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Show %r THE SIGNPOST Wednesday, September 23, 2009 SPORTS Nakamura hurt; out for season Team says they have to 'step up' Matthew Maynes sports editor I The Signpost Tight end Cody Nakamura is out for the rest of his senior season with a torn MCL and PCL as well as a partially torn ACL. "It's really sad because it's his senior year and something like this happened to him," said Head Coach Ron McBride. "Plus he's really good at what he does. He's a preseason Ail-American, a big-time guy. Not just a good player, he's a great player." Nakamura had 20 receptions for 178 yards in the first two and a half games this season. In the Idaho State University game on Saturday, Sept. 19, Nakamura had six receptions for 58 yards in the first half before being hit on a reception in the second quarter and injuring his knee. With four touchdowns this season, Nakamura has half of the receiving touchdowns and one third of the team's total touchdowns. Because Nakamura is such an integral part of the offense, the team will be forced to rely more heavily on other players. "It's a big loss because the guy is a topline player and he plays a critical role in all our packages," McBride said. "What it PHOTO BY BRYAN BUTTERFIELD | WE SIGNPOST Weber State University tight end Cody Nakamura was hurt in last week's game. Nakamura tore his MCL and PCL, his ACL is also partially torn and he will miss the remainder of the season. means is other guys have to step up and take care of business." Nakamura redshirted his first year at WSU, and didn't see his first action until the eighth game of the 2006 season. He then played in the next four games, and then doubled the time he saw to eight games in the 2007 season. Last season Nakamura played in all 14 games and had 48 receptions for 729 yards, good for third on the team in receiving, and also had 10 touchdowns. "The guy is what college football players are all about," McBride said. "The guy is a good student, he's a great player; he doesn't miss anything. He hasn't missed a workout since I've been here or missed ... missed anything. He's a football player." Defensive end Kevin linehan, who was also injured in the ISU game but will play Saturday, called Nakamura reliable and said that he caught the ball and made plays. He also said that the team would still do well without him. See Nakamura page 7 Women take first in Idaho rodeo Team participated in two rodeos over weekend WSU center Dane Ludolph gives glimpses into hockey By Dane Ludolph correspondent I The Signpost The Weber State University Hockey Team opened up the 2009-10 season with a record of 1-1. Our team started off the year with a win versus Utah Valley University followed by a heartbreaking overtime loss to Utah State. The team has a lot of new faces and new challenges to overcome this year. All hockey teams carry a 20-man roster; however, this year the hockey team is only carrying 12 skaters. Because we are shorthanded it is very important for the team-to stay disciplined and composed throughout each game. Having a positive mentality and building team cohesiveness is the only way for our team to be successful this year and overcome the short roster. We started off the year on the road in Provo, Utah, versus the Utah Valley State Wolverines. We came out flat and undesired which led us to be down 0-1 at the end of the first period. Coach Steve Soto gave an emotional speech between the first and second period that really got the boys fired up. We came out in the second period with a newfound motivation and got the lead back 3-1. The offense was lead by our young gun Chris Roberts (sophomore), who was flying around the ice with reckless abandon and finished the game with a 3-goal performance. We locked down defensively in the third period and had insurance goals added by freshman newcomers Braxton Green and Josh Giudize. The final score was 6-2. Our game Saturday was played at home versus rival Utah State Aggies. Full of emotion and anticipation, our team came out nervous and without much confidence and we found ourselves trailing 1-3 at the end of the first period. The second period See Hockey page 7 By Maegan Heiner correspondent I The Signpost The men and women on the Weber State University Rodeo Team were very busy this past weekend as they loaded up and headed to Pocatello, Idaho, for a three-day series of rodeo. The contestants started out on Thursday, Sept. 17 by competing in the Rocky Mountain Region Rodeo Number 1. This rodeo was sponsored by the region, rather than by one individual school. "Since we don't have a lot of member schools in this region, the region has to sponsor some of the rodeos." said Dennis Montgomery, WSU Head Coach and Rocky Mountain Region Director. "It is kind of expensive, but we have great sponsors who help us put on a quality event." At the region rodeo the men's team placed fourth and the women's team took first. In individual events on Thursday, Shawney Taylor took fourth in the goat tying, Mckenzie Barrington took first in the barrels and the breakaway roping and Sydney Hartman split six and seven in the breakaway. Chance Kendall and his partner Lekelsie Dansie took third in the team roping. Kendall also tookthird in the calf roping. SOURCE: MACKENZIE PRATT Mackenzie Pratt, a member of the Weber State University Rodeo Team, competes in the goat tying event. She took first place in that event as well as breakaway roping. The region rodeo is different from the other rodeos because it does not have a short round. Instead, contestants all compete one time for one score or time in their events. The points for the winners are then See Rodeo page 7 Cross country women place first in meet Men's and women's teams both place in top three By Kortney Nipko correspondent I The Signpost This past weekend, the Weber State University Men's and Women's Cross Country Teams made the trip to Montana to compete in the Montana State University Fleet Feet Cross Country Invitational. This was the second meet of the year for the Wildcats, with both teams coming off a second place finish at the Utah State Open held in Logan. "For the Logan meet, we went into it as more of a hard workout. It was more controlled and I didn't let them go all out," said Head Coach Paul Pilkington. "For the Montana meet, I let them race, and it made a huge difference, especially in the women. They ran an outstanding race." The women came home with a first placefinishout of 15 teams. "We had four in the top 10, which is really good," said sophomore. Natalie Haws. "We have a couple of girls that have improved a ton from last year. Our freshmen have stepped it up a ton which is really good. We just help each other in the race and then we do well." The women's team scored 39 points overall, and, along with having four runners in the top 10, also placed five in the top 13. Haws ended up finishing the three-mile race in 17:23, placing third, with freshman Sarah Callister right behind her, ending with a time of 17:24. Also placing at the meet was sophomore Laken Skidmore, who finished seventh, freshman Taylor Thornley, who finished ninth and sophomore Loren Storey who finished 13th. If the women can keep their competitiveness up, and stay away from injuries, they have a bright outlook ahead of them. "I think we are good where we are at as far as competing goes," Haws said. "We want to keep on improving. I think we are where we are supposed to be. We have a few injuries on the team, but most of us all are healthy. So if we can just keep it up, the season will go great." The men's team finished third last weekend, with a total of 70 points, wasn't It the placing were they for, hoping but they said they know that with time comes improvement. " W e improved on our efforts and on our overall meet, compared to SOURCL: PAUL PILKINGTON Logan, but we Weber State University Cross Country runners See Cross Natalie Haws and Sarah Callister both finished Country page 7 m *ne to P 10 ' n l as * week's meet. |