The Modesto Bee from Modesto, California • C4

C-4 SECOND 4 23:58 TY COSTA Turlock Wrestling Costa, ranked No. 3 in the state at 125 pounds, won his weight class at California Bulldog Classic at Turlock High. It was third championship won at the Bulldog Classic. Costa beat Tony Fernandes, ranked No. 4 in the state at 130 pounds, 4-2 in the finals.

PARENTS: John and Michelle Costa FAVORITE CLASS: III-IV with Ms. (Marjorie) Walker. I really like the subject and with a good teacher you learn a BIG RIVAL: Valley. Last year they beat us in a dual meet and we were co-champions in the CCC because of that. the only team to beat us in a dual meet in seven years.

Tons of fans show up for it. We set the gym up nice, use the spotlight, the cheerleaders come. One time we had a live band. It was AMBITION: wrestling, to place at the NCAA national tournament. In high school, winning state is my ultimate FAVORITE ATHLETE: Gable (1972 Olympic and three-time NCAA champion).

one of the toughest guys to ever NOTABLES: Zeph Tyson, Downey basketball: Scored 25 points in upset victory over Davis on Friday. Ryan Ghazaeri, Davis basketball: Scored 33 points as the Spartans beat Johansen. Rueben Ramos, Central Catholic basketball: Scored 31 points in SAL win over Waterford. Steve Gentry, Escalon basketball: Scored 33 points in TVL victory over Livingston. KELLY JONES Boys Basketball Modesto Metro Conference League Overall Modesto 2 0 13 0 Davis 1 1 11 3 Beyer 1 1 9 5 Johansen 1 1 7 5 Downey 1 1 5 9 Ceres 0 2 8 6 Central California Conference League Overall Turlock 3 0 11 3 Golden Valley 3 0 10 5 Merced 2 1 8 7 Pitman 1 2 5 10 Los Banos 0 3 5 11 Atwater 0 3 2 10 Valley Oak League League Overall Sonora 2 0 10 5 East Union 1 0 9 6 Sierra 1 0 6 6 Oakdale 1 1 11 4 Buhach Colony 1 1 5 10 Weston Ranch 0 2 9 5 Manteca 0 2 5 11 Trans-Valley League League Overall Patterson 3 0 14 2 Ripon 3 0 12 3 Ripon Chr.

2 1 9 4 Escalon 2 1 5 7 Hughson 1 2 5 7 Livingston 1 2 5 10 Riverbank 0 3 4 9 Hilmar 0 3 5 11 Southern League League Overall Mariposa 3 0 13 3 Orestimba 2 1 10 5 Gustine 2 1 5 8 Delhi 1 2 8 8 Waterford 1 2 7 8 Denair 1 2 5 6 Central Cath. 1 2 6 9 Le Grand 1 2 3 6 Mother Lode League League Overall Argonaut 0 0 9 3 Amador 0 0 10 5 Bret Harte 0 0 9 5 Calaveras 0 0 5 7 Linden 0 0 5 7 Summerville 0 0 4 6 Mountain Valley League League Overall Elliot Chr. 6 0 8 5 Big Valley Chr. 4 2 7 6 Turlock Chr. 2 1 5 9 Stockton Chr.

