Lone Peak celebrates winning the 6A girls basketball championship game against Skyridge at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Saturday, March 4, 2023. Lone Peak won 64-49.
Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
A first, a return to the summit, a new record and a whole slew of repeat winners sums up the Deseret News All-Sports Awards winners in the 44th year of the awards. Tight races were also a theme, as three of the six team titles were decided by four points or less.
Crimson Cliffs was the lone new winner as the school that opened in 2019 claimed the 4A All-Sports title to dethrone last year’s champ Ridgeline by four points.
Skyline returned to the top of 5A as it edged rival Olympus by half a point to secure its first title since the 2016-17 school year — the last year before the UHSAA added a sixth classification.
The usual suspects won the other classifications. Lone Peak won 6A for a seventh straight school year, Morgan won 3A for the fifth consecutive year, Millard won 2A for the fifth time in the last six years, while Panguitch pushed its 1A streak to nine in a row.
Brighton holds the record for 11 consecutive awards from 1980-91, a streak Panguitch is closing in on.
Desert Hills won 10 straight from 2010-21, but its record-tying attempt was nabbed last season by Ridgeline. No award was given during the 2019-20 season because of COVID-19, otherwise Desert Hills’ streak likely would’ve reached 11.
While Panguitch closes in on the impressive longevity record, Lone Peak set a new single-season record as it racked up a whopping 129.5 points to break its own record of 128 team points from 2018-19.
The Deseret News All-Sports award denotes the top overall athletic program in each of the six classifications. Schools earn All-Sports points for placing in the top eight at state. Ten points are awarded for first, eight for second, six for third, five for fourth, four for fifth, three for sixth, two for seventh and one for eighth. Points are divided when teams tie.
Schools earn points in football, cross-country, golf, basketball, wrestling, swimming, baseball, track, soccer, tennis, volleyball, softball and lacrosse.
Every school but eight in the entire state received at least one All-Sports point.
Here’s a look at each classification.
Lone Peak’s Corinne Jones (14) celebrates after winning the 6A girls lacrosse championship at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on May 25, 2023.
Ryan Sun, Deseret News
Class 6A
Girls ruled for Lone Peak this school year and were the catalyst to a dominant performance in the All-Sports standings.
Lone Peak’s girls won a staggering seven of 11 state championships in 6A to lead the school to a new record of 129.5 All-Sports points — breaking its own record of 128 from 2018-19.
That previous record was done without boys and girls lacrosse, with Lone Peak scoring 12.5 points in those two sports this season — including one of those seven girls titles.
Corner Canyon finished second in the 6A standings with 99.5 team points, with Skyridge in third with 94 points.
American Fork, Farmington and Bingham rounded out the top six.
For Lone Peak’s girls, with its seven state titles (volleyball, cross-country, basketball, swimming, track, golf and lacrosse) it finished with 80.5 All-Sports points. They alone outscored every 6A and 5A school but three.
Lone Peak’s boys scored All-Sports points in 10 of 11 sports, including a state title in golf.
While Lone Peak’s girls had the most points of any school in the entire state, the same goes for Corner Canyon’s boys. It won four state titles (basketball, track, tennis and lacrosse) and had two runner-up finishes to tally 70 All-Sports points.
Skyridge and American Fork were the only other 6A schools to win multiple state titles. Skyridge won titles in football, boys swimming and girls tennis, while American Fork won titles in boys cross-country and baseball. The Cavemen also had four runner-up finishes.
Nine different 6A schools won state titles.
Skyline’s Clara Love (38) celebrates her winning penalty kick goal in overtime to beat Bountiful in the 5A girls soccer state championship at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman on Friday, Oct. 21, 2022.
Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Class 5A
Neighborhood rivals Skyline and Olympus were the two most competitive high school sports programs in 5A this school year, and half a point is all that separated the schools.
Skyline tallied 74 All-Sports points, with Olympus finishing with 73.5 points as the Eagles captured the 5A title, their first since the 2016-17 school year.
Timpview finished third with 60 points, with Park City, Lehi and Bountiful rounding out the top six.
Skyline won titles in boys and girls swimming, boys and girls golf, and girls soccer. It also had a runner-up finish in boys tennis.
The total points for overall winner Skyline was a bit of a dip after Lehi won with 92 points last school year.
Olympus finished second overall with its lone state title coming in girls tennis. It had four runner-up finishes in boys and girls lacrosse, boys golf and girls tennis.
Timpview (volleyball, girls track), Park City (boys, girls lacrosse), Mountain View (boys track, boys cross country) and Uintah (boys and girls wrestling) were the only other 5A schools to win multiple state titles.
Eight other schools won state titles, bringing overall titles to 14 this school year.
