Hometown Heroes: Magner grabs career highs against Ohio State

Though his Bowling Green State University team dropped a tough decision to the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes last week, one Valley native got the chance to shine in front of a national audience.

Cole Magner registered 13 catches for 168 yards and hauled in a 25-yard touchdown grab against the country's fourth-ranked team.

Magner's touchdown catch cut the Ohio State lead to 24-14. BG added a late field goal, but was not able to pull ahead of the Big 10 Conference power.

"We had no other choice. We were down and we had the ball, so we had to make something happen," Magner said in a press conference following the game. "The defense had been making plays all game and it was our turn. We had to do something or the game was over."

Magner's performance marked career highs for both catches and receiving yards in a game. Magner's previous bests were eight catches and 127 yards, set two weeks earlier in BG's upset victory over then-20th ranked Purdue.

The junior wide receiver has a team-high 29 catches for 425 yards and five touchdowns. The 2001 Colony High School graduate is averaging 14.7 yards per catch.

Magner also leads the MAC with 106 receiving yards per game.

Football:

Cole Magner (Colony 2001) is in his junior season with the Division I Bowling Green State (Ohio) Falcons. … James Watts (Wasilla 2001) is in his sophomore season with Western Oregon University. WOU is 2-1 this season after suffering a 37-3 loss to South Dakota State last week. Watts has one rush for six yards this season … Justin Buzby (Wasilla 2000) is in his junior season with the University of Minnesota-Crookston. Buzby registered 13 total tackles, including five solo tackles, in his first start, a 35-20 loss to Minnesotta State Moorehead last week. Buzby has 28 tackles this season … John Fillman (Colony 2001) is a junior defensive lineman with UMC. Fillman recorded two total tackles against UMM. Fillman has started each of Crookston's four games this season … Jake DeBuck (Colony 2003) is a redshirt freshman tight end with UMC … James Winter (Colony 2001) is in his sophomore season with Minnesota State-Moorehead. The 5-8, 258 pounder notched three total tackles in MSM's 35-20 win over Minnesotta-Crookston last week. The game had 2001 graduates of Colony High School on each side of the ball. Fillman for Crookston and Winter for Moorehead. Winter is also the varsity heavyweight on the Dragon wrestling team … Ali Larijani (Palmer 2003) is in his first season with Valley City State University (ND). VCSU defeated Dakota State 36-28 in its season opener. Larijani plays linebacker … Sam Widmer (Wasilla 2003) is in his first season with the University of Mary (S.D.). UM is 3-0 after wins over Rocky Mountain College (34-9), Sri Lanki (41-0) and Mayville State (23-0). Widmer plays linebacker … Cory Creighton (Colony 2000) is a wide receiver and kick returner for the University of Montana-Western. Creighton had nine catches for 82 yards in eight games last season. He also returned 29 kickoffs, averaging 14.5 yards per return.

Volleyball:

Emily Sakis (Palmer 2003) is in her first season with Northeastern Junior College. Sakis is a middle hitter for the Colorado team. NJC is 20-2 and the top team in Region IX of the NJCAA. Sakis' .354 hitting percentage ranks her third in the region. She has 115 kills and only 29 errors. Sakis is 15th in the region with 1.08 blocks per game and 26th with 2.2 kills per game … Brianna Johnson (Palmer 2003) is in her first year with Wartburg College. Johnson is currently on the Iowa school's junior varsity team … Diana Gordon (Palmer 2000), formerly Diana West, is now a member of the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves. Gordon transferred from BYU-Hawaii. Gordon has appeared in 10 games this season, averaging 1.40 digs per game … Lisa Thomas (Palmer 2001) is in her junior season with Portland State University. Thomas has 69 kills and a team-high 44 blocks for the 9-2 Vikings this season. Thomas had nine kills and seven blocks in a 3-1 loss to San Francisco last week … Leisa Rosen (Wasilla) is in her fourth season as an assistant coach for the University of Michigan … Stefanie Farris (Wasilla 2002) is a sophomore middle hitter for the Citadel. Faris has 76 kills and 58 digs this season. Faris registered four kills and 14 digs in a 3-0 loss to Georgia Southern Sept. 23.

