Beky Beaton / American Fork Citizen

American Fork graduate Braeden Johnson has been named as this year’s recipient of the Janet M. Dowse Award and Scholarship, presented by the Utah Tennis Association.

This award was established in memory of Janet M. Dowse, Executive Director of the Utah Tennis Association from 1980 to May 1996. According to the USTA website, “Jan was balanced in her approach to tennis and life, keeping both in proper perspective.

“This award and scholarship was established in 1996 and is awarded annually to a junior player who exemplifies integrity, willingness to help others, love of family and the joy of playing tennis. The junior player is recognized and presented the scholarship and award during the Annual Awards event.”

That event is set for Nov. 20 at the Marriot University Park, where Braeden will be represented by members of his family as he is currently serving in the Denmark Copenhagen Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“I don’t know if there’s a better example of what the Dowse award stands for,” said Caveman Coach Jason Herrud.

“Braeden has shown all the qualities the award exemplifies: his integrity, willingness to help others better their game and feel part of the team, a deep love of family, and the balance he has shown in academics and extracurricular activities is quite unique,” the coach continued.

“Braeden has maximized his potential and is still finding ways to make an impact while he serves a mission in Denmark. He definitely has brought pride and joy to his family and this community,” Herrud concluded.

Johnson capped his outstanding senior season by repeating as the Class 6A No. 1 Singles champion last spring. He’s also a two-time Utah Mr. Tennis recipient.

Johnson has been the top-ranked singles player in Utah since moving here two years ago. Prior to that, he was the 5A state champion in Idaho as a sophomore and finished fourth in the state tournament as a freshman.

He is the 2025 recipient of the Lee Hammel Outstanding Male High School Tennis Player Award from the Utah Tennis Association as well.

Johnson has signed to continue his athletic career at Brigham Young University after returning from his mission.

Matthew Ball / American Fork Citizen

The No. 8 American Fork football team battled through a game-long downpour to defeat Copper Hills 32-21 in the first round of the 6A state football tournament. The Cavemen advance to the quarterfinals and will travel to No. 1 Skyridge on Friday (Nov. 6) for a 6 p.m. kickoff.

American Fork set and maintained the tone throughout the game. The Cavemen defense hit the ground running as sophomore defensive back Brayden Litke intercepted a pass by Copper Hills quarterback Ethan Hill on the third play of their opening drive.

On the following 1st-and-10, senior running back DC Fonua raced for a spectacular 34-yard touchdown. Senior kicker Jace Worthington sent the ball sailing through the uprights to make it 7-0 for American Fork.

Mother Nature came to battle on the next drive as pouring rain made handling the ball difficult. After two short runs and an incomplete pass, the Grizzlies prepared to punt on 4th-and-6.

A high snap sent an out-of-control ball over the punter’s head. The punter did a soccer-style kick to send the ball out the back of the end zone, resulting in a safety.

The ensuing punt was mishandled but then recovered by senior Carter Jorgenson and carried to the American Fork 40-yard line, giving the Cavemen excellent field position.

Rain continued to be an issue as senior quarterback Nate Childs fumbled the football twice during the seven-play drive, resulting in a Caveman punt on 4th-and-24.

Copper Hills responded with a rugged drive but failed to score, missing a field goal attempt from the 34-yard line.

Linebackers Luke Vernon, Ty Wilson and Sam Thompson each reported multiple tackles while senior safety Noah Behm had a heyday sacking the quarterback and deflecting a touchdown pass on back-to-back plays.

On their own 20-yard line with eight minutes to the half, American Fork launched a drive that included tight end Zach Cowie catching a decisive 14-yarder and Fonua making significant contributions on the ground.

A crucial pass interference call on 4th-and-10 sent the Cavemen up to the Copper Hills 14-yard line late in the first half. Childs connected with senior tight end Christian Hanshaw at the 6-yard line and then hit him again for the touchdown with 22 seconds left, making it 15-0 for the home squad. 

After the break, the Caveman rushing talent was too much for the Grizzlies as senior running backs Ben Iongi, Fonua and Tani Vaki powered a touchdown drive exclusively on the ground.

After a trip to the endzone was called back for holding, Fonua got loose for a 17-yard touchdown, extending American Fork’s lead to 22-0.

