Here’s how each American Fork lacrosse team is positioned entering the state tournaments.

Girls

Season record: 0-8 Region 3 (5th), 5-13 overall

Final RPI ranking: 14 in 6A

MaxPreps ranking: 14 in 6A, 45 statewide

Next contest: May 14

Prospects: With a bye in the first round, the Cavemen will visit #3 Mountain Ridge (12-4) in the second round on Thursday at 4 p.m. or at a different time if the schools mutually decide to change it. The winner of that contest will take on the victor of #6 Syracuse (13-4) and #11 Lehi (10-8) on Saturday (May 16) at the home of the higher seed. The default start time is 4 p.m. but this may be adjusted as the schools agree. American Fork bowed to the Pioneers in both Region 3 contests this season, but this will be their first opportunity to play the Sentinels or the Titans.

Boys

Season record: 0-4 Region 3 (5th), 8-10 overall

Final RPI ranking: 16 in 6A

MaxPreps ranking: 14 in 6A, 47 statewide

Next contest: May 14

Prospects: The Cavemen will visit #3 Farmington (14-3) in the second round of the state tournament Thursday at 4 p.m. or whenever the schools agree. The winner of that game will take on the victor of #6 Weber (13-5) and #11 Lone Peak (6-10) in the second round on Saturday (May 16) at 1 p.m. on the home field of the higher seed. American Fork did not play the Phoenix or the Warriors this year but lost to the Knights during the region season.

Beky Beaton / American Fork Citizen

The defending state champion American Fork boys tennis team won all of its matches on the first day at the 6A state tournament at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Thursday (May 7). The semifinals and finals will be played tomorrow (May 9) at the same venue.

Lone Peak also advanced an entrant in every bracket and Skyridge moved forward in four of the five positions to set up what promises to be another epic showdown for the gold trophy.

Caveman Braeden Johnson remains the top seed at No. 1 Singles and moved on after sweeping No. 17 Mountain Ridge and beating No. 9 Weber.

In No. 2 Singles, Camden Johnson got the No. 1 nod and eliminated No. 16 Mountain Ridge and No. 8 Westlake to reach the semifinals.

Matt Davis at No. 3 Singles also occupies the projected top spot and moved forward after besting No. 16 Copper Hills and No. 9 Syracuse.

In No. 1 Doubles, the duo of Sam Fairbanks and Sam Karras prevailed over No. 14 Mountain Ridge and No. 7 Bingham to get their spot.

The pairing of Phillip Steed and Drew Jacobsmeyer are ranked No. 3 and they retired No. 14 Copper Hills and No. 6 Bingham on their path to the semifinals.

Check back later for further updates and more photos.

Photos by Sam Penrod.

Here’s how the baseball team is positioned entering the state tournament.

American Fork

Season record: 13-3 Region 3 (1st), 17-8 overall

Final RPI ranking: 1 in 6A

MaxPreps ranking: 1 in 6A, 1 statewide

Next contest: May 13

Prospects: The defending state champion Cavemen look like the favorite for a 6A title repeat by all measures coming into the state tournament. As the top team in Bracket 1, they will host #16 Farmington (8-17) in the Super Regionals best-of-3 series on May 13 and 14. The first game is scheduled for Wednesday at 4 p.m. The next one is set for 1 p.m. on Thursday, with a tiebreaker to follow if necessary. American Fork did not play the Phoenix this year. The series winner will take on whoever advances from #8 Layton (18-6) versus #9 Jordan (13-12) at 4:30 p.m. when the tournament moves to BYU on May 18. The Cavemen never saw the Lancers but had the series edge 2-1 over the Beetdiggers in Region 3 play this season.

Here’s how the American Fork boys soccer team is positioned entering the 6A state tournament.

American Fork

Season record: 3-5 Region 3 (3rd), 6-8 overall

Final RPI ranking: 14 in 6A

MaxPreps ranking: 15 in 6A, 50 statewide

Next contest: May 12

Prospects: The two-time defending state champion Cavemen earned a bye in the first round and will visit No. 3 Farmington (12-3) in the second round of the 6A state tournament on Tuesday (May 12). The default time is 4 p.m. but the schools may agree to change that. If American Fork wins, the Cavemen will advance to the quarterfinals and host whoever prevails between #11 Copper Hills (9-8) at #6 Westlake (11-5) on Thursday (May 14) at 4 p.m. American Fork did not play the Phoenix or the Thunder this year but lost to the Grizzlies by a one-goal margin back in early March.

