Hometown Heroes-

Former local hoops standout wins second national title

By JEREMIAH BARTZ-Sports editor

Jessica Moore and the University of Connecticut women's basketball squad have won their second straight national championship.

Moore and the Huskies defeated rival power Tennessee 73-68 on Tuesday.

Moore tallied four points, four rebounds and three assists in the contest. The former Colony High star recorded a pivotal bucket in the final moments of the game. Moore grabbed a rebound following an errant Husky three-point attempt and notched the putback with 21 seconds left to give UConn a 71-68 lead.

Moore has started all 38 games for the 37-1 Huskies. Moore averaged 10.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game during the regular season.

Football:

Ali Larijani (Palmer 2003) has signed a National Letter of Intent to join Valley City State (N.D.) for the 2003-2004 season … Cole Magner (Colony 2000) has began spring practice with Bowling Green State. Magner is entering his third season with the Division I squad. The utility player is slated to be a starter at wide receiver with the Falcons for the second straight season. In the Bowling Green football 2003 spring prospectus, Magner is dubbed as the best athlete in the MAC Conference.

Volleyball:

Lindsey Shogren (Burchell 2003) has signed a National Letter of Intent to join Hutchinson Junior College (Kan.) for the 2004 season … Emily Sakis (Palmer 2003) has signed a National Letter of Intent to join Northeastern Junior College (Colo.) for the 2004 season.

Basketball:

Cole Magner (Colony 2000) completed his first season with the Bowling Green basketball team. A sophomore on the football squad, Magner finished his freshman season in hoops. Magner averaged 14.3 minutes per game in 10 appearances this season … Ray Schafer (Wasilla 2003) has signed a National Letter of Intent to join the University of Oregon for the 2003-04 season … Marsha Schirack (Wasilla 2003) has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the University of Alaska Fairbanks next fall … Zac Forsythe (Palmer 2002) completed his first year with the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Forsythe and the Nanooks won a school record 20 games during the season and advanced to the Division II national tournament … Jessica Moore (Colony 2001) is competing in her second season with the University of Connecticut. Moore averaged 10.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game this season as a starter for the top ranked Division I team in the nation. … Melissa McNulty (Susitna Valley 2002) finished her first season with UAF. McNulty was recently named to the chancellor's list and inducted into the UAF student-athlete 3.0 GPA club … Laura Lee (Palmer 1999) completed her senior year at Vangard University, an NAIA school in Costa Mesa, Calif. Lee recently set the school record for career three pointers. Vangard is annually ranked in the top 20 in the nation and had been to the national playoffs four straight years. The Lions suffered a 76-66 loss to Master's College in the GSAC title game last week. … Sara Bergeron (Palmer 2002) finished her freshman season with Southwestern, scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds in her collegiate debut at Southwestern Oregon Community College in Coos Bay, Ore. … Thomas Kelly (Matanuska Christian) is in his first season with Peninsula College (WA). Kelly scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in PC's last two games … Adam Fitt-Chappell (Wasilla 2002) finished his freshman season with Alaska Anchorage. Fitt-Chappell averaged 8.4 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. The freshman finished the season with a .820 free throw percentage, the ninth best in school history. Fitt-Chappell also broke a school record this season hitting 7 of 8 three-point attempts against Northwest Nazarene College.

Hockey:

Nathan Schwartzbauer (Colony 2000) has committed to join Bemidji State for the 2003-04 season. Schwartzbauer currently skates for the Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League. The former Colony standout has nine goals and 15 assists for the Junior A club. Schwartzbauer also has a rating of +7 and has tallied 113 penalty minutes. Sioux City is 35-18-6 and has two regular season games remaining … Jake Luthi (Colony 2001) has committed to join Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute for the 2003-04 season. Luthi currently plays for the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL. He has registered seven goals and seven assists in 60 games for the Junior A club. Luthi has also tallied 150 penalty minutes for the 24-30-6 Stampede … Shane Saum (Palmer) completed his third season with Air Force. Saum has 27 goals and 31 assists during his career with the Division I program. He finished the season with five goals, 10 assists and 86 penalty minutes in 39 games this season … Kerry Weiland (Palmer) concluded her senior season with the University of Wisconsin women's ice hockey team. The 2001 All-American finished the season with four goals and 14 assists this season. Weiland was named to the USA Women's Team earlier this year. The squad was to compete in a tournament in China, but the trip was scratched following the outbreak of the SARS virus.

