance.”

--> Stanger followed his golfers on the course, so he really didn’t know what the team’s overall status was until he got to the clubhouse.
--> “People say it’s an advantage to play on your home course, but there’s another side to that,” he explained. “If you come in with those expectations and don’t pull it off, that’s just a disaster mentally.“However, the guys really stepped up and finished it off today,” he concluded.
Parker Petersen shot a 77 for Lone Peak’s other counted score. Zane Loveland and Carson Lundell also competed on the second day for the Knights.
Elijah Turner and Jake Livingston also qualified for state play and participated in the first round as individuals but didn't make the cut for the second day.
"The course played phenomenal," Stanger said. "The greens were perfect and they played smooth and fast. Kent Easton and his staff did a great job preparing the course for this event.
"We appreciate that they made this facility available so we could play on a great golf course," the coach added. "We hope others will do the same."
American Fork was one of just two teams in the field to actually shoot a better score in the second round. The Cavemen dropped seven strokes off the Monday total and moved up a couple of spots to place sixth.
Trell Morse led the charge, posting one of the best scores of the day at 74, six strokes better than the day before. His two-day total of 154 ranked 22nd overall.
Pleasant Grove stayed in ninth place. Lehi’s Blake Carter shot a 79 Tuesday for a combined score of 153, which tied for 17th place.
Beky Beaton can be reached at bbeaton@heraldextra.com. Follow her on Twitter at @BeatonWrite.
5A state golf final results
Alpine Country Club
Team standings
1. Lone Peak 591, 2. Viewmont 605 (won playoff), 3. Syracuse 605, 4. Davis 612, 5. Brighton 613, 6. American Fork 617, 7. Bingham 628, 8. West 635, T9. Pleasant Grove, Layton 652.
Individual leaders
1. Kelton Hirsch (Vwm) 143; T2. Cameron Webb (LP), Austin Banz (West), Marshall Harris (West), Dylan Chugg (Fr) 145; 6. Henry Leng (Grg), 147; T7. Berkley Stulce (LP), Charlie Duensing (Brt), Andrew Reilly (Brt) 149; 10. Connor Copeland (LP) 150.

 I love this picture of Kevin showing Connor how to putt when he was just a little guy.  Through the years, both Kevin and Angie have encouraged Connor and provided all he needed as far as the equipment, golf course memberships, lessons, and encouragement.  Connor had to do the rest to become great!

Three years ago when Connor was a sophomore, I was tending at Kevin and Angie's home for a week while they were on vacation.  The picture above is when he first made the high school team.  During the week I was there, I personally observed the hard work and dedication Connor had for golf.  Without ever having to wake him, he would be up at 6:00 a.m. headed for the golf course, and then when it was starting to get dark that night, I would call and go get him to come home for dinner.  Well, all his years of hard work and dedication have paid off.  Not only did he make the team, he has enjoyed great success all his years in high school golf.  That's what it takes to become a true champion!

 A perfect way to end a senior year of golf!  We love you, Connor, and are so proud of all you have done to do your very best!