Beky Beaton / American Fork Citizen

After returning from the spring holiday, the American Fork boys volleyball team posted an identical 1-3 result in the second round of Region 3 play. They Cavemen finished in fourth place in the league with a 2-6 record and ended the regular season with a 9-19 overall mark.

Following is a summary of post-break April results. Statistical information for this team is unavailable.

• April 16: Lehi 3, American Fork 0 – The Cavemen played a spirited first set with the top-ranked Pioneers, but the firepower of the visitors proved to be a bit too much as Lehi prevailed 25-21, 25-14, 25-9.
• April 21: Corner Canyon 3, American Fork 0 – The Cavemen competed and got stronger as the match went on against the Chargers on the road. They played particularly well in the third set, but the host school was still able to secure the sweep 25-16, 25-18, 25-22.
• April 23: Lone Peak 3, American Fork 0 – The Cavemen challenged the region co-champs in the first set on their court. However, the home squad went on to pick up the win 25-22, 25-13, 25-18.
• April 24-25: Cavemen go 3-2 in tourney – In the two-day Skyline Tournament,American Fork won all three matches on the first day in the shortened best-of-three format. The Cavemen topped Highland 25-17, 26-24, then beat Judge Memorial 25-9, 25-18 and finally bested Taylorsville in the nightcap 25-20, 25-8. Playing in the full format on the second day, American Fork engaged in an exciting back-and-forth battle with Copper Hills. The Grizzlies won the first and fourth games, but the Cavemen prevailed in the second and third sets to bring on a tiebreaker fifth game. Copper Hills pulled out the narrowest possible victory 25-23, 11-25, 19-25, 25-19, 15-13. In their final match of the event, American Fork fell in straight sets to a highly-ranked Bingham team.
• April 28: American Fork 3, Skyridge 0 – The Cavemen claimed a sweep at home on Senior Night, earning a 25-16, 25-22, 25-18 victory over the scrappy Falcons to secure their spot in the final region standings.

The Cavemen are seeded No. 14 in the 6A RPI playoff rankings and earned a bye to advance to the second round of the 6A state tournament at Utah Valley University’s UCCU Center on Wednesday (May 6), where they will face No. 3 Lone Peak (21-6) with a scheduled match time of 5 p.m. on Court 3.

Photos by Matt Paepke.

Beky Beaton / American Fork Citizen

The returning state champion American Fork boys tennis team won the Region 3 tournament, hosted by Corner Canyon High School in Draper on April 23 and 24.

During the hotly-contested league season, American Fork earned a 30-12 record in individual matches and a combined 68.93 seeding points to get the No. 1 spot for the region tournament.

Lone Peak had a 33-9 mark but was second with 65.86 points, while Skyridge had a 22-20 record and 62.19 points for the third seed.

No. 5 Corner Canyon earned a narrow win over No. 4 Lehi to advance to face the Cavemen in the first match for American Fork. The Cavemen prevailed 5-2, sweeping the singles matches and also winning in Third Doubles.

The region allows an extra entrant in both singles and doubles to provide additional experience, but the state competition is limited to three singles players and two doubles pairs.

American Fork’s four singles players lost five games combined and won 48 as they dominated the Chargers in these matches. Braeden Johnson at No. 1 and Matt Davis at No. 3 both swept their opponents 6-0, 6-0, while Camden Johnson won 6-0, 6-2 and Anson Gifford completed the set 6-1, 6-2.

In the First Doubles bracket, Sam Fairbanks and Drew Jacobsmeyer bowed 3-6, 1-6. In the hard-fought No. 2 Doubles match, Phil Steed and Cade Egbert came out on the short end as Corner Canyon prevailed 5-7, 7-6(1), 6-2. Broxton Barron and Jackson Ricks ended on top in the No. 3 slot 6-2, 6-3.

