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Show SPORTS Golfweek features Utah Valley's Casper Mason By ASHER WILDMAN Golfweek After a handful of top-three finishes during the fall golf season, Mason Casper is no longer the well-kept secret in Utah and college golf. Asher Wildman of Golfweek featured Casper in the following January article: In the past few years, some college golfers have been watched more closely than others. Sam Saunders, Arnold Palmer's grandson, was one that always turned heads while at Clemson. Recent Oklahoma State graduate Kevin Tway was a star in Stillwater, Okla., because he followed his father Bob's footsteps (who played professionally), and Cheyenne Woods draws attention because she calls Tiger Woods her uncle. In Utah, however, there is another legacy in college golf who goes unnoticed largely because most people don't even know he exists. Mason Casper is a member of the Utah Valley men's golf team in the America Sky Conference. Casper, a junior, is the grandson of three-time major winner and 51-time PGA Tour winner Billy Casper. From Springville, Utah, Mason Casper wasn't heavily recruited out of high school. During his junior career he won a handful of high school tournaments and six junior events in Utah. "I was never really recruited," Casper said. "I remember one coach called me and another e-mailed me, but I never even took an official visit." Casper's dream of playing college golf out of high school was short lived. Prior to graduating he found out that the NCAA had failed to clear him because of his academic records . Feeling discouraged and disappointed, Casper elected to go on a mission trip to Rancagua, Chile, for two years. Prior to enrolling at Utah Valley, Casper sold home security systems for a company called Pinnacle. Married in March of 2010, his wife Chelsea sensed that something wasn't right with Mason. "She knew I wanted to play golf for a school." Casper said. "She told me that if I don't go do it now, I'll regret it for the rest of my life." Casper then enrolled at Utah Valley, but knew he had to be a full-time student for a year to fulfill the necessary class requirements to be cleared by the NCAA. During that first year, Casper approached then-head coach Clark Rustand. He asked Rustand if he could try out for the team the next fall. Rustand granted Casper the opportunity, but prior to the 2010 fall season Rustand WILSON from B1 He has posted an overall record of 11-6 and 3-2 in dual matches on the season. The 149-pounder has won many of the open and invitational competitions he has participated in this year, including going 4-2 in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and placing fifth by topping three ranked competitors. Wilson then went on to place sixth in the Midlands Championships in Evanston, Ill. That marked the second straight nationalcaliber tournament in which Wilson placed in the top six. Despite all the success that Wilson has been having this season, he does not let the hype get to him mentally. "A month ago I wasn't ranked," Wilson said. "I worked my way up there by wrestling." When asked if there is any added pressure because he is ranked eighth in the nation, he simply said, "No." Williams went on to explain the kind of character Wilson has always been. "It's not just about effort," Williams said. "It's about doing everything you can to be your best and Josh [Wilson] is one of those kids... [Wilson] expects a lot from himself. He has set a high bar. But he has a great work ethic." Wilson continues to be a fan favorite here at Utah Valley University. His InterMat ranking on top of his overall record is putting the school on the map. But Wilson still does not really give in to all of that. He is quick to turn the spotlight over to his team. "I don't feel like I'm in the spotlight," Wilson said. "We're all still young. We're all still talented. We'll continue to grow." Wilson has an opportunity to continue to grow with his team as they travel to Colorado Springs to take on Air Force this Thursday. They will then travel down to Laramie, Wyo. to take on the Wyoming Cowboys. decision win by 141-pounder Derek Malan. The redshirt freshman continued what has been a strong month of play after finishing fourth in this month's UVU Open and earning three straight wins at the Midlands Championships in Illinois. Wolverine freshmen Ethan Smith and David Prieto both lost their matches by one point, with Smith's loss corning in double-overtime. Bryan Jonathan Boldt Trending twits @racistbigotfan23 #check-yourself-&chill PHOTO BY UVU ATHLETICS UVU's Mason Casper tee's off agaisnt the field and is scoring more than birdies in the media. Casper is gaining recognition nationally as he continues to turn heads. resigned. Casper then went in search of new head coach Chris Curran. "I was impressed with him the day that I actually met him," Curran said. At the end of the fall semester Casper got his chance to try out for the team, and in January of 2011 became an official member of the Utah Valley golf team. In his first collegiate start that spring at the Southern Utah Pat Hicks Invitational, Casper posted a 7-under total to win the tournament by 10 shots. "Everyone always asks who taught me how to play the game," Casper said. "I'm mostly self-taught, but my grandfather taught me everything I know about course management and that's been the biggest difference-maker." Now a junior for the Wolverines, Casper has one other victory and has posted seven top-10 finishes. He currently is ranked 199th in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings and hopes to soon have an opportunity to face off against some of college golf's best. "I know that with the schedule I have there's not many chances for me," Casper said. "I would love to compete one day against UCLA's Patrick Cantlay and see how I do." Mason may not have the chance to battle Cantlay soon, but he will have the chance to compete against Washington's Chris Williams and Oregon's Eugene Wong at the Bandon Dunes Championship in mid-March. It's been a journey, but Casper says he is glad he pursued his playing dream. Casper is the top-ranked Utah Valley golfer, and hopes that he and his teammates can win the inaugural America Sky Conference Championship in the spring. That victory would come with an automatic qualifier into the NCAA Championship. Track excels at BYU Invite PROVO -One day after winning the men's long jump, UVU sophomore Michael McPherson added two more firsts and a third on the final day of the BYU Invitational on Jan. 7. McPherson won the 60m (6.89) and the 300m (35.07) and finished third in the triple jump (44 feet, 9 inches). McPherson