One major highlight was the Red Devil boys soccer team’s historic advance into the state championship game on Saturday, May 8 at Jordan High School.
Grand had come from behind to upset Wasatch Academy 2-1 in double overtime in the semifinals on Friday, but then lost the championship game by the score of 3-1 the following afternoon (see related story).
Grand, which had never made it past the first round of the playoffs in more than a dozen years of competing in boys soccer, took home the second-place 2A trophy and finished with a 17-1-1 overall record.
On Friday at Taylorsville High School, the Red Devil baseball team faced Parowan in the one-loss bracket in the 2A state tournament. The Rams went on to win the game 9-2, sending the Red Devils home from the tournament early.
Grand’s baseball team finished their year with an 8-15 overall record, including a wild 17-6 opening-round upset victory over No. 2-seeded South Summit in the first round of the playoffs May 2.
Also, Grand’s Lady Devils softball team took fourth place in the 2A tournament in Spanish Fork (see related story on page B1). The Lady Devils won both of their games on Thursday, May 7, beating American Leadership Academy 10-0 and Parowan 2-1. But in their first game the following morning, the Lady Devils lost to San Juan 9-0.
Two of Grand’s top players (pitcher Shelby Dalton and catcher Lauren White) were out with injuries and didn’t return for the remainder of the playoffs. Grand did rebound to beat South Summit 3-1 in the one-loss bracket, but the Lady Devils lost their next game to Parowan 4-0 to end their postseason.
The state 2A boys tennis tournament was also held last weekend. Freshman Zak Hazlett, a fifth-place finisher in second singles at the divisional qualifier, was Grand’s only competitor at state. Hazlett lost the first set 6-0, but managed to force a tiebreaker in the second set before falling 7-6 to his Manti opponent.