Basketball:

Amber Magner (Palmer 1992) is in her third season as head coach of California State University- Monterey Bay women's basketball squad … Leah Magner (Colony 1999) is an assistant coach for the CSUMB women's basketball squad.

Cross-country running:

Eric Strabel (Colony 2000) enters his senior season with UAA. Strabel placed 13th in the West Region Championships last year. Strabel placed sixth in the Palmer Invitational earlier this month. The Seawolf running team returned to action this weekend at the Bronco Invite in Chino, Calif. after a three-week break … Aaron Dickson (Palmer 2003) and Drew Dickson (Palmer 2003) are freshmen with the Seawolves. Aaron Dickson scored his first collegiate win earlier in the month by placing first in the Palmer Invitational. Drew Dickson finished fifth … Sarah Hanson (Colony 2001) is a junior with UAA. Hanson finished eighth in the Palmer invite … Dominique Colberg (Colony 2003) is a freshman with the University of Montana. Colberg finished first in her first collegiate race the intersquad University of Montana open. Colberg beat her fellow Grizzlies with a time of 17:51 in the 5-kilometer race. UM competes in the Minnesota Invitational this weekend … Diana Heimerl (Colony 2001) is a junior with Alaska Fair banks. Heimerl finished second in the UAF Invitational, earlier this month, with a time of 19.55 … Renae Moore (Susitna Valley 2002) is a sophomore with UAF … Pat Egelus (Palmer 2000) is a senior with Eastern Oregon University. EOU is currently the top-ranked NAIA running team in the nation. Egelus finished seventh in the University of Portland Invite Sept. 12 with a time of 20:32.

Swimming:

Dirk Craft (Palmer 2000) is in his junior season with the University of South Dakota. Craft helped lead USD to a ninth-place finish last season in the Division II swimming and diving championships. The swimming season starts Oct. 10.

Hockey:

Kerry Weiland (Palmer 1999) was named to the Team USA select women's hockey squad recently. Weiland and Team USA will compete in the Four Nations Cup, Nov. 5-9 in Skovde, Sweden. The team will open Nov. 5 against Finland. Weiland also helped lead Team USA to a 2-1 overtime win over Team Canada in the FIRS Women's World Hockey Inline Championships earlier this summer. Weiland has just been named to the U.S. select women's ice hockey team that will compete in the Four Nations Cup in Sweden in November … Shane Saum (Palmer) is a senior with the Air Force Academy. The Falcons open their season Oct. 10 when they participate in the Quinipac Cup … Nathan Schwartzbauer (Colony 2000) is a freshman for Bemidji State. The Beavers open play Oct. against Concordia-Montreal … Jake Luthi (Colony 2002) is a freshman for Rensselear Polytechnic Institute. The Engineers begin their season Oct. 11 at Boston University … Jake Williams (Houston 2003) has made the Dubuque Thunderbird junior hockey squad. The Thunderbirds play in the Minnesotta Junior Hockey League. Williams is a forward … Jamie Bennett (Houston 2003) is also in his first year with Dubuque. Bennett will play on the blueline. The Thunderbirds open with a series this weekend against the Wisconsin Fire.

Golf:

Travis Parker (Colony 2003) has made the South Mountain Community College men's golf squad. Parker will begin swinging the clubs for the Phoenix, Ariz.-based school in

early 2004.

Soccer:

Lynda Bowers (Palmer 1994) has started her first year as the head coach of the University of Southern Illinois- Edwardsville. Bowers and the Cougars are 6-1 … Kristin Covalt (Palmer 2000) is a senior goaltender for SIU- Edwardsville. Covalt is 2-1 with a 0.63 goals against average and a .903 saves percentage in five games this season … Eric Lund (Colony) is in his senior season with George Washington. Lund is a senior goalkeeper for GW. The Colonials have got off to a rough start this season, now at 1-6 … Thomas Kelly (Matanuska Christian 2002) is a starting forward for Peninsula College (WA). Kelly scored in his team's 2-1 loss to Tacoma Community College.