In the final match, the Cavemen faced No. 3 Skyridge, which upset No. 2 Lone Peak on the first day to grab a spot in the championship tilt. American Fork won the first three singles bouts but then needed to garner a victory at No. 3 Doubles to earn the region title.

Braeden Johnson prevailed over Mack Mandelaris 6-1, 6-2 in the No. 1 Singles bout while Camden Johnson retired Crew Mandelaris 6-0, 6-1 at Second Singles in a double battle of brothers. Davis topped Cam Higginbotham 6-1, 6-0 in No. 3 Singles.

Skyridge started their string of victories at Fourth Singles when Sam Droubay beat Gifford 6-4, 6-0. In No. 1 Doubles, Michael Sperry and JJ Lewis took out Fairbanks and Jacobsmeyer 6-3, 3-6, 4-6. Ben Schmidt and Jace Peck got the 6-3,7-5 win over Steed and Egbert at Second Doubles.

However, Barron and Ricks triumphed 6-4, 6-1 over Walker Johnson and Parker Swope in the No. 3 Doubles bracket to finish the event and capture the crown for the Cavemen.

American Fork is now preparing for the 6A state tournament. Seedings will be posted tomorrow morning (Apr. 30). The first round will be played at Brighton High School on Saturday (May 2).

The competition will then move to Liberty Park in Salt Lake City, where the second and quarterfinal rounds will be contested next Thursday (May 7) and the semifinals and finals will be played next Saturday (May 9).

Photos by Sam Penrod.

Here’s how the American Fork boys volleyball team is positioned entering the third sanctioned state tournament for this sport.

American Fork

Season record: 2-6 Region 3 (4th), 10-18 overall

Final RPI ranking: 14 in 6A

MaxPreps ranking: 12 in 6A, 40 statewide

Next contest: May 6

Prospects: The Cavemen earned a bye to advance to the second round of the 6A state tournament at Utah Valley University’s UCCU Center on Wednesday, where they will face No. 3 Lone Peak (21-6) with a scheduled match time of 5 p.m. on Court 3. American Fork lost to the Knights both meetings in Region 3 play.

Beky Beaton / Lehi Free Press

The American Fork girls golf team is in fourth place in competitive Region 3 and ranks fifth in Class 6A after the first three league tournaments.

Corner Canyon and Lone Peak are separated by a single stroke in the battle for first place in the region and they rank second and third, respectively, in the classification standings behind Bingham, which leads the Chargers by a fraction of a stroke.

No one will likely challenge those teams for the top three spots since all other programs trail them by about 25 strokes at this point, but the Cavemen are in position to potentially move in a tight race for the next three positions in the rankings.

Skyridge is averaging an adjusted score of 346.5 per tournament, ahead of American Fork at 351.05 and Copper Hills at 352.7.

Audrey New is the top Caveman in the individual region standings at No. 6 with an adjusted stroke average of 82.97 coming into this week, which places her at No. 10 in 6A overall.

After her, four American Fork players are clustered together in spots 18-21 in the region standings. They are Abbie Bahr at 89.33, Tyler Dunkley at 89.35, Sophie Davis at 90.64 and Ellorie Layne at 90.75.

In the first region event at Fox Hollow Golf Club in American Fork on April 13, American Fork edged Skyridge 355-358 to finish in third place.

New had the best card of the day for her team with an 83, with Dunkley at 88, Bahr at 91 and Layne at 93 for the counted scores.

The next day, the teams played again at Mountain View Golf Course in West Jordan, where the Falcons easily outdistanced the Cavemen 344-355 and American Fork finished fourth.

New again led the way with an 87. Dunkley and Davis both shot an 89 and Bahr finished with a 90 for the team combined score. Layne also posted in 90.

Last week on Tuesday (Apr. 21), the region programs squared off at Thanksgiving Point Golf Club in Lehi, where American Fork again came in fourth at 360. New shot her best region round to date with an 82, followed by Davis at 89, Bahr at 93 and Layne at 96.

The teams are next scheduled to play on Thursday (Apr. 30) at Talons Cove Golf Club in Saratoga Springs.

Beky Beaton / American Fork Citizen

The American Fork High School boys tennis team earned the tournament title in the Utah Valley Ashton Invitational, a 16-team event played at local high schools on April 17 and 18 which included many of the best programs in Class 6A, 5A and 4A.

