There were some nervy moments down the stretch, but Morgan’s Lance Loughton did enough Thursday to repeat as 3A medalist.
After lipping out a putt on No. 17 that would’ve given him a one-stroke lead heading into the last hole, Loughton stepped up and sank a birdie putt of similar length on No. 18 to clinch the individual title.
Loughton finished the tournament with a 4-under 136 to edge Ben Lomond’s Cayson VanBeekum, who shot a 3-under 137.
Rainy conditions made scoring difficult for much of Thursday’s final round at The Ridge Golf Course, but Richfield was able to navigate it better than anyone else to reclaim the 3A state title by just three strokes ahead of Morgan.
After trailing Morgan by one stroke after Wednesday’s opening round, Richfield finished four strokes better on Thursday to post a 570 team score and reclaim the state title after winning in 2022.
Defending state champ Morgan finished second with a 573 and Carbon third with a 584.