Fort Hays State received a final ranking of No. 22 in the final D2Football.com Poll for 2018. The Tigers mirror their final AFCA Poll ranking after finishing the season 9-3 overall.

Fort Hays State held a Top 25 ranking in 12 of the 13 polls released by D2Football.com this season. The only absence from the poll was after a Week 6 loss to Emporia State, but the Tigers jumped back in after their Week 7 win against Pittsburg State. FHSU was in the top 25 in 10 of the 11 weeks during the regular season, while also gracing the preseason and final polls. A No. 8 ranking following the first week of play was the highest for the Tigers in the D2Football.com Poll this year.

Fort Hays State earned its second-straight MIAA Championship in 2018, going 9-2 in the regular season. The Tigers were a perfect 11-0 in MIAA play in 2017. The Tigers also made their second-straight appearance in the NCAA Division II Playoffs.

Below is the final D2Football.com Top 25 Poll for 2018.

Team		Record	Previous
1	Valdosta State	14-0	5
2	Ferris State	15-1	2
3	Minnesota State	13-1	1
4	Tarleton State	12-1	6
5	Notre Dame	13-1	12
6	Ouachita Baptist	12-1	3
7	CSU-Pueblo	11-2	8
8	Northwest Missouri State	10-3	14
9	Texas A&M-Commerce	10-3	18
10	Lenoir-Rhyne	12-2	19
11	Grand Valley State	10-2	7
12	Indianapolis	10-2	11
13	Minnesota Duluth	11-1	4
14	West Georgia	10-2	9
15	Colorado School of Mines	10-2	16
16	Midwestern State	8-2	15
17	Slippery Rock	11-3	nr
18	Bowie State	10-3	22
19	LIU-Post	10-1	13
20	New Haven	9-3	24
21	West Chester	10-1	10
22	Fort Hays State	9-3	17
23	Hillsdale	10-3	25
24	Harding	9-3	20
25	Wingate	9-4	NR

FAYETTE, Iowa – The Fort Hays State wrestling team moved up two spots in the second set of regular season DII Wrestling Coaches Association Top 25 Poll, released Monday (Dec. 31) by the organization. The Tigers are one of five MIAA teams in the national rankings at Nebraska-Kearney took over the top spot, unseating St. Cloud State, Lindenwood sits at No. 8, Central Oklahoma is tabbed one spot in front of the Tigers are No. 13 and Newman rounds out the conference at No. 22.

In the individual rankings, junior Brandon Ball jumped two spots to the second-ranked wrestler at 141 pounds. He sits at 9-0 on the year with individual titles at the Bethany Swede Open and the Bob Smith Open. Ball also began his dual season with a 6-0 decision over Nate Keim of Central Oklahoma (Dec. 7).

Also in the rankings is Efe Osaghae, who held steady at No. 4 in the 157-pound weight class. The sophomore is putting together a solid season thus far at 12-2 overall. Osaghae picked up the individual title at the Swede Open before capturing runner-up finishes at the UNK Holiday Inn Open and the Bob Smith Open. Osaghae also started his dual season with a victory as he defeated Dayton Garrett with a 5-4 decision.

The Tigers resume their season at the National Duals this weekend (Jan. 4-5) in Louisville, Ky. The duals are set to commence at 10 a.m. both days.

After climbing in the polls each week this season, the Fort Hays State women’s basketball team is listed in the same spot in both national rankings as it was last week. The Tigers are listed sixth in the WBCA Division II Coaches Poll while sitting in fourth in the D2SIDA Media Poll. It’s the first time the Tigers are in the same spot in back-to-back weeks in the coaches standings since they were seventh in consecutive weeks in January and February of 2016.

While their ranking stayed the same, the Tigers picked up a few extra points in the coaches poll to close the gap on fifth place. Fort Hays State was once again listed atop one ballot, earning 476 points in the voting process. After sitting 15 points back of fifth-place Bentley last week, the Tigers are just five points behind the Falcons this week.

The Tigers remain the top of four MIAA programs listed in the coaches poll, with No. 15 Central Missouri also holding steady while No. 22 Central Oklahoma and No. 23 Emporia State both slid up one spot. The Jennies are the lone conference rival ranked in the media rankings, listed 22nd.

Fort Hays State will play all three ranked league opponents over a two-week span early in January, with two of the contests coming on the road. After ringing in the new year against defending champion Central Missouri on January 3 in Warrensburg, Mo., the Tigers will host the Bronchos of Central Oklahoma on January 12. FHSU will wrap up the tough stretch with a road game against the Lady Hornets on January 17.