3 2 6 4 Tioga 3 3 6 6 Calvary Temple 3 4 5 9 Rite of Passage 2 3 5 8 Stone Ridge 1 4 2 9 Mother Lode 1 6 3 12 Independent League Overall Modesto Chr. 14 3 Girls Basketball Modesto Metro Conference League Overall Beyer 3 0 10 2 Davis 3 0 11 4 Ceres 2 1 11 3 Johansen 1 2 6 4 Modesto 0 3 5 9 Downey 0 3 0 12 Central California Conference League Overall Merced 4 0 11 5 Golden Valley 4 0 10 6 Pitman 2 2 8 6 Turlock 1 2 5 8 Atwater 0 3 2 12 Los Banos 0 4 2 13 Valley Oak League League Overall Sonora 2 0 9 6 Sierra 1 0 7 4 East Union 1 0 8 7 Oakdale 1 1 9 8 Buhach Colony 1 1 4 7 Manteca 0 1 4 7 Weston Ranch 0 3 9 7 Trans-Valley League League Overall Ripon 3 0 11 1 Escalon 2 1 8 3 Patterson 2 1 10 6 Hughson 2 1 7 6 Hilmar 1 2 8 7 Livingston 1 2 4 8 Riverbank 1 2 4 10 Ripon Chr. 0 3 1 8 Southern League League Overall Modesto Chr. 6 0 10 6 Orestimba 5 1 10 5 Mariposa 5 1 9 5 Central Cath. 4 2 6 8 Waterford 3 3 4 9 Le Grand 2 3 10 8 Delhi 1 5 1 13 Gustine 1 6 4 14 Denair 0 6 0 14 Mother Lode League League Overall Bret Harte 0 0 11 3 Calaveras 0 0 9 5 Argonaut 0 0 8 5 Amador 0 0 6 4 Summerville 0 0 4 5 Linden 0 0 5 8 Mountain Valley League League Overall Turlock Chr.

4 0 9 3 Jim Elliot Chr. 3 1 5 4 Mother Lode 2 1 5 2 Big Valley Chr. 3 2 10 4 Tioga 2 2 2 4 Stockton Chr. 0 2 4 6 Stone Ridge 0 2 2 5 Calvary 0 4 0 8 Colin Kaepernick and Anthony Harding have beenvarsity teammates on the Pitman High football team for three years. The two stars, Kaepernick at quarterback and Harding at running back, were major reasons for the two consecutive Central California Conference championship seasons.

Each of them won a league Most Valuable Player award over the last two years. And this season, both were Modesto Bee All-Stanislaus District selections after leading Pitman into the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs. But next season, like in their youth league years, Kaepernick and Harding will be on opposite teams. Both recently announced verbal commitments Kaepernick to the University of Nevada-Reno and Harding to Fresno State University to play football for NCAA Division I colleges. Both universities are members of the Western Athletic Conference, so they may play against each other in the following years.

was talking with Anthony on Tuesday, and we both thought about Pop Warner when we played on different Kaepernick said. was with the (Turlock) Vikings and he played for the (Turlock) 49ers. going to play against each other Neither will physically face the other. Kaepernick, who passed for 1,954 yards and 25 touchdowns for the Pride, will play quarterback. Harding, who rushed for 1,646 yards and 22 touchdowns, will play running back.

still be weird if we end up on opposite Kaepernick said. seem weird to Stanislaus District fans as well. Kaepernick and Harding have been integral parts of one of the top offenses over the last three years. And they could have been teammates for at least another four years. They both received scholarship offers from Nevada.

But Harding, who took his official visit to Fresno last weekend, feel in love with the campus almost immediately. was really comfortable with Fresno from the said Harding, who also received football scholarship offers from Cal Poly and Sacramento State. at breakfast with coach (Pat) Hill, I told him this was where I was going to Harding, one of seven recruits at Fresno last weekend, said Hill told them to about rumors he was looking into jobs with the NFL. He worrying. State is close and it plays good Harding said.

where I want to Kaepernick, also an accomplished pitcher-first baseman, was just as happy with Nevada. It was his only football scholarship offer. He received baseball scholarship offers from Fresno State and UC Davis. really like their Kaepernick said. call it the I call it the Wing-T out of the Kaepernick ran the Wing-T at Pitman, and after he redshirts next season, feels be able to compete for the starting job as a freshman.

telling me going to give me a chance after next Kaepernick said. MODESTO DEFENSIVE LINEMAN Levirt Griffin madeheadlines in August when he verbally committed to the University of California. But after some soul-searching, Griffin has decided to commit to archrival, Stanford University, instead. still wanted to keep my options Griffin said. I found out I was accepted at Stanford, I felt like that was the place I wanted to father, also named Levirt, works at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.

Levirt the player said he may play right away. talked with coach (Walt) Harris the other day, and he told me to get ready to play right said the 6-foot-5 Griffin, who has been working out since the end of the football season and is up to 255 pounds. be CERES HIGH SCHOOL will hold a dedication for itsrenovated gym with a new name, the Phil de la Porte Gymnasium, Saturday, Jan. 21 at 10 a.m. The event, which precedes six basketball games boys and girls is open to the public.

