Univeristy Of Florida

Lady Colts Stampede into the NCAA

James Logan High School is known for producing top caliber athletes, and the recently graduated class of 2011 is no different.

This year, four Logan students received large scholarships from top tier universities.

Gabriella Stange and Chrisalyn Fonte received full scholarships to San Jose State University and the University of Nevada, Reno respectively for their athletic prowess on the soccer field. Known for literally running circles around the competition, and leaping over them, Ciarra Brewer received a full scholarship to the Univeristy of Florida and Tessa Runels received a 75 percent scholarship to Boston University, both for their track and field skills.

Both Stange, 18, and Fonte, 18, began playing soccer for various clubs at a young age, discovering an uncanny love for the sport. But soccer became more than just a passion for them, it became part of them, they said.

“The game lets you get lost within yourself,” said Fonte, who, along with Stange, played on the girl’s varsity team for all four years in high school. “You are tested with obstacles that, in an instant, you have to overcome and decisions that can determine whether you win or lose a game.”

As for Brewer, track and field is a family affair. The two-time state champion comes from a family of athletes. Her father, Arno, competed for CSU East Bay and has coached at Logan for more than a decade. Her mother was a high jumper for the University of Colorado and Brewer’s brother, Arnaux, was also a two-time high school state finalist.

With the sport in her blood, Brewer brought home a state championship in the triple jump as a sophomore in 2009 and again this year, leaping 41 feet and 11 inches at the California Interscholastic Federation earlier this month.

The soon-to-be Florida Gator acknowledges that she couldn't have reached her goals alone.

“All these achievements would not have been possible if it wasn’t for God, the support of my family and friends,” Brewer said.

Each of the Lady Colts have taken priceless lessons from these sports that go beyond the field. For Runels, she learned self-reliance is also a crucial key to success.

“Track isn’t necessarily a team sport,” she said. “In almost every other sport you need the rest of your team in order to win, but in track, you only rely on yourself. If you don’t place that day at competition, there’s no one other than yourself you can blame.

Success story: University of Florida team facilitates mole cricket ...

Spp.) feed on roots of plants and grasses, leaving large dead patches in turfgrass and pastures. The damage is often so severe that ranchers must find alternative forage sources for their herds. In the 1940s, ranchers used chlordane to control mole crickets. It was cheap, effective and persistent. However, chlordane was banned in the 1970s, leaving ranchers without an economical and effective alternative.

After pleas from the Florida Cattlemen’s Association, the Florida legislature earmarked funding for research on mole cricket control. The University of Florida Agricultural Experiment station discovered three effective solutions through integrated pest management (IPM): a wasp ( Larra bicolor ).