In response, Copper Hill’s Ishmael Duffes caught a beautiful 62-yard pass deep in Caveman territory. A 3-yard touchdown rush followed by a talented grab on the 2-point conversion try put the Grizzlies on the scoreboard for the first time at 8-22 with 3:54 left in the third quarter.

American Fork fielded the ball at the 22 as the rain refused to let up. Childs and Hanshaw connected again for 12 yards before the Grizzlies scooped up a fumble and ran it back for six points.

The successful PAT closed the gap to 15-22 and added to the energy as its newfound momentum rejuvenated the Copper Hills team.

The Caveman offense kept its composure as junior wide receiver Cash Taiese caught two consecutive targets and Iongi got loose on the ground, propelling the Cavemen into Grizzly territory. Worthington nailed a key 43-yard field goal to end the drive and furnish a two-score advantage at 25-15.

Late in the fourth period, the Cavemen stopped a Copper Hills 4th-and-1 attempt, giving them great field position. Childs spotted junior wide receiver Ty Holmstead in the corner of the end zone and tossed the ball to him to extend the lead to 32-15 with 1:30 to go.

In the closing minute, the Grizzlies organized a valiant drive yielding six points to complete the tally for the soggy contest.

For obvious reasons it was a light passing night, but Childs completed 8-of-12 passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Taiese was the leading receiver with three catches for 43 yards. Fonua had a monster night with 18 carries for 151 yards and two scores.

On the other side of the ball, the linebackers led the defensive effort. Vernon finished with a combined 11 tackles, Thompson added nine and Wilson had seven. Litke posted six plus his pick and Noah Behm supplied five tackles.

“It was really a collective effort,” said Coach Aaron Behm, “It rained the entire time, so the O-line and the running backs really had to take things over, and I think they did a great job setting the tone.

“You know that when the weather is weird like this, strange things are going to happen in the game and we can’t control any of that,” he continued. “We can’t control how wet it is. All we can control is playing the next play and I think our kids did a great job of doing that.”

As for the upcoming rematch with top-ranked Skyridge, Coach Behm said, “We feel like it was a very close game the last time we played them but not our best game. So this week that is going to be our focus, to give our best for four quarters.”

Megan Wallgren / American Fork Citizen

The American Fork High School Cross Country teams came home with a pair of runner-up titles from the UHSAA State Cross Country Championships on October 27 at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City.

The nationally-ranked Caveman boys were upset by Lehi in a close team competition on the 3-mile course that ended with the Pioneers earning a score of 61 to American Fork’s 66. Riverton took bronze with a score of 82.

Post-state, Dyestat’s national rankings saw Lehi jump to No. 8 with American Fork close behind at No. 9.

The Cavemen placed three runners in the top 10 led by junior David Webb, who came in second overall with a time of 15:15.97. He was followed closely by junior Chase Hejny, finishing fifth in 15:21.81, and sophomore Bennett Jensen, taking seventh in 15:31.57.

Next for American Fork, and 17th overall, was senior Roy Jones, crossing the line in 15:46.32. Rounding out the scoring five, junior Will Thresher finished 35th overall in 16:11.49.

Junior Dax Jolley and senior Trey Nielsen completed the state boys varsity squad, crossing in 16:12.89 and 16:17.93, respectively.

The Caveman boys scoring spread of 55.52 seconds could not hold up to Lehi’s tight 14.75 spread between the team’s top five runners.

The nationally ranked American Fork girls finished second to 5-time state champion Lone Peak, which had 30 points to American Fork’s 86. Davis took third place with 123 points. After the results, Lone Peak was ranked No. 5 nationally, while the American Fork girls were ranked No. 22.

Junior Sarah Watson crossed the line first for American Fork, finishing in eighth place with a time of 18:37.32. She was followed by seniors Skye Jensen, who crossed 11th overall in 18:39.98, and Shay Smith, earning 15th place with a time of 19:06.86.

Sophomore Cali Dooley finished 19th with a time of 19:11.42, and senior Sophie Bahr completed the scoring five, crossing 33rd in 20.00.49.

Closing out American Fork’s varsity squad were junior Rebekah Jacob, running in 20.00.58, and freshman Quincy Skousen, finishing with a time of 20:05.81. The spread between the top five runners was 1:23.17 with a team average of 19:07.00.

