With three region girls’ golf tournaments having already been won by the Cyprus Pirates, other titles might be in their future, according to head coach Jordan Griffith.

Griffith was also part of a group of coaches that helped lead the boys to a Region 4 title in basketball during the winter and has seen how the rebuilt school in Magna at the foot of the Oquirrhs has breathed life into the whole student body.

“The new school is great! Brings a whole new vibe to Cyprus. Big new building with everything updated. Classrooms bring in more light and that’s the whole school in general. Doesn’t feel as dark, which is a big deal,” Griffith said. “New sports arenas with basketball courts, football fields, baseball and softball fields, eight-lane track and a new pool just gives life to the school. Beginning of this year kids had a new excitement coming into the year I feel.”  

Down the road, a few blocks from the old Cyprus High, the Copper Golf Club where the Pirates still practice offers them some familiarity, and that has helped as well. Seventeen kids came out for the team this season. From that group, four captains were chosen: juniors Taylor and Brooke Fresh—who are twins; and seniors Addison Youngdell and Shyla Kamakana.

While these four captains have consistently provided their counting scores to keep the Pirates at the No. 1 spot in their region, the success has been a total team effort according to Griffith.

“Three out of the four of these girls have won a region tournament this year and our JV girls stay after their rounds to walk the course and cheer on varsity, and the entire team waits at the final green until the final score is tallied to celebrate together. It is not a one man show here at Cyprus.”

That camaraderie has resulted in some outstanding scores of late, and the Pirates completely distancing themselves from the rest of their Region 4 competition. Not only have the four team captains shown that they can lead their peers, they also lead by example and have posted the top four stroke averages going into the Region 4 Championships.

Led by Taylor Fresh at 87.5 strokes per 18 holes played, her sister Brooke isn’t too far behind that at 89.5. Meanwhile, Youngdell is at 92.3 while Kamakana is sitting at 99. At The Ridge on April 22, Taylor, Brooke and Youngdell finished 1-2-3. Kamakana was seventh, and Pirate Kate Howcroft, 10th. 

“It is an exciting time for Cyprus girls golf. After serving as an assistant last year, I’ve taken over the program this season and the energy has been incredible,” Griffith said. “I came in and made a lot of changes with higher expectations of practice and time commitment to the game, and these girls have risen way above than what I ever imagined. We are currently having our best season in years.”

With a sizable lead heading into the Region 4 Championships, there are several heady goals that Griffith said he and his girls still hope to achieve—objectives that have never before been accomplished at Cyprus.

“Our focus has been on raising expectations and competing at a high level while maintaining support for each other in this individualized sport. Many of our players never picked up a club before high school, but their work ethic to improve has been inspiring.

“Our captains have done an incredible amount of behind-the-scenes work to make newcomers feel welcome. As we head into the final stretch of the season, we are aiming to make Cyprus history by securing our first ever day two appearance at the state tournament as a team. That we know at least,” Griffith said. “I am incredibly proud of this group. If there was ever a team to break through and make a mark at state, it’s this one.”