The competition included four singles and three doubles levels. The Cavemen swept Wasatch in the first round 7-0. Continuing in the winner’s bracket, they defeated Orem 6-1 and Desert Hills 4-3 to advance to the trophy round against 19-time and defending 5A state champion Timpview.

In No. 1 Singles final, American Fork senior Braeden Johnson defeated Ryan Austin 6-2, 6-4. Caveman sophomore Camden Johnson prevailed in Second Singles over Rowan Halladay 6-3, 6-0.

In No. 3 Singles, American Fork senior Matt Davis fought through a tough second set with DJ Gunnell but prevailed 6-3, 5-7 (10-3). At the No. 4 Singles spot, Caveman freshman Cade Egbert topped Nathan Fellars 6-2, 6-4.

In First Doubles, American Fork junior Sam Karras and sophomore Sam Fairbanks had to come from behind to oust Danny Beutte and Tommy Gauff 4-6, 6-3 (10-1).

The most challenging match of the Finals was in the No. 2 Doubles bracket, where Caveman juniors Phil Steed and Drew Jacobsmeyer survived to triumph over Levi Teemant and Gabe Balzotti 7-6 (7-4), 4-6 (13-11).

The Cavemen suffered their only loss of the title round in Third Doubles, where freshmen Broxton Barron and Grant Jensen put up a fight but ultimately bowed to Blake Baker and Sean Yamada 6-1, 3-6 (10-2).

This event was excellent preparation for the defending 6A state champions as they enter the rugged Region 3 tournament to be played April 23-24 at Corner Canyon as well as the state tournament to follow on May 2, 7 and 9.

Photos by Sam Penrod.

Megan Wallgren / American Fork Citizen

American Fork Track and Field athletes turned in a strong, balanced performance as hosts of the Caveman Classic Invitational on April 17.

The defending state champions Varsity Combined team won the day with 169 points. The Cavemen girls won the girls team title with 98 points and the boys placed third in their division with 71 points.

American Fork senior Ginger Ballstaedt led the way with points in multiple events. She claimed the gold medal in the long jump with a personal-record, state-qualifying jump of 18-feet-2-inches.

She also earned silver in the 200-meter Dash, crossing in 25.98 seconds, a personal best. In addition, Ballstaedt also helped the Cavemen capture the Girls 4x200m relay title.

That relay team posted a combined time of 1:43.67 in the event. The gold-medal squad also included freshman Ivey Jacobson, senior Hannah Cluff and junior Charlotte Anderson.

Topping the podium in the Girls Pole Vault was junior Aleah Godfrey. Her vault of 11-3 feet was a personal best and state-qualifying mark.

Senior Ella Edwards turned in a standout performance on the track, capturing the bronze in the 100m Hurdles in 16.35 seconds, placing fifth in the 300m hurdles in 49.18 seconds, and adding an eighth place in the 200m in 26.80 seconds, a personal best.

Senior Kaden Fairbanks also scored in multiple events, placing third in the 200m Dash with a state-qualifying time of 21.74 seconds and fourth in the 100m in 11 seconds flat.

Distance standout Sophie Steiger garnered the bronze medal in the 3200m Run with a time of 11:29.79.

In the field, Caveman senior Madden Jensen contributed silver medals in two boys throwing events, in the discus with a state-qualifying mark of 147-11 feet and in the shot put at 50-9.25 feet.

Senior James Sherratt added a second-place finish in the javelin with a throw of 147-10 feet.

American Fork’s Girls 4x100m relay team also produced a silver medal. Their combined time of 49.66 seconds also met the state standard. Running for the Cavemen were sophomore Rickeisha O’Keefe, Jacobson, sophomore Abby Slater and freshman Britton Woods.

Additional state-qualifying performances came from sophomore Chase Hejny placing fifth in the 3200m in a personal-best 9:15.34; senior Tyler Zabriskie placing fifth in the long jump with a PR mark of 21-1.75 feet; and senior Hannah Cluff finishing fifth in the girls long jump at 16-6.75 feet, a personal best.

With strong midseason performances, the American Fork team continues to build momentum leading into the upcoming region meet and the state championships in mid-May.

Photos by Sam Penrod.