Fort Hays State Athletics will enshrine five new members into the Tiger Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday, October 22, 2016. The inductees include Jim Birnbaum (track & field/cross country), Zach Kindler (track & field), Jon Mastin (football), Larry Noffsinger (football), and Andrea (Logan) Wyant (volleyball). The induction ceremony will take place the morning of October 22 at the Memorial Union Ballroom on the campus of Fort Hays State University at 10 am. The inductees will also be recognized at halftime of the football game vs. Missouri Western at 2 p.m.
Jim Birnbaum – Track & Field/Cross Country (1970-73)
Jim Birnbaum, native of WaKeeney, Kansas, was an All-America performer in both cross country and track and field at Fort Hays State and was an individual National Champion in the 3000-meter steeplechase. He competed for three years at FHSU. In 1972, Birnbaum finished fourth at the NAIA Championship to earn All-America honors with a 5-mile time of 24:56. He helped FHSU to two conference championships in cross country. In the spring of 1972, Birnbaum earned All-America honors for indoor track and field as a member of the 2-mile relay team that placed third at the national meet. Later that spring, he was the national champion in the 3000-meter steeplechase, earning All-America honors for the outdoor season. In the spring of 1973, he earned indoor All-America honors in the mile and outdoor All-America honors in the steeplechase. He helped FHSU Track and Field to three straight conference championships from 1971 to 1973. Overall, Birnbaum was a five-time All-American at FHSU in cross country and track and field combined.
Zach Kindler – Men’s Track and Field (1998-2003) (posthumous)
Zach Kindler, native of Esbon, Kansas, was a four-time All-American for Fort Hays State in outdoor track and field in the javelin. Kindler won the NCAA Division II National Championship in javelin during his junior year of 2001. He also garnered third, fourth, and sixth place finishes in his career at the national championships. He was a three-time Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Champion in 2000, 2001, and 2003. He still holds the Fort Hays State record for the javelin, heaving a toss of 234-feet, 1-inch, in 2001. Kindler passed away unexpectedly in 2014 while he was the head cross country/track and field coach at Baker University. Overall in his coaching career, he captured 17 team conference championships and was named conference coach of the year 20 times. Prior to his time at Baker, he was head cross country/track and field coach at Kansas Wesleyan University for three years.
Jon Mastin – Football (1965-68)
A native of Wichita, Kansas, Jon Mastin was an NAIA All-American selection in 1965 as a defensive end in his freshman campaign. During that season, he recorded 69 tackles and one interception, averaging 7.6 tackles per game, a very good number for a defensive lineman. He also earned 1st Team All-CIC and All-District 10 honors that season. He suffered an injury that sidelined him the entire 1966 season, a season that saw the Tigers tie for the CIC crown. He was a 1st Team All-CIC selection once again in 1967 as a defensive end with 67 tackles and an interception, averaging 8.4 tackles per game, which was a higher average than his freshman All-American campaign. In 1968, he recorded 57 tackles and recovered three fumbles, averaging 6.3 tackles per game, and garnered All-CIC 2nd Team honors, making him a three-time all-conference selection. Mastin was also a member of the baseball team at FHSU, hitting .248 over three seasons with the team. Injuries prevented him from playing a fourth year in both sports.
Larry Noffsinger – Football (1963-66)
A native of Phillipsburg, Kansas, Larry Noffsinger was a two-time NAIA All-American selection in 1965 and 1966 as a junior and senior at offensive guard for the Tiger football team. He was a two-time All-NAIA District 10 First Team selection in the same seasons. He was an All-CIC Second Team selection in 1965, then an All-CIC First Team selection in 1966 helping the Tigers to a share of the CIC Championship. Noffsinger was a four-year letterwinner for the Tigers. According to positions listed on the all-time All-American list at FHSU, Noffsinger was just one of two FHSU offensive linemen to earn All-American status from 1960 to 1983.
Andrea (Logan) Wyant – Volleyball (2000-03)
Andrea (Logan) Wyant, native of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, was a four-time all-conference selection for Fort Hays State in volleyball from 2000-2003, including three first team selections. She also earned all-region honors as a senior in 2003 and the Co-RMAC East Division Player of the Year in 2001. Logan put down a rally-scoring era single-season school record 591 kills in 2002 as a junior. She is also in the top-10 list for her sophomore (476) and senior (457) seasons. She is second all-time at FHSU in kills with 1,794 and is the career leader in kills during the rally scoring era with 1,524, which doesn’t include her freshman year since rally scoring started in 2001. Logan averaged 4.11 kills per set in her career (second best at FHSU for NCAA II era) and 4.46 per set during the rally scoring era (school record). She is the only player in Fort Hays State’s NCAA Division II history to average over five kills per set in a season, putting down a rate of 5.01 per set as a junior in 2002. She also recorded 1,252 digs (seventh in the Division II era at FHSU) and 236 career blocks. Logan owns the two highest kill totals in a match during the rally scoring era at FHSU, putting down a record 33 against Fort Lewis and 31 against South Dakota in 2002. She is fourth in career service aces during the Division II era at FHSU with 97. She was a member of the 2003 team that earned Fort Hays State’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament.