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Show SPORTS A6 PHOTO COURTESY OF C.B. GRAN CANARIA Ryan Toolson celebrates Gran Canaria's win over Laboral Kutxa, which advanced them to the semifinals, the best finish in the club's history. UVU alum Ryan Toolson signs a contract this summer to play in Europe's top league Kyle Spencer Sports Editor @kyledspencer The all-time leading scorer in the history of UVU basketball didn't always think a professional basketball future was his destiny. The 6-foot-4-inch Toolson averaged 19 points per game and led Gilbert High School in Arizona to a 5A state championship his senior year, but Utah schools were hesitant to offer him a scholarship. "I think I was the first one in the entire family to not go to BYU," Toolson said. "It was always my dream to obviously go there and they did recruit me, but at the end of the day it kind of wound down to me and Mike Rose, who is the now-head coach's nephew." "They went with him, and I still wanted to be in a good area, being a member of the church. Curtis Condie, who is now back being the assistant coach with coach Hunsaker right now, was recruiting me at Northern Arizona University and he moved over to UVU and kept recruiting me and I thought it would be a great opportunity." Toolson immediately became the team's leading scorer his freshman season at UVU. After a twoyear mission for the LDS church, Toolson returned to Utah Valley University without missing a beat. His sophomore season allowed him to demonstrate his ability to score from anywhere on the court which translated to national recognition on various all-Independent teams. Toolson shot 48 percent from the field and an unworldly 46 percent from three-point range. He only missed three free throws all season and led the nation, finishing 96-for99 on the year (97 percent). His scoring and shooting brought renewed interest from bigger schools around the country. "I actually requested a release after my sophomore year," said Toolson. "I came back from my mission and was hoping that maybe another school would offer me and no one did, so I went back to UVU and requested a release and they didn't give it to me. Looking back in hindsight I think it was a blessing in disguise. My sophomore year coach Hunsaker let me do what I wanted to do and it just continued and I got better and better over the course of my junior and senior year. I don't think I'd be where I am today if I would've transferred to a bigger and better school because I wouldn't have probably had the opportunity to score as much as I did at UVU." If the release had been given, Toolson would've just been a name on a lengthy list of players that moved on to bigger schools to Wolverine fans, but former athletic director Mike Jacobsen refused to let that happen. "This is the first time I've let anyone know," said Toolson. "I think the AD is off the hook now because he's retired, so it can come out. He just said that he was sick and tired of all the good players moving on to the U and BYU and other schools. I think he just finally needed to put his foot down and kind of let all of the student athletes know that we are now a university and we are a four-year school and we're not a junior college anymore like before when we could've transferred after a year or two to another school. That's just what he said, that he wanted me to stay and he was going to make that happen." Though Toolson wasn't thrilled with the decision to deny his request, he focused on what he could control. He began to dedicate as much of his time as he possibly could to his craft, and as a result his confidence grew. "Going into my junior year I never thought that a professional basketball career was in the cards," said Toolson. "I think I finished the season averaging 22 or 23 points a game and agents started getting a 66 Going into my junior year I never thought that a professional basketball career was in the cards. RYAN TOOLSON, UVU basketball alum UU hold of coach Hunsaker and asking about me so coach kind of put that in my mind and it continued over my senior year." Once the realization settled in that he had an opportunity to play at the highest level, Toolson began to talk to his uncle, who happens to be the current President of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics, Danny Ainge, about playing professionally and selecting an agent after his senior year. "We kind of narrowed it down, me and him, then I chose the agent that I still have now and he just said okay I'm going to go to work," said Toolson. "I went and worked out with the Lakers, the Sacramento Kings, the Phoenix Suns and the Utah Jazz. It was a fun experience. I did really well with the Sacramento Kings and with the Jazz and so they said they'd be interested in me possibly doing another workout with them." Though the additional workouts never came to fruition and Toolson watched as the draft came and passed without his name being called, he wowed Sacramento enough to receive an invite to play on their summer league team. "I kind of had the bad luck of having them drafting Tyreke Evans," said Toolson. "They originally wanted to put [Evans] at point guard and then they wanted to see how he would do at shooting guard, so he kind of took all of the shooting guards' minutes. I was kind of left at the end of the bench and as soon as that happened my agent just started looking overseas and the best offer was in Turkey. That was my first year — I went to Turkey." Toolson was happy to land on a team that allowed him much of the same offensive freedom he enjoyed while at UVU, but financially it was not the best offer on the table. Yet Toolson once again impressed and continued his climb up the European ranks after being signed to play in Italy. Gran Canaria of the Spanish League came calling next, where Toolson experienced his latest success. Playing alongside former Utah State star Spen- cer Nelson, Toolson led the team in scoring at 14.3 points per game and propelled his team all the way to the Spanish League semifinals, a first in the club's history. "The day after our last game in the semifinals a team from Spain made an offer and it was a great offer. It was from a Euro League team, which is the top league in all of Europe — the best league in the world that isn't the NBA." Toolson signed with Unicaja Malaga of Spain and will compete in the same group as reigning Euro League champion Olympiacos during the upcoming season. He received a one-year contract this summer with the option for a second year. Arriving at Europe' top league and creating a prosperous financial situation for his family were among his hopes when he began playing overseas. Now he hopes to remain at Europe's top level and compete for a championship. He's already proved his doubters wrong but that doesn't mean he's content with his current legacy. "Off the top of my head my goals would just be to stick in the Euro