HERRIMAN — Near the start of Thursday’s 5A high school girls lacrosse state championship match — and not far removed from the moment she reached 100 points on the season with her first goal — Natalia Szwajkun found Park City coach Adam Ghitelman on the sideline, held her hand up, and said something he couldn’t believe at first.
“I think my finger’s broken,” he recalled her saying.
Broken finger or not, Szwajkun and the Miners had themselves a day.
Szwajkun's dominant performance
The sophomore totaled eight goals as Park City stormed to its second-straight 5A championship and third title in four years with a 19-9 win over Fremont at Zions Bank Stadium.
“Honestly, that’s what gets me going,” Szwajkun said. “It gets me to play even harder.”
Same with her team.
Key contributors and team momentum
Coco Crawford topped 90 points on the season with four goals and two assists in the championship, and Sophia Mondschein added three goals and three assists as the Miners (19-2) jumped out to a 12-3 lead early and pulled away for good with a 4-1 run in the fourth quarter.
Coach Ghitelman praises Szwajkun's work ethic
Park City has been led by top-tier seniors, but the sophomore is as much a leader as the rest of them, first-year head coach Ghitelman noted.
“She’s the girl that when you turn the lights off and everyone goes home, she’s still out there shooting the ball,” he said. “I think that’s a great lesson for all the girls on our team: good things happen when you put the work in.”
The Park City Miners are your 5A Girls Lacrosse Champions for the 2nd straight year!
The scary thing about that?
Natalia Szwajkun is just a sophomore, and if she is already having performances like the one she did today in the Championship Game, we probably aren’t done seeing… pic.twitter.com/ze9XQypm0m
— KSL Sports Rewind (@KSLSportsRewind) May 22, 2026
Early lead and Fremont's comeback attempt
Savannah Ramsey, Mondschein and Szwajkun gave the defending champion Miners a 12-3 lead less than four minutes into the second quarter.
Led by Brylee Jeppsen’s three goals, Fremont (18-3) didn’t go away easily while coming back with three-straight that included back-to-back free-position goals from Clara McCormick to pull within 12-6 at halftime.
Securing the championship victory
But Hadley Flach and Szwajkun opened the third quarter with back-to-back goals, and Szwajkun found Mondschein over the middle to put the Miners up for good, 18-8 with 5:14 remaining and cruise to the finish.
“My teammates are the best,” Szwajkun said. “They set up all my opportunities. My goals wouldn’t be possible without my amazing teammates.”
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It’s the first title for Ghitelman, the former University of Utah assistant coach and three-time Premier Lacrosse League all-star who played for the Archers and Cannons before taking the reins for three-time state champion coach Mikki Clayton this past season.
“It’s been special, and honestly I couldn’t have been more thankful for this group of girls,” Ghitelman said. “They’re everything I could’ve asked for in a team. They are committed, they’re competitive, they’re athletic, they’re talented, and they have so much passion for what they do. That just lets me be me, and I love this group.”
Ghitelman played a key role, too.
“I would give a lot of credit to Adam,” Szwajkun said. “He is the best, and he makes it possible for us, showing up every day and making it possible for us to show up for each other.
“The girls I’m surrounded with are the best,” she added. “I think this is one of the best years of Park City lacrosse we’ve seen, because we work so hard for each other and we love each other so much.”
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