The gym is named after longtime Ceres teacher, coach and athletic director Phil de la Porte, who retired as a teacher last year. De la Porte, who remains the AD and assistant girls basketball coach, started teaching at Ceres in 1974. coached basketball (boys and girls) and tennis at Ceres. Will high schools column appears Thursdays. Write him at P.O.

Box 5256, Modesto, CA 95352-5256, call 578-2300, fax 238-4551 or e-mail LATICIA BOOKER Golden Valley basketball Booker, a freshman, set career bests for scoring twice in three Central California Conference wins for the Cougars last week. She had a career-high 16 points in a win over Atwater, then followed with 21 points and 13 rebounds in a win over Pitman. She had 15 points in a win over Los Banos. PARENTS: Lakuanda Stewart and Jack Booker. FAVORITE CLASS: I like the class because got a lot of my friends ON GAME WITH MERCED: pretty excited to play against Merced.

I think a lot of my family will be there. going to be a pretty big FAVORITE MOVIE: and funny and a really good movie. all about FAVORITE ATHLETE: Price for the Sacramento Kings. I saw him play one game and I really liked his game. He play a lot for them, AMBITION: think we can go a long way.

We definitely want to win a league TRADITION: before the game we pray and hope everything goes right. And before games, everybody on the team hosts a team dinner through the NOTABLES: Mercedes Lee, Merced basketball: Scored 22 points in win over Los Banos. Jessica Rosen, Beyer basketball: Scored 25 points in win over Modesto. Andrea Hernandez, Modesto Christian basketball: Scored 22 points in win over Gustine. WILL DeBOARD ATHLETES OF THE WEEK THE RANKINGS STANDINGS BASKETBALL STATISTICS Boys Scoring (Provided by coaches) Pts.

Avg. Tyson, Downey 14 229 16.4 Floro, Buhach Colony 17 254 14.9 Lopez, Buhach Colony 17 241 14.2 Poree, Downey 14 187 13.4 Blom, Beyer 14 186 13.3 Jones, Los Banos 15 193 12.9 Heilman, Beyer 14 167 11.9 Fowler, Sonora 15 174 11.6 Teevan, Beyer 14 162 11.6 Stephens, Downey 14 149 10.6 Bass, Los Banos 11 116 10.5 Elder, Sierra 16 165 10.3 Norman, Buhach Colony 17 174 10.2 3-point percentage (Minimum 1 per game) M-Att. Pct. Blom, Beyer 14 35-86 .407 Fowler, Sonora 15 29-80 .363 Jones, Los Banos 15 31-99 .313 Mitchell, Sierra 16 21-71 .296 Rebounding Pct. Avg.

Elder, Sierra 16 156 9.8 Poree, Downey 14 110 7.9 Stephens, Downey 14 93 6.6 Norman, Buhach Colony 17 93 5.5 Top Offenses Pts. Avg. Buhach Colony 17 988 58.1 Sonora 14 791 56.5 Sierra 16 806 50.4 Downey 14 680 48.5 Los Banos 15 696 46.4 Top Defenses Pts. Avg. Sierra 16 787 49.2 Sonora 14 712 50.8 Downey 14 736 52.6 Los Banos 15 828 55.2 Buhach Colony 17 1017 59.8 Girls Scoring (Provided by coaches) Pts.

Avg. Doerksen, Hughson 11 186 16.9 Spinardi, Golden Valley 14 223 15.9 McClure, Ceres 11 163 14.8 Pon, Orestimba 16 235 14.7 Mann, Merced 15 205 14.2 Leonardo, Golden Valley 14 176 12.6 Hanson, Turlock Chr. 11 121 11.0 Santiago, Turlock Chr. 11 116 10.5 3-point percentage (Minimum 1 per game) M-Att. Pct.