“Our girls had a great season this year with a good mix of seniors and lots of underclassmen,” said girls coach Bruno Hunziker, who was honored as a 6A Coach of the Year by the UCCTCA. “We finished second at State behind one of the top teams in the nation.

“We’re looking forward to going to NXR and hopefully be able to advance to NXN from there. We were seventh last year overall at NXN and hopefully we’ll get a good repeat of that. We’ve got lots of good young runners for the next season,” the coach said.

Boys coach Timo Mostert said, “We have had a good season with some health ups and downs. If we can be healthy for NXR, then we’ll have the opportunity to qualify to advance to Nike Cross Nationals for the 14th time.

“This has been one of the deepest years for Utah boys cross country, so it will be a battle in Arizona,” he added. Both teams will compete in the Nike Cross Regionals Southwest race on November 21 in Mesa, Arizona, for a spot in Nike’s national championship meet.

Photos by Matt Paepke.

Beky Beaton / American Fork Citizen

The American Fork mountain biking team completed their season by finishing 15^th at the Utah High School State MTB Championships on Saturday (Oct. 24) in St. George on the Renegade Ridge Trail Park at Desert Color. The event included 2,246 participants in the various divisions and skill levels.

Lone Peak earned the state title in a field of 20 teams in Division I with 4489 points, followed by Corner Canyon at 4461 and Skyline at 4446. The Cavemen tallied 3847 points for their efforts in the two-day event with a very young team. Only three of their 16 scoring riders were seniors.

The leading points-earner for American Fork was junior Hallie Lunsford, who improved her finish from last year by two spots to claim 11^th place in the Varsity Girls event with a time of 1:12:08.25 for 290 points.

The Cavemen also had a category winner in freshman Lila Jonas, who captured the top spot in the JV B Girls race to contribute 280 points, second-highest on the team. Jonas also won the Queen of the Mountain title in her skill group with a time of 1:34.5 on the designated course section.

The top male points total came from another youngster. Cannon Eccles garnered 10^th place in the Freshman A Boys race to add 271 points to the combined team total.

American Fork had four other scoring riders in the varsity races. For the girls, junior Norma Rockwell provided 214 points and senior Laura Jacobsen added 210 points. On the boys side, it was senior Ryder Warnock with 213 points and junior Asher Anderson with 210 points.

All of the team’s other points were earned in the junior varsity events. In JV B girls, freshman Savannah Nielsen supplied 249 points, freshman Aspen Wilde added 229 points and freshman Madison Baker got 208 points. Sophomore Kensley Langford came in 13^th in JV C Girls for 258 points.

In JV A Boys, it was sophomore Kimball Gay with 260 points while sophomore Benjamin Preece collected 249 points and sophomore Austin Gunther earned 224 points. In JV B Boys, senior Tucker Alsop tallied 248 points and sophomore Aaron Antillon made 234 points.

With most of their top riders returning next season, the Cavemen will have a great foundation to build on.

Photos by Curtis Carter.

Beky Beaton / American Fork Citizen

The No. 6 American Fork High School girls volleyball team played all the way to the end of the 6A state tournament, finishing in fourth place in the field of all Region 3 teams. The Cavemen tallied a 17-13 record for the season.

Oct. 27: American Fork 3, #11 Farmington 1

The Cavemen came out hot and won the first set 25-17, but the Phoenix responded to grab the next game 25-22. American Fork took control and claimed the final two sets 25-19, 25-19 to close out the match victory.

The Cavemen got significant contributions from all of their big hitters. Senior outside hitter Destinie Hampton paced the effort with 11 kills, four aces, two solo blocks, 14 digs and 17 serve-receives

Junior opposite Alivia Lemon added 14 kills, three aces and two solo blocks, while senior outside hitter Macy Melville supplied 14 kills, 10 digs and 11 serve-receives.

Freshman middle blocker Alexis Brant provided five kills with three solo of five combined blocks. Senior setter Brynn Murray served four aces to go with 13 digs and 31 assists. Sophomore libero Calla Pranger led her team with 31 serve-receives and also had eight assists.

Oct. 27: American Fork 3, #3 Syracuse 1

The Cavemen were the underdogs in the quarterfinal against the Titans (22-7), but after running the Region 3 gauntlet, they played like the battle-tested veterans they are.

