The mountain has been conquered. Brighton boys lacrosse stitched together a near-perfect season and capped it off with a decisive state championship showdown win against nemesis Park City. 

This pinnacle was 10 years in the making for the senior core that guided the team on the long journey. Nine of the 14 seniors on this championship team have been lacrosse teammates since elementary school. 

“Even at a young age these kids demonstrated a high level of aggressiveness that was exceptional for kids their age and the desire to compete and win was clearly present and they enjoyed working hard,” recalled Todd Reece, who along with Gavin Harris and Doug Wismer, coached the elementary and middle school teams. “They performed well every single year and their sixth-grade year was an exceptional season where the team went undefeated and won the championship.”

That 2018 sixth-grade championship was an undefeated year and was nearly reenacted for the 2024 state championship—except for 32 seconds of overtime play on the final regular season game in May. That final season game would, of course, be against the archrival Park City Miners. Park City is the reason the Brighton boys lacrosse team was kept out of the finals in previous years. The only in-state losses on Brighton’s record in the last two years were at the sticks of Park City. 

Brighton entered that final game on May 8 with a perfect 16-0 record. With four minutes to go in the fourth and final quarter, Brighton had a semi-solid two-goal lead. The Miners showed why they were the defending state champions by scoring twice in those last four minutes and forcing an overtime period. Defense for both teams was tight and no golden goal was made until 32 seconds left in the overtime period. 

“We had a little bit of miscommunication and the goalie made a play,” said Brighton head coach Chris O’Donnell. Park City pulled their goalie onto the field—he went coast-to-coast to score the winning golden goal. “If we had to pick from the 10 guys on the field to shoot we were fine with it being the goalie. From the outside looking in it’s a wild play.” 

Brighton’s perfect season was 32 seconds short of being complete. 

Brighton retained its No. 1 ranking in the state going into the next week as the state championship tournament began. In fact, the No.1 ranking was for all classifications after Brighton defeated the four-time 6A state champions Corner Canyon earlier in the season. 

As predicted, Park City earned its right to be in the May 24 state finals game as did Brighton. The re-match was destined to be epic. “We had the best scoring offense statistically and best scoring defense statistically in the state,” O’Donnell said. Both offense and defense would have to be “no fail” to deny Park City a repeat championship. 

Brighton’s Andrew Salinas snagged an early goal to get Brighton started. “I found myself in the right place at the right time. We really needed that to settle ourselves down as we were feeling rushed,” Salinas said. Park City responded with a goal sparking Salinas, Grayson Harris and Gabriel Carrera to score putting the first quarter in Brighton's favor 4-1. It turns out that Carrera’s quarter-ending goal that just trickled past the goalie was the winning goal. 

“They are a great team,” Carrera said of Park City. “That first-quarter lead made us more comfortable. We needed to pull away because they are talented enough to come back from that.”  Carrera ended the night with a proper hat trick. 

The second half belonged to goalie Mason Fray. There was a 32-minute stretch during the game when Fray deflected every shot attempt at his cage. The only scoring Park City made was late in the game when Brighton had the championship well in hand with an eight-point lead. Fray said that all he felt was adrenaline as Brighton won its first boys lacrosse state championship.

“It’s like a thousand pounds being dropped off your shoulders when the time finally did run out,” he said. His monumental defensive performance stopped 18 of 21 shots on goal in a highly contested state championship game. 

“We have the best goalie in the state; he’s truly unbelievable,” O’Donnell told the Deseret News after the championship game. “He’s been our rock and anchor all year, and with that performance, he’s cemented himself in the history of the state.”  

Fray’s senior season was marked with 192 saves and 3.9 goals against average and was highlighted with the top honor—he was named the 2024 Deseret News Mr. Lacrosse recipient. Fray only earned the starting goalie job after waiting his sophomore and junior years behind all-state goalie Isaac Hanson who graduated last year. As a junior backup he kept himself ready.  His stats were outstanding in his junior season, with a 4.2 GAA and 68% saves. 

After Brighton lost a heartbreaker to Park City in the semifinals 10-8 in 2023, in the brief postgame exchange between Fray and his coach, O’Donnell hugged him and said, “It’s your team now.” Fray didn’t take the responsibility lightly as he worked harder than ever throughout the summer and fall. Fray was ready for his senior season. The 6-foot-4 senior developed quick reflexes and an eye for anticipation. He will play for Westminster at the next level. 

The honors don't stop with the goalie as 11 other Brighton players received postseason awards: 

- All State First Team: Gabe Carrera, Ethan Salmon, Donovan Wismer, JT Andersen, Mason Fray

- All State Second Team: Tate Hales, Andrew Salinas

- All State Honorable Mention: Myles Peters, Austin Taylor, Thomas Hansen, Maddox Gamonal

- Finals MVP: Mason Fray

-Two Academic All American: Thomas Hansen and JT Anderson

-Two All Americans: Mason Fray and Donovan Wismer

Brighton’s second named All American lacrosse player, Donovan Wismer, was in the top 50 in the nation for scoring and assists. He ends his high school career with 105 goals and 118 assists. 

“He is a true leader on and off the field holding his teammates accountable and to a very high standard,” O’Donnell said. The football and lacrosse standout had his most prolific game against arguably the most daunting opponent—the 6A defending champions Corner Canyon. He was named player of the game six times and Deseret News athlete of the week. λ