January 2022 | Vol. 18 Iss. 13
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BRIGHTON’S NEW HALL OF CHAMPIONS FEATURES DECADES OF SPORTS ACCOMPLISHMENTS By Jerry Christensen | j.christensen@mycityjournals.com
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he Danish philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard, suggested that “life is lived forward but understood backwards.” As Brighton High School rounded the corner of turning 50 years old and as the building itself is rebuilt, a glance backwards reveals some stunning insights. Lynn Moncur, Brighton’s athletic director, has been a part of the Brighton community for 37 years. He took it upon himself to document the athletic excellence that he saw
Brighton achieve year after year. “I will always remember the girls and boys state basketball championships and the many great athletes that have come through in all sports, but the story of the Brighton tradition of excellence on the court, on the mats, in the pool and on the fields had never been truly told,” Moncur said. As the old Brighton was demolished, Moncur gathered up the scattered state championship trophies. Many were in various degrees of disrepair. His became the mission of not just saving that history of Brighton athletics, but of giving it a home. He created the Hall of Champions, a museum-quality collection of all of Brighton’s athletic accomplishments.
What was discovered during this curation process was a stunning fact—in Brighton’s 50 years of existence, 120 state championship and 80 second-place trophies were garnered. This is a feat unmatched in the state of Utah. “Schools with over 100 years of history will typically have 60 to 80 state championships to their names,” said principal Tom Sherwood. The historic discovery begs the question, why is Brighton such a perennial athletic powerhouse? Brighton’s former long-time principal and ardent athletic advocate Robert Sproul suggests, “In my opinion the athletic success of Brighton High School is linked to the quality of the academic programs associated with the school over the past 50 years. Families want good, positive and challenging academic programs that will give them an opportunity to be successful throughout their lives. It starts with academics. The co-curricular programs grow out of the challenge of the academic program.” One means of understanding this 120-championship feat is to view history through the prism of Brighton’s various sports dynasties.
The Gymnastics Dynasty
Some of the 120 state championships on display. (Jerry Christensen/City Journals) Inset: Logo marking Brighton’s 120 state championships. (Photo Kristen Stewart)
When Brighton opened in 1969, although there was no sanctioned gymnastics competition, many of the Brighton girls had attended Butler Jr. High where a gymnastic team had competed since 1965. A nucleus team was formed and they worked to compete while the coaches worked to obtain sanctioning. Enid Enniss, a woman dedicated to the cause of allowing girls to compete in school athletics on the same level as the boys, was hired at Brighton. Coach Enniss was key in bringing girls competitive sports to Utah. Enniss notes, “The UHSAA’s (Utah High School Athletic Association) Statement of Belief stated, ‘We are unalterably opposed to competition by Continued page 13