The New Mexico Bowl represents a full-circle moment for San Diego State center Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli.

The senior has spent the past five seasons at SDSU. He redshirted as a freshman in 2021, mostly watching as the Aztecs won a school-record 12 games capped with a win over UTSA in the Frisco Bowl. Ulugalu-Maseuli started as a redshirt freshman in 2022 on a team that lost to Middle Tennessee State in the Hawaii Bowl.

Saturday’s bowl game against No. 23 North Texas is a fitting finish to his career.

“I didn’t realize how fast it was going until it’s, like, senior night (against San Jose State), our last game at Snapdragon Stadium,” said Ulugalu-Maseuli, who was born in La Mesa and grew up in Spring Valley. “I’m not looking too far into the past, just waiting for this next game and finish off the season right. …

“It feels like the team that I came in knowing. It feels right. It feels like the SDSU I knew growing up. So it’s nice to have that feeling again.”

SDSU turned things around with nine victories this season. A win over the Mean Green would give the Aztecs the distinction of being only the 10th team in the program’s 57-year Division I history with double-digit wins.

Ulugalu-Maseuli, selected a team captain before the season, has been right in the middle of it.

A four-year starter who has played both guard positions as well as center, Ulugalu-Maseuli earned first-team all-Mountain West honors this season. He was the glue on a much-improved offensive line.

SDSU went 4-8 and 3-9 the previous two years. The only bowling Ulugalu-Maseuli did was at a bowling alley. He is, in fact, a two-sport standout. Bowling has became more than just a pastime. It’s a passion.

Ulugalu-Maseuli and former teammate Rambo Mageo became regulars three years ago at the 12-lane on-campus alley. It’s a great deal for students, who get two free games and pay only $1 for any games thereafter.

The center enjoyed an even better deal on Christmas Eve after the Aztecs landed Wednesday afternoon in Albuquerque, N.M., ahead of the bowl game. The players and coaches were treated to dinner and activities — including arcade games, laser tag and bowling — at Main Event Entertainment.

“When football’s not too crazy, I might bowl five or six games in one day,” said Ulugalu-Maseuli, whose competitiveness on the football field follows him into the bowling alley.

Soon enough, it wasn’t enough to throw the house balls provided behind each lane. Ulugalu-Maseuli got a couple of custom-made bowling balls — one ball for strikes and another for picking up spares — and had his own shoes, a bowling bag on wheels and a special towel to rub the lane oil off his ball.

At 6-foot-4 and 335 pounds, Ulugalu-Maseuli is a massive presence when he steps to the line. Bowling requires more than just power, though. Precision is necessary to pick up spares. Knowledge is needed to adjust your game to lanes that could be oily, dry or somewhere in between.

Ulugalu-Maseuli said he averages 215, which is elite. Only 10-15% of league bowlers average 200 or more. Members of the general public are fortunate to break 150.

Even more impressive: Ulugalu-Maseuli has bowled a pair of perfect games, rolling 12 straight strikes to reach 300. How much pressure did he feel stepping to the line for that final throw?

“I mean, you can’t feel more pressure than in the fourth quarter with 20 seconds left (for a game-winning drive),” Ulugalu-Maseuli said. “Pressure doesn’t affect me too much. You work best when you’re under pressure. At least I do. It’s something that I had to deal with and something that, you know, it just comes.”

As a true freshman in 2021, Ulugalu-Maseuli was on the scout team. He had to look across the line at guys like Keshawn Banks, Jonah Tavai and Cameron Thomas, players who were all-conference talents as well as pro prospects.

“They made me the player I am today,” Ulugalu-Maseuli said. “You never realize how valuable (the) scout team is until they’re gone, and you’re up next, and you’re going up against players who aren’t the same as they were.”

Life in the trenches has taken its toll on Ulugalu-Maseuli, who has had three knee surgeries during his college career. His coaches and teammates helped him push through the pain to stay on the field. His 40 career starts for the Aztecs are more than any other player on the team.

“The love that the coaches always showed me, the players, everybody was always reaching out to me,” Ulugalu-Maseuli said. “And it’s just, like, I knew I wasn’t in it alone. But I also knew I had to push hard to get back in time for the next season. That’s all it was. I just love ball.”

Ulugalu-Maseuli, like all of his teammates, hopes to have an opportunity at the next level. Regardless, the memories and relationships acquired the past five years will last a lifetime.

“I have a whole bunch of guys that are like my brothers now,” he said. “There are guys that have left that I still talk to every day. Jonah Tavai is one of those guys. I’m on the phone with him every day, every week, and it’s just like, you know, the bonds and relationships that I’ve built here. Even outside of football, there’s relationships that are set in place. It’s just nice having the brotherhood that SDSU builds, and that’s what I love most about it.”

New Mexico Bowl: San Diego State (9-3) vs. No. 23 North Texas (11-2)

When: 2:45 p.m. Saturday

Where: University Stadium, Albuquerque

TV: ESPN

Radio: 760-AM

Marne Royce Hadden

OBITUARY

Marne Royce Hadden died in hospice on December 8, 2025 after a brave battle with cancer. She was predeceased by her parents and brother, Alex, and is survived by four siblings.