Lee, Merced 15 24-59 .407 Mann, Merced 15 22-63 .349 Spinardi, GV 14 28-101 .277 Rebounding Pct. Avg. Pon, Orestimba 16 276 17.3 Doerksen, Hughson 11 147 13.4 Leonardo, Golden Valley 14 130 9.3 Lopez, Orestimba 13 107 8.2 Mazza, Ceres 11 90 8.2 Davis, Merced 15 118 7.9 Hanson, Turlock Chr. 11 87 7.9 Spycher, Turlock Chr. 7 54 7.7 Booker, Golden Valley 13 83 6.4 Moore, Golden Valley 14 84 6.0 Top Offenses Pts.

Avg. Merced 15 946 63.0 Golden Valley 15 786 52.4 Ceres 11 527 47.9 Orestimba 16 731 45.7 Turlock Christian 11 502 45.6 Hughson 11 455 41.4 Top Defenses Pts. Avg. Turlock Christian 11 348 31.6 Ceres 11 418 38.0 Orestimba 16 620 38.8 Hughson 11 432 39.3 Merced 15 823 54.8 COACHES: You can fax your stats to 238-4551 or e-mail them to bee.com. Thank you.

Pitman stars will be opponents in college Large schools Boys 1. Modesto (13-0) 2. Turlock (11-3) 3. Golden Valley (10-5) 4. Sonora (10-5) 5.

East Union (9-6) Small schools Boys 1. Modesto Christian (14-3) 2. Ripon (12-3) 3. Patterson (14-2) 4. Mariposa (13-3) 5.

Argonaut (9-3) Large schools Girls 1. Beyer (10-2) 2. Davis (11-4) 3. Merced (11-5) 4. Ceres (11-3) 5.

Golden Valley (10-6) Small schools Girls 1. Ripon (11-1) 2. Bret Harte (11-3) 3. Modesto Christian (10-6) 4. Calaveras (9-5) 5.

Patterson (10-6) Cougars (3-1, 10-6) fall into a second-place tie with Merced. knew coming in that rebounding would be a big factor Golden Valley coach Keith Hunter said. did a good job, but I think we gave up three offensive rebounds in the last minute and half and that was huge. The smallest kid on the floor misses a 3-pointer and gets his own rebound. a mistake on our Reid Herchenbach led the Cougars with 23 points and Aaron Green added 17 points.

held serve Turlock coach Juan Alaniz said. have to be ready when we go to their Herchenbach gave Golden Valley a chance in the final seconds. The Cou- senior hit a 3-pointer from the wing with 15 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 57-56. Mangrum then made one of two free throws on the other end to push the lead back to 58-56 with 13.4 seconds left. With only three team fouls, Turlock proceeded to commit three fouls to run the clock down to four seconds.

The Cou- gars then inbounded the ball to point guard Chris Randle, who handed the ball off to Herchenbach, but he bobbled the ball and was unable to get a shot off as time expired. tough, but this game is Green said. wait until we play them again. But right now all we have to think about is Merced, Merced, CONTINUED FROM C-1 HOOPS: Turlock is in first at 4-0 By JOSEPH SMITH BEE STAFF WRITER Patterson High boys basket- ball coach Birdie Rodriguez said it was weirdest thing ever The Patterson-at-Riverbank boys basketball game last Fri- day was abruptly ended by refer- ees late in the third quarter when a scuffle between two play- ers going after a loose ball quick- ly escalated into a few fans be- ing escorted from the gym after rushing onto the court, Rodrigu- ez said. Riverbank coach Jeff Jen- nings had been ejected earlier in the third quarter after pick- ing up two technical fouls.

The two players, one from each team, shoved each other follow- ing the scramble for the loose ball. That led a few fans from each side to come onto the floor, Rodriguez said. was a very physical Rodriguez said. had played them the week before in the Oakdale Tournament. Every- one was kind of fired Jennings had to sit out the fol- lowing game due to Sac-Joaquin Section rules.

In a regularly-scheduled meet- ing of Trans-Valley League ath- letic directors on Tuesday, the group decided to award Patter- son the victory instead of finish- ing the game. The Tigers were up 45-24 at the time it was called. question was whether we should wait and see if make a difference in the final standings or River- bank athletic director Karen Ad- ams said. the group decid- ed against it. If it were a close game, it may have been differ- The win leaves Ripon and Patterson as the two lone unde- feated TVL teams remaining heading into their highly-antici- pated matchup on Friday in Patterson.