wasn't the only Wolverines, however, to bring home a first-place finish. Megan Burr won the 300m (41.38); Ali Shields won the triple jump with a jump of 35-071/4, and Joshua McCabe won the mile (4:11.07). Freshman Nicholas Taylor was a close third to McPherson in the 60m with the time of 6.92, while Tim Rowberry placed second in the 800 meters 1:54.34. The Wolverines finished 3-4-5 in the 60m hurdles with Drew Clarke (8.66), Matt Williams (8.83), and Rusty Jones (8.85). The Wolverines went 1-2-3 in the 300m. Behind McPherson, S kyl ar Burn- ingham was second (35.17) and Jacob Brydson was third (35.22). For complete results see www.runnercard.com . Utah Valley is back in action Jan. 21-22 at Boise State. to work with GLAAD with anti-homophobic ads. There comes a point when instead of looking for public rights, people look for angles to publicly prove they've been wronged. The motives are backwards, and sports is the backwards forum for it to happen. North Dakota proudly repeat, proudly - sported the name and face of the Sioux for eight decades. Enough Sioux chose to take that as a mark of shame. Now, when Utah Valley's basketball teams face UND this week, they will simply be playing UND. All game, no name. the close victory over the Broncos. Leading the chants and cheers was local Orem resident Shane Mettle. Mettle is very involved in youth wrestling in Orem and his enthusiasm for the sport is undeniable. His youth wrestling club, Meadow Wrestling, was among the local programs invited to cheer on and learn from the UVU team. "We are amazed at the wrestling here," Mettle said. "These guys are (our kids) idols, they are who our children want to grow up to be like." The hardest and final step to cement wrestling as UVU's most popular sport is to further involve the student body. Last semester enrollment surpassed 32,000 at Utah Valley University and during the 2010-2011 sports season, UVU had six regular season conference champion teams. Despite that, UVU continues to have poor attendance at athletic events. Sophomore 141-pounder Avery Garner said the key to bringing more students to meets is winning, "We just have to win," Garner said. "When we are doing well, people want to come watch us." ZONE from B1 WRESTLING from B1 Chamberlain lost by pin following Prieto's match, setting up Dennison's small margin for error. Utah Valley left the following day to compete in the Lone Star Duals held in Arlington, Texas, a tournament featuring No. 12 Oklahoma. The Wolverines' next home match will be held Jan. 27 against Northern Iowa. That wasn't enough. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) said it had reached out to the NBA and the teams of those players "to discuss next steps." The thousands of dollars in fines, bad press and public, professional apologies weren't enough. The players, teams and league were expected/obligated/forced Matt Petersen can be reached at petersensports@ gmail.com . You can follow him on Twitter @SportsWriter93. FANS from B1 Want to go to UVU games for FREE? writ^ fn .! Come the UVU Review. SC 220 — email petersensports@gmail.com Thunder Boldt wrestling program following the 1999-2000 seaso and currently UVU has the only NCAA Division I Wrestling team in the state of Utah. Utah has proven to be a home for some of the nation's top grapplers, including the Olympic Gold Medalist and current Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson and more recently the first wrestling All-American in UVU history, Benjamin Kjar. They, along with many others, have paved the way for Utah wrestlers their popularity in the Utah and Salt Lake Counties. Many of the valley's high school teams and youth programs were in attendance to watch We all know that fan is short for fanatic, but the time has come for the terms, as well as the behaviors they exhibit to be better understood. In our current social climate, "fanatic" is typically applied to groups associated with the fringes such as religious fanatics and black helicopter fearing, UFO conspiracy theorists. Following this year's dismantling of LSU by the Crimson Tide in the BCS championship game, LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson experienced firsthand the ugly face of sports fanatics. Twitter became the forum of choice for voicing fans disgust of his play, which quickly became a downward spiral of the nasty side of human nature Jefferson was forced into shutting down his Twitter account in the days that followed his abysmal performance due to coarse and vulgar comments that angry LSU Tiger fanatics posted. Jefferson is African-American, but it was blacks and whites alike that were using the most horrific racial terms and attacks on the QB, all because he did not play well enough to win their team a national championship. Don't get me wrong, Jefferson played like garbage and his play is not in need of defending. He rightly deserves any and all criticism when it comes to what happened between the hash-marks, including allegations that his tackle after an interception was a dirty play and intended to cause harm to the defender. If you are the type of person that would never use a racial slur or take a cheap shot at anyone you associate with, then you should be consistent and not use these tactics when it comes to an athlete and their performance. Good character people are consistent and apply their principles in all aspects of life, even when their team loses. When a fan allows themselves to become a fanatic, the worst of them rears its ugly head and true character is exposed. Social media can be a great tool and a way for us to express what we hold so dear as Americans -- the freedom of speech. Unfortunately, social media can be a reactionary tool that permanently publishes the fleeting thoughts that if given another minute to ponder, most would re-think their choice, thus eliminating a great deal of "Tweeters Remorse". At UVU there is a good amount of anti-other-institution hatred compared to actual school pride. Sports fans on campus should take note of all the negativity that can be seen in the media and take stock of their own fanaticism. True peace of mind and sporting satisfaction will never come from drunken latenight tweets aimed at who lost the game for your team or what other schools are doing in comparison to our own. Next time you want to tweet a zinger at anyone in anger, step away from the keyboard, put down the cell phone, count to ten and don't do it. If you go ahead and pull the trigger on that tweet, you step outside the world of fandom and enter the realm of fanaticism and #yousuck! Jonathan Boldt can be reached at jonboldt@ gmail. com or on Twitter @jboldt24. |