League," said Toolson. "It's very hard. You have to be a great player. Not only great, but consistently great. You can't have a lot of ups and downs. I think my goal is to go all the way. I want to make it to the finals and maybe even win it." Love in these clubs Running down a dream UVU provides a wide variety of sports clubs that students are encouraged to participate in Tyson Peterson UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS Here at UVU there are currently 191 registered clubs, 11 of which are sports clubs. Baseball, cycling, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's rugby, men's soccer, men's volleyball, racquetball, rodeo, and fencing are among the many clubs to help students have fun and be active. A few of the clubs have some upcoming events that students should be aware of. The men's volleyball club will be holding tryouts on September 2 and 7 on the intramural fields. The aikido (martial arts club) will start having weekly practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:00 p.m. through 5:30 p.m. starting on August 13. While the men's soccer club will be hosting Weber State on September 14 at 10 am. on the Mckay Education Center Fields. Some of the lesser-known sport clubs are having success and are helping make UVU a national name. Earlier this year, the men's Rodeo club placed fourth in the region and the women's club placed third. Since its inception last year the bass fishing club has been making headlines as well. In the first year, the bass club won two of the four tournaments it entered. The team also had two members who competed in the B ASS. Carhartt Garrett Coleman Assistant Sports Editor Reporter tyson peterson@ uvu .ed u The UVU Cross Country and Track teams look to continue their domination of conference play this fall The sports clubs at UVU range from baseball to aikido. College National Championship on Lake Chatuge in Georgia from August 1-3. The team of Seth Hausman and Weston Brierley made history, being the first team from UVU to ever qualify for this event. The achievement was unexpected, considering this is only the second year of the club's existence, and the first year competing in B.A.S.S. Hausman and Brierly qualified for the championship by placing in the top ten at Clear Lake in California by edging out their own teammates Zach Taylor and Tate Brown to secure qualification for Lake Chatuge. By the end of the championship run, the tandem had 10 fish, which landed them in 11th out of the original field of 68. Football is also on the rise here at UVU. Last year, the Football club fared well as a member of the Utah Tackle Football League, with various players finishing among the best in the state statistically. Chase Orwin was second in the league for most yards rushed, Alan Sheffer was second in the league for most tackles, Jake Jensen was number one in the league for sacks and Matt Roberts was third in the LAURA FOX//UVU REVIEW league for interceptions and touchdowns. The Wolverines went 5-1 in the regular season and lost their playoff game in triple overtime. After taking over as Club President last year, James Andersen was asked about the football club and the possibility of getting a fully-fledged College Team. "UVU might as well take advantage of a league that is set up," Andersen said. "There are other teams that would play us if we could get a field and an 11 man team. Right now it's kind of rag tag, but a lot of college sports is just coming out and supporting. I would say the first step is getting the word out there." The Wolverines play Saturdays at Lakeridge Junior High, starting September 7. UVU clubs are a fun and exciting way to be involved at UVU. Joining a sports club and playing during the season can offer the opportunity to make new connections and friends. For students interested in joining any of UVU clubs, head over to www.uvu. edu/clubs and click join a club to get started today. garrettjcoleman@gmail.com The Utah Valley University Men's and Women's cross country and track and field teams have dominated their competition while in the Great West Conference and hope to continue their championship streak in the WAC for years to come. The running dynasty is looking to add more championships to their already heavy-laden GWC trophy case. For the past five years while in the Great West, the men's cross country team captured four championships, while the women's cross country, and both track and field squads took home all five GWC championships. Since the announcement of the move to the WAC, the athletics have been buzzing with excitement. For these squads, the goal of success is no different at this higher level of athleticism and competition as they look forward to the challenge of the new conference. "We can't wait to get to the next one and see if we can do it again," said UVU cross country and track and field coach Scott Houle. "That's going to be a nice new goal for us and unchartered waters, but we're going to set that as our goal." The road to winning a champion- CONNOR ALLEN// UVU REVIEW Nicholas Taylor and the Wolverines hope to continue their in-conference success. ship is never an easy one, regardless of how many times these teams have previously won. Championships are earned, not given. The Wolverines understand that principle and have always worked hard to be worthy of the praise they have received. "I think the competition [in conference] has kept the kids driven to keep working hard during the summers," Houle said. "We have always had good competition pushing us and making us want to get better." The new conference does offer new challenges for the Wolverines. The conference consists of many of the schools the Wolverines are familiar with from the GWC, with the addition of Grand Canyon University, who is transitioning from Div. II, and longtime WAC members New Mexico State, Idaho and Seattle. All four of the new conference foes have a good blend of talent and experience to shine in the upcoming seasons. The solid amount of upperclassmen that the Wolverines return will be counted on to continue their stellar form. Junior cross country runner Joshua McCabe is coming off of one of the best seasons in UVU history. McCabe was named the Great West Conference Runner of the Year and became the Wolverine's first-ever runner to qualify for NCAA Nationals. McCabe also won the GWC Championships with the time of 23:49.06. The track team enjoyed similar success when freshmen Brandon Edmondson (1500m) and Mykah Heaton (400m hurdles) competed in the Junior Nationals in June. The team's other notable achievments included Michael McPherson and Maryn Pincock being named the 2013 Great West Conference Outdoor Track & Field Athletes of the Year. It looks to be a great year for both cross country and track and field teams in the inaugural year in the WAC. All four teams are no strangers to success and look to make this season a year to remember. |