High school boys tennis: Desert Hills hangs on to claim its 3rd straight 4A crown
· Yahoo Sports
Ever since Christian Thurgood took over as head coach, it has been a tradition for the Desert Hills boys tennis team to come home from the state tournament with the championship trophy.
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The Thunder did it again Saturday. Despite intense competition, Desert Hills celebrated loudest among Utah’s 4A schools at Liberty Park with its third straight title, turning away Region 9 rival Crimson Cliffs in a competition that came down to the final match.
When tournament officials checked the scoring, they had to confirm their results before revealing the final scores. Brenan Holman won first place in No. 3 singles, and the No. 2 doubles squad of Grant McCullough and Connor Reese captured the crown in No. 2 doubles to help Desert Hills finish with 52 points, followed by Crimson Cliffs with 47, Orem 32, East 26 and Highland 22.
Based on how close the Region 9 tourney was last week, Thurgood expected to be nervous much of the day Saturday as the athletes competed under sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 70s.
“We had four seniors and they never gave up,” Thurgood said. “There were so many times when they just had to dig deep.”
Highland High's Kian Noori Claro competes in 4A tennis at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday, May 9, 2026. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News Desert Hills competes in 4A tennis at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday, May 9, 2026. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News Highland High's Kian Noori Claro competes in 4A tennis at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday, May 9, 2026. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News Juan Diego’s Keanan LEI FOC competes in 4A tennis at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday, May 9, 2026. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News Orem competes in 4A tennis at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday, May 9, 2026. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News Orem competes in 4A tennis at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday, May 9, 2026. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News East’s Noah Greenberg competes in 4A tennis at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday, May 9, 2026. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News Desert Hills’ Matt White and Will Gardner compete in 4A tennis at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday, May 9, 2026. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News Crimson Cliffs’ Cole Andrus competes in 4A tennis at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday, May 9, 2026. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News Desert Hills’ Grant McCullough and Conner Reese compete in 4A tennis at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday, May 9, 2026. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News Desert Hills’ tennis team is pictured with their 4A first place trophy at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday, May 9, 2026. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News Crimson Cliffs’ tennis team is pictured with their 4A second place trophy at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Saturday, May 9, 2026. | Laura Seitz, Deseret NewsThurgood said prep tennis is so competitive in southern Utah and many of the best players know each other, having played with and against each other in club matches and various tournaments outside of the high school season.
“They all know each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” he said. “It’s just now they are competing for their schools and they all have pride. That’s what makes this such a great event.”
Crimson Cliffs’ Adam Miner captured the No. 1 singles title. Miner didn’t compete at the region tourney due to injury but recovered in time to sail through the state competition without losing a game.
He defeated Ryder Thurgood, coach Thurgood’s freshman son, 6-4, 7-5, in the semifinals, and then finished the day by beating Kian Noori Claro of Highland by the same score.
Perhaps the day’s most-decisive moment came in No. 2 singles, when East sophomore Noah Greenberg, the No. 2 seed, prevented No. 4 Cole Andrus from achieving his dream with a 6-1, 6-2 decision.
Andrus had beaten his nemesis, No. 1 Brexan Wittwer of Desert Hills, in the semifinals, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
Greenberg wasn’t the only northern Utah athlete to win a title. Orem’s No. 1 doubles duo of Kade Inouye and Kaleb Knapp proved that their top seed was no fluke.
After a scare in their tournament opener against Zac Werrett and Tyler Stratton of Hurricane that went three sets, they had no problems and were responsible for the Tigers’ third-place finish.
Coach Thurgood said he expects next year to be just as competitive, even though his senior-laden team will look much different.
“We have such good competition,” he said. “We keep pushing each other to be better, and it always shows here.”