American Fork handled the first two sets 25-16, 25-22. Syracuse rallied to win the third game 25-16 and pushed the fourth set to an extra point, but the Cavemen prevailed 26-24 to upset the higher seed and secure their ticket forward.

Melville led out with 17 kills, three aces, three solo blocks, nine digs, three assists and 13 serve-receives. Lemon garnered eight kills with five combined blocks, eight digs and 18 serve-receives. Hampton added nine kills, two aces plus a team-high 15 digs.

Murray scored four kills and dished out 32 assists while Pranger topped the list in serve-receives with 28.

Oct. 28: #2 Skyridge 3, American Fork 2

The Cavemen eliminated the Titans to join No. 1 Corner Canyon, No. 2 Skyridge and No. 4 Lone Peak in the final rounds of the championship bracket.

In Wednesday morning’s epic semifinal, American Fork battled toe-to-toe with the Falcons, forcing two sets to extra points.

Skyridge won the first two games 26-24, 25-16, but the Cavemen rallied to secure the next two sets 25-22, 25-20 to bring on the fifth-game tiebreaker. It took five extra points to reach a decision, but the Falcons eventually prevailed 20-18 to move on to the title match.

Melville gave a superlative effort in the contest, smashing 26 kills with three aces, 13 digs and a team-high 30 serve-receives. Lemon added 11 kills, five combined blocks, 14 digs and 10 serve-receives. Hampton posted 10 kills, 13 digs and 12 serve-receives.

Brant tallied seven kills with an impressive seven combined blocks. Junior middle blocker Daci Roberts supplied four combined blocks. Murray led the team in digs with 19 and made 52 of the squad’s 55 assists. Senior libero Taanii Fielding made 17 digs. Pranger provided 13 digs and 25 serve-receives.

Oct. 28: #4 Lone Peak 2, American Fork 0

American Fork had to make a quick turnaround after that marathon for the best-of-three placement match against the Knights.

The Cavemen competed well throughout this contest also. In the first game they were still right there, answering every challenge until the score reached 17-18. At that point Lone Peak began to slowly pull away until they finished the game at 25-20.

In the second set, American Fork got off to a great start and surged out in front 10-2. The Knights would begin to reduce the deficit, but the Cavemen responded every time and they still had the spread when the score stood at 19-11.

However, Lone Peak was successful in their efforts to chip away at the margin starting at that point and the Knights overtook American Fork to win the set 27-25 and capture third place.

Melville led the effort for American Fork with 13 kills, eight digs and 15 serve-receives. Hampton added six kills with three combined blocks and seven digs, Murray gave out 23 assists and Pranger took 15 serve-receives.

Beky Beaton / American Fork Citizen

The American Fork High School girls volleyball team won four of their last five matches to finish the regular season, tying for third place in Region 3 at 4-4 and ending up 15-11 overall heading into the playoffs.

Oct. 6: American Fork 3, Lehi 0

The Cavemen easily won the first two sets against the homestanding Pioneers 25-11, 25-13. However, Lehi put up more of a fight in the third round, pushing it to an extra point, but American Fork still prevailed 26-24 to secure the match.

Senior outside hitter Destinie Hampton led the attack with 14 kills, two aces, 10 digs and eight serve-receives while senior outside hitter Macy Melville added 12 kills, three aces, 11 digs and 12 serve-receives.

Senior setter Brynn Murray supplied 27 assists. Sophomore libero Calla Pranger led her team with 17 serve-receives.

Oct. 8: American Fork 3, Syracuse 2

The Cavemen had a marathon battle on the road against the Titans. They got off to an exciting start by outlasting Syracuse 26-24 in the first set, but the home squad responded by winning the next two games 25-14, 25-16.

American Fork came back to capture the fourth set 25-23 and then closed out the match by securing a 15-13 win in the tiebreaker.

Melville sparked her squad with an outstanding effort, contributing team highs of 15 kills, five aces and 11 digs to go with 19 serve-receives. Hampton added 12 kills and led the squad in serve-receives with 32. Junior middle blocker Daci Roberts tallied six kills.