All 33 schools in 4A this school year earned at least one All-Sports point.
Crimson Cliffs’ Brexten Starley (6) celebrates his home run against Snow Canyon in the 4A state championship at UVU in Orem on Saturday, May 20, 2023.
Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Class 4A
Crimson Cliffs’ outstanding spring sports season pushed it narrowly past reigning champ Ridgeline to claim its first All-Sports crown just four years after the Southern Utah school opened.
It was an extremely tight race as well.
Crimson Cliffs won three state titles to finish with 96.5 points, while Ridgeline finished a close second with three state titles and 95.5 points.
Two years ago Ridgeline had a similar snake-bit runner-up finish as it lost by half a point.
Crimson Cliffs won state titles in boys golf, boys swimming and baseball, in addition to runner-up finishes in football and boys tennis.
The Mustang boys accounted for 66 of the schools 96.5 points, with the girls turning in top-three finishes in tennis, swimming and wrestling.
Ridgeline’s second All-Sports runner-up finish in the past three years was highlighted by state titles in volleyball, girls basketball and girls swimming.
Green Canyon finished a close third with 93.5 points as it claimed state titles in boys soccer, boys lacrosse and girls tennis.
Desert Hills, Mountain Crest and Snow Canyon rounded out the top six.
Nine of 13 schools in 4A won state championships.
This was the second and final year of the smaller 4A classification. Next year the size nearly doubles as points will inevitably spread out among many more schools.
Morgan Trojans’ Alyvia Jaffa (8) holds up a trophy after winning the 3A state volleyball tournament against the Richfield Wildcats in Orem on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. The Trojans won 3-1.
Ben B. Braun, Deseret News
Class 3A
Morgan flexed its sporting muscles in 3A once again as it dominated en route to a fifth-straight All-Sports title.
The Trojans won seven state titles and had two other top-four showings as they finished with 107.5 points. Juab finished a distant second with 70.5 points, with Juan Diego, Grantsville, Canyon View and Carbon rounding out the top six.
Morgan tallied 101 All-Sports points a year ago, and enjoyed a notable uptick this year as it won five more state titles than a year ago. Those state titles came in football, boys and girls track, volleyball, girls tennis, girls basketball and girls golf.
Juab (boys wrestling and baseball) and Judge Memorial (boys and girls swimming) were the only other 3A schools to win multiple state titles this season. Seven other schools won one state title, with 10 of the 22 schools winning at least one title.
All but one school scored All-Sports points.
Millard’s Michael Ralphs takes the tape as 2A runners compete in the state high school cross-country championships at the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022.
Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
Class 2A
A year ago Millard ran away with the 2A All-Sports crown by 23 points, but this year’s win was much tighter.
The Eagles won two state titles to tally 72 points, which was narrowly enough to edge runner-up Kanab and its 68 team points. Kanab has never won a Deseret News All-Sports title in the 44-year history of the award, but came oh-so-close this past school year.
Beaver, Rowland Hall, North Summit and Parowan rounded out the top six.
Millard’s two state titles came in boys cross-country and boys wrestling, while it also earned three runner-up finishes (boys track and girls track, girls cross-country).
Kanab, meanwhile, claimed three titles (baseball, boys track, girls basketball) on its way to the runner-up finish.
Beaver (boys and girls golf), Rowland Hall (boys tennis, girls soccer) and Parowan (boys basketball, volleyball) all won multiple state titles.
Four other 2A schools hoisted one state championship this school year, with every 2A school earning at least 2.5 All-Sports points.
Panguitch’s Carter Yardley, begins the celebration as he crosses the finish line in the 4x400-meter race as high school athletes gather at BYU in Provo to compete for the state track and field championships on Saturday, May 20, 2023.
Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
Class 1A
Panguitch stretched its overall sports reign in 1A to nine straight All-Sports crowns this past school year, and once again it wasn’t really that close.
Similar to last year, Panguitch won with a 20-point cushion as it was buoyed by five state titles to rack up 73.5 points (last year it won with 74 points). Monticello finished second with 53 points, with Rich placing third with 48.
Piute, Milford and Altamont rounded out the top six.
The last 1A school to win other than Panguitch was St. Joseph back in the 2012-13 school year.
Panguitch won state titles in boys and girls track, boys and girls cross-country and then boys wrestling to secure the ninth-straight All-Sports title.
Brighton’s All-Sports record of 11 straight from 1980 to 1991 is very much within sight now for the proud Bobcats sports program.
Monticello was boosted to its runner-up finish with a state title in girls golf and then runner-up finishes in eight-player football and then boys and girls cross-country.
Rich, Piute, Wayne, Valley and Water Canyon also won a state title this past school year.