The Grand County High School spring sports season culminates over the next couple weeks with region and state tournaments as the Red Devils look do well and bring home individual and team accolades.
Grand’s best shot at a championship in 2017 comes from the baseball team, which defeated Rowland Hall 17-0 in the first round of the state tournament, followed by a 9-5 victory over South Sevier in the second round with both rounds being played in Monroe on South Sevier’s home field. With the wins in the first two rounds, Grand has advanced to the winners’ bracket semifinals along with Kanab and Beaver, 2A South’s No. 1 and No. 2 teams, and 2A East No. 1 Gunnison Valley. Grand plays Kanab at Kearns High School on Thursday, May 11, at 11 a.m., and Gunnison Valley plays Beaver at 1:30 p.m. The winners play each other Friday, May 12, at 4:30 p.m. for a spot in the state title game, while the losers fall into the one-loss bracket, where they’ll have to win two games Friday and one Saturday morning to reach the championship, where they’ll have to beat the unbeaten team twice in a row to claim the title. The championship game is Saturday, May 13, at 12:30 p.m., with a second game if necessary immediately afterward.
In softball, Grand is the 2A East No. 2, the same as in baseball, after winning its regular season finale in Blanding 10-3 over San Juan on Wednesday, May 3. In baseball, 2A East is the strongest region, based on three teams being ranked in the Deseret News top five throughout the season, but in softball, other regions boast all the state’s top teams. The Lady Red Devils begin state tournament play against Altamont on Thursday, May 11, at 11 a.m., at the Spanish Fork Softball Complex. The 16-team, double-elimination tournament continues through Saturday, May 13, with the championship game scheduled for 12 p.m.
In girls golf, the Lady Red Devils continue to play second fiddle in region to Emery, as they have in every meet this season. On Wednesday, May 3, the Lady Spartans scored 127 points at the Hideout in Monticello to best Grand’s 108. The Region 15 Championship was scheduled for Wednesday, May 10, at Cove View in Richfield. Emery and Grand will likely finish first and second, respectively, before the season culminates in the state tournament on Thursday, May 18, at the Mountain View Golf Course in West Jordan.
Grand hosted the 2A South Division Boys Tennis Championships on Thursday and Friday, May 4 and 5, where they clinched state tournament berths in two of five divisions. In No. 1 doubles, junior Elton Kunze-Jones and sophomore Braxten Pierce placed second and in No. 2 singles, Kai Wainer placed third. The top four athletes or doubles teams in each division qualify for the state tournament, which takes place Saturday, May 13, at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City.
The Red Devil track and field teams competed at the Brigham Young University Invitational in Provo on Friday and Saturday, May 5 and 6, where they competed against 30-40 teams from Utah and surrounding states in the 1A-2A division. With so many gifted athletes, top placings were fewer and farther between for the Red Devils. The Lady Red Devils did not have a top-eight finish in any event at the meet, while the boys team had only three. Ryan Lewis placed third in the 1,600-meters at 4:30.32 and fourth in the 3,200-meters at 9:50.86, while Teddy Park placed eighth in the high jump at 5 feet, 11 inches. Grand was scheduled to host the Region 15 Championships on Wednesday, May 10, in the Red Devils’ final test before returning to BYU for the state championship meet on Friday and Saturday, May 19 and 20.
Grand looks to make mark in postseason play
