Here’s when a negative turns into a positive.
The University of Oregon got one of the school’s worst news over the weekend, as the Ducks starting quarterback, Jeremiah Masoli, pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary. It prompted coach Chip Kelly to suspend Masoli, creating an opportunity for a former Hilmar High star to jump into the national spotlight.
Yes, Nate Costa might finally earn a starting role.
The Ducks — who played in the recent Rose Bowl against Ohio State — won’t know for sure if Costa will be the man until they open up the 2010 season against New Mexico on Sept. 4. That’s a long time from now, but Costa will be one of the big stories when spring football rolls around for the Ducks, who will have their annual spring game May 1.
His main competition for the quarterback job is sophomore Darron Thomas.
It’s been an up-and-down career at Oregon for Costa, who will have one year of eligibility left. He was the starter when the Ducks won 21-10 over UCLA on Oct. 10, 2009, when Masoli was hurt. Otherwise, he’s been plagued with knee surgeries.
Last season, his role was mainly on special teams. His most memorable moment in his college career so far happened on Nov. 21, 2009, in a crucial game against Arizona. It was late in regulation and the Ducks had scored a touchdown to pull within 31-30. Costa was the holder on the extra-point kick, but the snap was low. He remained calm and scooped up the ball just in time for Morgan Flint to boot it in to tie the game.
The Ducks eventually won the game in double-overtime to secure the Pac-10 title and a Rose Bowl berth, but a lot of the credit went to Costa’s clutch play.
Warriors shine at Aggie meet
Many of the Cal State Stanislaus women were the highlights on Saturday at the Aggie Open at Woody Wilson Track on the campus of UC Davis.
Derrhea McLiechey had a pair of personal bests to finish fifth in both the 200-meter and 400-meter dash while the Foldager sisters were among the best distance runners at the meet. The women's relay teams turned in a couple of top five finishes while Alycia Wagner took third in the pole vault.
The men also had some seasonal best performances, including a fast finish in the 4x400-meter relays, a third place showing in the discus by Will Harding and a fourth place finish by Luther Bell in the long jump.
Rubye Foldager ran season best times in both the 800-meter and 1500-meter runs. She clocked 2:19.95 to finish fourth in the 800 and placed 10th in the 1500 with a time of 4:42.92. Her sister, Denali Foldager was third in her first running of the 3000-meter run this season, timing 10:24.40.
For McLiechey, she turned in her fastest times as a Warrior with time of 25.43 seconds in the 200-meter dash and a 58.82 in the 400 to finish fifth in both events.
To contact Chhun Sun, e-mail csun@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2041.
The University of Oregon got one of the school’s worst news over the weekend, as the Ducks starting quarterback, Jeremiah Masoli, pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary. It prompted coach Chip Kelly to suspend Masoli, creating an opportunity for a former Hilmar High star to jump into the national spotlight.
Yes, Nate Costa might finally earn a starting role.
The Ducks — who played in the recent Rose Bowl against Ohio State — won’t know for sure if Costa will be the man until they open up the 2010 season against New Mexico on Sept. 4. That’s a long time from now, but Costa will be one of the big stories when spring football rolls around for the Ducks, who will have their annual spring game May 1.
His main competition for the quarterback job is sophomore Darron Thomas.
It’s been an up-and-down career at Oregon for Costa, who will have one year of eligibility left. He was the starter when the Ducks won 21-10 over UCLA on Oct. 10, 2009, when Masoli was hurt. Otherwise, he’s been plagued with knee surgeries.
Last season, his role was mainly on special teams. His most memorable moment in his college career so far happened on Nov. 21, 2009, in a crucial game against Arizona. It was late in regulation and the Ducks had scored a touchdown to pull within 31-30. Costa was the holder on the extra-point kick, but the snap was low. He remained calm and scooped up the ball just in time for Morgan Flint to boot it in to tie the game.
The Ducks eventually won the game in double-overtime to secure the Pac-10 title and a Rose Bowl berth, but a lot of the credit went to Costa’s clutch play.
Warriors shine at Aggie meet
Many of the Cal State Stanislaus women were the highlights on Saturday at the Aggie Open at Woody Wilson Track on the campus of UC Davis.
Derrhea McLiechey had a pair of personal bests to finish fifth in both the 200-meter and 400-meter dash while the Foldager sisters were among the best distance runners at the meet. The women's relay teams turned in a couple of top five finishes while Alycia Wagner took third in the pole vault.
The men also had some seasonal best performances, including a fast finish in the 4x400-meter relays, a third place showing in the discus by Will Harding and a fourth place finish by Luther Bell in the long jump.
Rubye Foldager ran season best times in both the 800-meter and 1500-meter runs. She clocked 2:19.95 to finish fourth in the 800 and placed 10th in the 1500 with a time of 4:42.92. Her sister, Denali Foldager was third in her first running of the 3000-meter run this season, timing 10:24.40.
For McLiechey, she turned in her fastest times as a Warrior with time of 25.43 seconds in the 200-meter dash and a 58.82 in the 400 to finish fifth in both events.
To contact Chhun Sun, e-mail csun@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2041.