Cross-country skiing:

Renae Moore (Susitna Valley 2002) is competing in her freshman season with the UAF … Ryan Quinn (Colony) is in his senior season with the University of Utah. Quinn helped lead Utah to the NCAA National Ski Championships. Quinn placed 10th in the 15 kilometer race to earn his second All-American award … John Heimerl (Colony) is in his senior season with UAF … Diana Heimerl (Colony) is in her junior season with UAF … Eric Strabel (Colony) is competing in his junior season with the UAA. Strabel was an All-American last season … Sarah Hansen (Colony) is a junior at UAA. Hansen has been selected for the Junior National Team.

Swimming:

Dirk Craft II (Palmer 2000) is in his second season with South Dakota. Craft scored an "A" national qualifying time of 45.98 in the 100 freestyle during the prelims of the North Central Conference Swimming and Diving Championships in Grand Forks, N.D. Feb. 22. Craft's time was the sixth best in school history and just .60 short of the record. Craft finished third in the 100 freestyle and ninth in the 200 breaststroke of the NCC "B" class. Craft won the 50 freestyle in the Gold Division at the NCC Championships. Craft finished in the top-15 in six different races at the 2003 NCAA Division II Championships at the University of North Dakota, March 12-15. Craft finished fourth in the 200 freestyle relay, fifth in the 400 freestyle relay and sixth in the 200 medley relay to earn him All-American status … Karen Burke (Palmer) had four top-15 finishes at the Division II national championships. Burke earned All-American status with a ninth place finish in the 400 freestyle relay… Davin Holen (Wasilla) is now the head coach of the University of Alaska swim club. Holen was a three-year letterman as part of the UAA swim team.

Wrestling:

James Winter (Colony 2001) finished his second season as a heavyweight for Minn. State- Moorehead … Dan Pickett (Colony 2001) finished his sophomore season for Minn-State Moorehead … Daniel Graham (Colony 2002) finished his first season with Minn-State Moorehead. Graham placed fourth at the University of Mary (ND) open tournament on Jan. 18 and placed second at the Concordia (Minn.) open tournament the week prior … Jesse Brock (Wasilla) concluded his junior season with Boise State, wrestling at the 133-pound class. Brock was a Pac-10 champion last season. Brock finished 2-2 in the 2003 NCAA National Championships. Brock suffered an 11-1 loss to seventh seeded Josh Moore of Penn State during the first round of the championship bracket, but came back to win two consecutive matches in the consolation bracket including a 6-2 win over 10th seeded Richard LaForge of Hofstra … Tony D'Amico (Palmer) finished junior at Boise State, wrestling at the 184-pound class. D'Amico, placed third in the Pac 10 championships after transferring from Oklahoma State the year before. D'Amico finished 1-2 in the 2003 NCAA National Championships. D'Amico fell to Princeton's Greg Parker, the second seed in his weight class in the first round, but scored a 7-2 win over Cal-State Bakersfield's Bryan Travers in the following round … Scott Jorgenson (Palmer) concluded his sophomore season at Boise State. Jorgenson defeated California Poly's Nathaniel Yberra 11-8 on Feb. 9 … Jon Bush (Palmer 1997) finished his senior season at Purdue with an 8-4 record. Bush is 45-16 in three years with the Boilermakers and has 21 pins and a .733 winning percentage … Ryan Olivera (Wasilla 2002) finished his first season with the University of Indianapolis with a 2-8 record … Burton Parker (Colony) scored a pin to lead Pacific University past Pacific Lutheran 21-20 … Jake Wade (Wasilla 2006) finished second at the Rocky Mountain National Tournament, March 21-23. Wade wrestled in the under-15 age bracket. Nearly 3,000 grapplers from 38 states were in the tourney.