She was born on November 4, 1951 at Huntington Memorial in Pasadena, California, the fourth child of Wesley and Dorothy Hadden. Until she was seven, Marne lived with her family at the Huntington Hotel in Pasadena where her maternal grandfather, Stephen W. Royce, was the owner and managing director, and her father, the assistant sales manager. In the summer of 1958, the Hadden family moved to Rancho Santa Fe to run the Royce family’s recently acquired Inn at Rancho Santa Fe.

The Ranch in the early ’60s – a tranquil village with a market, library, hardware store, and gift shops – was magical for most children, but even more so for Marne who had the run of the Inn’s beautiful grounds, attended the local school, kept chickens and baby quail as pets, and learned to ride. She soon became an accomplished equestrienne competing in horse shows around the state with her trusty steed, Rocky Neil, and collecting scores of blue ribbons across multiple events from western bareback to stock horse equitation. At The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, Marne was a popular student athlete and captain of the Royal Purples in her senior year. She graduated with the class of 1969 and went on to Pine Manor Junior College in Brookline, Massachusetts, where she made the honor list in the winter term of her freshman year.

Tragically, Marne suffered a scuba diving accident in the late summer of 1970 that left her disabled for the rest of her life. Diminished but ever resilient and surrounded, supported, and cared for by family and friends, Marne persevered in her inimitable style. She found childlike joy in everything she did from baking cookies, coloring, playing dominoes to weekly visits to the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park with Suzanne Keil, her dear friend and constant companion. Marne was also lovingly cared for by her caregiver, Linda Tate the last 10 years of her life.

For years, Marne proudly led her pygmy goats, Friday and Harbor, in the 4th of July parade and rode her large tricycle to the Helen Woodward Animal Center where she volunteered and participated in the handicapped riding program, often stopping by the Chino Farm on her way home for the watermelons she loved and the corn they cooked for her.

In recent years, Marne loved visits to the beach and programs at the Rancho Santa Fe Senior Center, across the street from the lovely home she was raised and lived in for nearly 70 years.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Hellen Woodward Animal Center. A private memorial service will be held at a later time.

Despite stormy weather, San Diego County residents will still have plenty of opportunities to celebrate Christmas in festive and spiritual ways.

From worship services to community meals and holiday celebrations, organizations across the region are opening their doors.

Scheduled Christmas Day religious services include:

— Church of the Resurrection, 1445 Conway Drive, Escondido: Mass at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. in English, and at noon in Spanish;

— St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 1450 S. Melrose Drive, Oceanside: Mass at 9:30 a.m.;

— St. Michael’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, 2775 Carlsbad Blvd., Carlsbad: Mass beginning at 9:30 a.m.;

— St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 890 Balour Drive, Encinitas: Christmas worship service at 9:30 a.m.; and

— St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 334 14th St., Del Mar: Christmas service at 10 a.m.

Elsewhere in San Diego County:

— Beginning at 8 a.m., the eighth annual Shane Harris Community Christmas Day breakfast and gift giveaway will be held at Columbus Hall, 4425 Home Ave. Held to benefit for foster families, unsheltered youth and struggling families, the event will include two wrapped gifts, free breakfast for families and 15 tons of snow; and

— At 11 a.m., Serving Seniors will host a holiday dinner featuring entertainment, for older adults at the Gary and Mary West Senior Wellness Center. John Conroy, a Serving Seniors client who was formerly homeless, will play piano, and others will also receive holiday gift bags with practical items.

In a statement, Harris said the holiday breakfast event exists because “Christmas morning can be incredibly lonely for families facing hardship.”

“This is about creating a home, a table, and a moment of joy for families who need it most,” he said. “Seeing this grow into a citywide tradition has been incredibly humbling.”

Meanwhile, administrative offices and some city of San Diego facilities will see limited closures on Christmas Eve, with most facilities closed on Christmas Day. All city administrative offices will be closed Thursday.

Police and Fire-Rescue services will operate on normal schedules. County animal shelters, family resource centers, health clinics, libraries and public offices will be closed Thursday, but law enforcement and emergency animal control services will continue operating.

County campgrounds and parks will remain open on the holiday. However, the following community facilities will be closed: Adams Park Pool; community centers in Fallbrook, Lakeside, Spring Valley and teen community centers; the 4S Ranch Recreation Office; Spring Valley Gymnasium; and Valley Center Community Hall.

On Christmas Day, the Metropolitan Transit System will offer free rides, as part of a promotion.

“Every fare-paying adult passenger can bring one guest along at no additional cost,” MTS officials said in a statement.

According to MTS, on Thursday:

— All trolley lines will operate every 30 minutes, while most bus routes will operate on a Sunday schedule;

— No service will be available on Rapid Express Routes 280 or 290, and Rural Routes 888, 891, 892 and 894;

— MTS Access subscription passengers needing service must call ahead of time to arrange their transportation; and

— Holiday travelers may use direct connections to San Diego International Airport, via Route 992 adjacent to Santa Fe Depot or the San Diego Airport Flyer from the Old Town Transit Center.