Junior opposite Alivia Lemon contributed 11 kills while freshman middle blocker Alexis Brant provided eight kills with four combined blocks and Murray served three aces to go with 10 digs and 40 assists. Pranger collected 25 serve-receives.

Oct. 12: American Fork 3, Fremont 1

The host Cavemen had a lively match with the Silverwolves. They got a comfortable win in the first set 25-14 but fell just short in the next one 24-26. American Fork rallied to claim the final two sets 25-20, 26-24 to capture the match victory.

Melville had another fantastic outing with 14 kills, six aces, three combined blocks, 23 digs, four assists and 40 serve-receives. Hampton garnered 13 kills, 13 digs and 15 serve-receives.

Lemon made eight kills and three aces while Brant supplied six kills and four combined blocks. Pranger served six aces with 11 digs plus 10 serve-receives and Murray had three solo blocks, 11 digs and 37 assists.

Oct. 20: Skyridge 3, American Fork 1

The Cavemen challenged the Falcons in their gym. After dropping the first set to Skyridge 25-16, American Fork bounced back to win the second game 25-22. The Falcons took the third 25-16 and then hung on to win the final set 26-24.

Melville continued her productivity with 15 kills, three aces, 12 digs and 15 serve-receives. Hampton supplied 12 kills, 12 digs and 17 serve-receives. Lemon posted nine kills.

Murray dug 11 times and dished out 35 assists. Pranger recorded 26 serve-receives. Senior libero Taanii Fielding made 10 digs.

Oct. 22: American Fork 3, West 0

The Cavemen scheduled a competitive match to close out the regular season, but they hung on to sweep the Panthers 26-24, 25-18, 25-18.

Hampton paced the attack with 14 kills while Lemon had 10 kills and Melville made nine kills with 18 digs. Murray served five aces and made 34 assists. Fielding tallied 11 digs and 26 serve-receives. Brant provided five kills, three aces and four combined blocks.

Beky Beaton / American Fork Citizen

The Cavemen competed well in the state’s toughest region, which has teams claiming three of the top four spots in the final rankings for the classification. This year only 16 teams make the field so the entire event takes place Tuesday and Wednesday at Utah Valley University’s UCCU Center.

Here’s how they are positioned going into the 6A state tournament.

American Fork

Season record: 4-4 Region 3 (T3rd), 15-11 overall

Final MaxPreps ranking: 6 in 6A, 11 statewide

Next contest: Oct. 27

Prospects: The Cavemen will take on #11 Farmington (16-12) at 10:30 a.m. on Court 4 in the first round of the playoffs. If they advance, they will face the winner of #3 Syracuse (21-6) and #14 Westlake (8-14) in the quarterfinals at 1:30 p.m. on Court 4. A loss in the first round would drop them to a consolation game at 1:30 p.m. on Court 3. American Fork has defeated all three of these teams this year, sweeping the Phoenix and Thunder and outlasting the Titans 3-2 just two weeks ago.

Beky Beaton / American Fork Citizen

The No. 4 American Fork High School girls soccer team fell to top-ranked Lone Peak 3-0 in the semifinals of the 6A state tournament on Monday (Oct. 19) at the Zion’s Bank Stadium in Herriman. They finish the season with a 13-7 overall record.

The Knights got the advantage right out of the gate by scoring their first goal just 30 seconds into the contest. They added a second score with about 13 minutes remaining in the first half and held the 2-0 lead heading into the break.

Freshman goalkeeper Sofia Crowley made numerous saves in the contest and did a great job defending the net the entire match, but she was under constant pressure from Lone Peak’s speedy offense. The Knights got their final goal on a breakaway with 18 minutes left.

For their part, the Cavemen did not roll over and kept competing throughout the contest. Senior defender Jill Kesler plus junior defenders Lehua Fisher and Abby Slater worked especially hard clearing threats from the attacking third of the field.

American Fork had the best chance for a score on a counter following the third Lone Peak goal. Senior midfielder Cambree Ballard got off a rocket shot from the top of the box, but it hit the crossbar and bounced back out.

In the midfield, Ballard, senior Suri Parsia, junior Eva Gunn and junior Sophie Adams tried to keep the ball moving and kept switching it from sideline to sideline to try to find a path through the Knight defense. They took some shots but weren’t able to convert them.

