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Midway • When the Desert Hills girls' golf team found itself behind by three points after the first day of the Class 3A tournament Wednesday on Soldier Hollow's Gold Course, it was a new experience.

The Thunder had never trailed in their previous six straight runs to the state championship.

But the champs ultimately prevailed Thursday by taking a narrow 610-604 victory over second-place Park City in the Stableford scoring system used for high school girls golf.

"We worked for this one," said Thunder coach Laurie Dyer. "This one ranks way up there. It was a battle. It was the first time we had to come from behind. It was a new experience. We had to sleep on it and think about it."

The Thunder were led by Kyla Smith, who shot a 78 in windy conditions Thursday after a 74 Wednesday. Smith finished second to Dixie junior Gracie Richens, who won 3A medalist honors by two shots with a 76.

"I was up and down," said Richens, who had five birdies in her final . "I played really well on the front nine but the back nine got a little shaky. I held it together the last few holes. It was really windy, and the greens were faster today than yesterday."

Richens and Smith have a good rivalry. The Flyer star said she won four region events and Smith won three, but in the Stableford average, she finished the season two points down to her Thunder rival. So state was a bit of redemption.

Desert Hills' Tori Thomas and K'Jahna Plant finished tied for sixth with two-round totals of 168. Kellie Nance fired a 198 over two days.

"We didn't play our best yesterday, so the girls knew we had to step up our game if we were going to take it today," said Dyer.