The Indians ended season last year in the Sac- Joaquin Section Division IV semifinals. should be really Rodriguez said. year, we had our chances to beat them. Our kids are now seniors and pretty fired WRESTLING POTPOURRI There are two big local wres- tling tournaments set for this weekend: the 41st annual Ceres Invitational taking place at Cen- tral Valley High in Ceres on Sat- urday, and the Engel Invitation- al at Escalon on Friday and Sat- urday. The Ceres Invitational begins at 9 a.m.

Saturday, with finals tentatively scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The Engel Tournament begins at 9 a.m. both Friday and Saturday. BEE STAFF REPORTS LOS BANOS Pitman High senior for- ward Colin Kaepernick saved his best for last on Wednesday night. Kaepernick scored 11 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter including four clutch free throws to lead Pitman over Los Banos 64-57.

James Bass scored 23 points and Eleazar Jones tallied 22 for Los Banos (0-4 Central California Conference) in the back-and-forth game. WESTON RANCH 78, BUH- ACH COLONY 66, at Buhach Colony With the score 52-52 and five minutes left in the Valley Oak League game, Weston Ranch went on an 8-0 run. difference in the game was Weston second and third opportunities af- ter missed said Buhach coach Steve Abrams. outrebounded us all game Thomas had 14 points for Weston Ranch and Brock Floro 19 points (five 3-pointers) for Buhach. SONORA 40, EAST UNION 37, at East Union Sonora senior Scott Schoettgen scored nine of his 11 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Wildcats (12-5, 3-0 VOL) hold off East Union.

To beat the Lancers who erased a 12-point, third-quarter deficit Schoettgen drained four free throws in the final minute. EU (9-7, 1-1 VOL), which averages 70 percent from the free throw line, went 9-of-17. Eric Brown led the Lancers with 15. MANTECA 67, SIERRA 53, at Manteca Manteca (6-11, 1-2 VOL) got 22 points from Garrett Tolman and 17 from Derek Kulberg and made big free throws down the stretch. Michael Elder had 12 points for Sierra (1-1 VOL).

MODESTO 75, DAVIS 63, at Davis Modes- to junior guard Sammy Yeager scored 10 of his game-high 32 points and senior guard Blair Cephas added nine as Modesto (14-0, 3-0 MMC) stormed back from a five-point deficit, outscoring the Spartans (11-4, 1-2 MMC) 27-10 in the final eight minutes. CERES 70, BEYER 67 (OT), at Ceres Kevin Dupree of Ceres had 30 points 22 in the second half and overtime and grabbed 18 rebounds. Ceres (9-6, 1-2 MMC) got up by five early in the overtime. Beyer (9-6, 1-2) got it back to three, but Ceres held on thanks to key free throws down the stretch from Dupree. DOWNEY 47, JOHANSEN 45, at Johansen Andre Poree tied it at 45 with a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left.

After a Jo- hansen turnover with seven seconds left, Roderick Stephens was fouled with a second left and made both free throws to win the game. Downey is 2-1 in the MMC, Johansen 1-2. Wrestling ESCALON 54, WATERFORD 18 Ryan Sughrue of Escalon defeated Curtis Van Laar 4-1 at 160 pounds. Entering the match, Sughrue had lost only three times this year and Van Laar was undefeated. MERCED 35, PITMAN 34 The Bears (1-1 CCC) earned the win on the basis of the fifth tiebreaker criteria.

Chris Urquizo (119), Carlos Acota (160) and Michael Chambers (heavyweight) had pins for Merced. Fresh- man Cesar Padilla (130) had a big pin for Pitman (0-2). HIGH SCHOOLS WILL DEBOARD Patterson given win after spat ended tilt NOTES Senior scores 28 in Pitman win ROUNDUP Most Interesting Store McHenry Village 1700 McHenry Modesto 523-5681 www.valleysg.com Open Sundays Trimline T325 Treadmill Sugg. Retail Price $599 Price Schwinn 223 Recumbent Exercise Bike 524508 449 99 Sugg. Retail Price $1249 Price 999 99 Get Fit For Life! Free Set-Up Delivery Free Set-Up Delivery The Modesto Bee THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2006.