Ballard finished the season as the leading offensive force for the team with 20 points from seven goals and six assists. Parsia was second with 13 points for five goals plus three assists and sophomore forward Ivy Jacobson was third with 11 points for three goals and five assists.

Beky Beaton / American Fork Citizen

Several products of our local high school teams had an impact in the first-ever meeting of two top-10 teams at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday (Oct. 17), when the No. 8 Cougars pulled off a thrilling 28-24 victory over No. 2 Notre Dame.

At the top of the list is the former Lehi star, true freshman wide receiver Legend Glasker. Glasker earned a starting role in spring and fall camp, and is BYU’s leading receiver six games into the season with 24 catches for 444 yards and three touchdowns. That’s 200 yards more than the next man on the list.

He’s been averaging 18.5 yards per reception and 74 yards per game. Against the Fighting Irish, he was tied for receiving yards with 66 on five catches but added some rushing yards as well to finish with the highest all-purpose yards total of 75.

Glasker made key receptions on two critical Cougar drives. Trailing 7-10 in the second quarter, Glasker gathered a toss from sophomore quarterback Bear Bachmeier that he turned into a 19-yard gain, reaching the Notre Dame 28-yard line.

This drive eventually ended with a double-pass touchdown by Bachmeier which put BYU back in front 14-10.

Glasker was called on once more in the fourth quarter, after the Cougars had again fallen behind 21-24. On 2^nd-and-10, Bachmeier connected with Glasker for a 26-yard pickup that brought the ball to the Irish 15-yard line and led to the game-winning score.

This is Glasker’s third game with 5+ receptions, tied for the fourth-most by an active FBS true freshman this season. He is the only Big 12 true freshman with even one game of 5+ catches this season.

Former Skyridge standout Tausili Akana starts on the BYU defensive line. The redshirt junior has also played in all six games and is 10^th on the team in total tackles with 13, but he leads both in tackles-for-loss at 6.5 for 30 yards and sacks with 3.5 for 24 yards. In this game he had two tackles and a pass break-up.

Freshman Bott Mulitalo starts on the offensive line and could often be seen in the game making key blocks for the offense. A Lehi resident, he was a 4-star recruit out of Lone Peak.

Sophomore defensive end Hunter Clegg started this game and is a team co-captain and a member of the Leadership Council. The former Caveman star had two solo tackles and a hurry for this game. He has 10 tackles, four hurries, an interception and a pass break-up so far this season.

Redshirt senior defensive end Bodie Schoonover is also a co-captain and on the Leadership Council. Another American Fork alum, he had three tackles and hurry against the Irish and is tied for sixth on the team in tackles with 15, including three for a loss, and also has three hurries this year.

Other locals who participated in reserve roles against Notre Dame were former Cavemen tight ends Noah Moeaki and Will Zundell, both redshirt sophomores.

Beky Beaton / American Fork Citizen

The American Fork boys golf team finished in a tie for sixth place at the soggy 6A State Tournament October 12 and 13 at Talons Cove Golf Club in Saratoga Springs.

The Cavemen earned fifth place in the qualifying first round with a combined team score of 289 (+1), ahead of Region 3 foes Lone Peak at 291 (+3) and Corner Canyon at 294 (+6).

Together, the Knights and the Chargers own 13 of the last 14 state championships and both finished ahead of American Fork in Region 3. However, this year Corner Canyon was the last team to make the cut at the state event.

Lehi won their first 6A title in boys golf by a landslide with a two-day total of 562 (-14). Skyridge earned a surprising second place with 569 (-7) after struggling against the league foes all season.

Lone Peak rallied behind their repeat state individual medalist, junior Blake Brown, to finish in third place. The Cavemen tied Bingham for sixth place with 584 (+8). They bested the Chargers, tied for eighth place, by four strokes.

Sophomore James Smith was the top placer for American Fork, carding a 143 (-1) over the two days to claim 14^th place. Junior Landon Lieu was next in for the squad, ending in a tie for 20^th place at 145 (+1).

The other counted scores came from junior Sam Fairbanks, tied for 28^th place right behind his teammate at 146 (+2), and senior Wes Brown rounded out the tally with a 150 (+6) in a tie for 39^th place.

Additional Cavemen who competed at the state event were junior Cade Henneman (152, +8) and senior Chad Douglass (156, +12).