The Tigers are now 61-22 all-time while ranked, including a 57-21 mark under head coach Tony Hobson. Fort Hays State is now 6-1 all-time as the No. 6-ranked team in the WBCA Coaches Poll, just two wins shy of its most wins at any spot (No. 10, 8-2).

Below are the complete national polls for December 18, 2018.

WBCA Coaches Poll – Week 5						D2SIDA Media Poll – Week 5
Rk	Team (1st)	Rcd.	Pts.	Prev.		Rk	Team (1st)	Rcd.	Pts.	Prev.
1	Union (Tenn.) (20)	11-0	595	1		1	Union (13)	10-0	372	1
2	Indiana (Pa.) (3)	8-0	568	2		2	Bentley (1)	12-0	356	2
3	West Texas A&M	9-0	541	3		3	West Texas A&M	8-0	346	3
4	Drury	11-0	523	4		4	Fort Hays State	9-0	326	4
5	Bentley	12-0	481	5		5	Northwest Nazarene (1)	9-0	320	5
6	Fort Hays State (1)	10-0	476	6		6	Lewis	7-1	294	6
7	Northwest Nazarene	9-0	456	7		7	IUP	8-0	292	7
8	Ashland	9-1	410	8		8	Drury	10-0	258	10
9	University of the Sciences	8-0	402	9		9	UC San Diego	8-0	254	9
10	UC San Diego	8-0	347	10		10	North Georgia	6-1	232	11
11	Grand Valley State	9-1	345	11		11	California	8-0	206	12
12	Virginia Union	9-1	315	12		12	Augustana	12-1	194	14
13	California (Pa.)	8-0	304	14		13	Jefferson	10-0	193	17
14	Alaska Anchorage	7-1	271	13		14	Grand Valley	8-1	174	T15
15	Central Missouri	7-2	235	15		15	Florida Southern	7-1	164	13
16	North Georgia	7-1	232	16		16	USciences	8-0	162	8
17	Florida Southern	8-1	209	17		17	Alaska Anchorage	7-1	142	T15
18	Black Hills State	8-1	175	18		18	Virginia Union	9-1	116	19
19	Thomas Jefferson Univ.	10-0	169	19		19	Ashland	8-1	105	21
20	Lewis	8-1	153	20		20	Southwestern Okla.	9-1	90	22
21	Angelo State	6-1	121	22		21	Angelo State	6-1	88	23
22	Central Oklahoma	9-1	118	23		22	Central Missouri	7-2	47	24
T23	Augustana (S.D.)	11-1	65	NR		23	Anderson (S.C.)	8-2	43	NR
T23	Emporia State	8-2	65	24		T24	Glenville State	9-1	23	RV
25	Stonehill	9-2	52	25		T24	St. Mary’s (Texas)	8-2	23	18

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Little Rock Touchdown Club and Wright Lindsey Jennings LLP announced the finalists for the sixth annual Cliff Harris Award on Friday (Dec. 14). Fort Hays State senior linebacker Jose Delgado is a finalist for the award.

This award is presented to the nation’s top small college defensive player representing almost 500 colleges and universities from NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA colleges. A prestigious selection committee made up of former college and pro football greats will select the winner. In addition to the Cliff Harris Award overall winner, the top vote getter from each division will be announced. The Cliff Harris Award winner will be announced on December 24 and honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club’s annual awards banquet on January 10, 2019, featuring guest speaker Barry Sanders. The winner will receive the Cliff Harris Award trophy presented by Cliff Harris.

All but one of the five previous Cliff Harris Award winners were from NCAA Division II. Last year, Michael Joseph from NCAA Division III affiliate University of Dubuque won the award, snapping a four-year run of Division II players earning the honor. Nathan Shepherd of FHSU, now with the New York Jets in the NFL, tied as the top vote receiver from NCAA Division II last year. Two of the four Division II winners of the award have been players from the MIAA.

Delgado was the 2018 MIAA Defensive Player of the Year, making it three straight years a player from FHSU earned the distinction joining Shepherd (2017) and Sie Doe, Jr. (2016). He already received All-America First Team honors from the D2CCA earlier this week. Delgado helped FHSU to back-to-back MIAA titles, leading the team in tackles three consecutive seasons. He had 117 tackles this season, going past the century mark for the third straight year, while adding eight tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble.

For his career, Delgado finished with 402 tackles, 30.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, and nine pass breakups. He was a three-time All-MIAA selection overall and has earned All-America honors two straight years.

Fort Hays State has now had a finalist for the Cliff Harris Award four straight years as Delgado joins Shepherd (2017), Doe (2016), and Brock Long (2015).

WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Fort Hays State had two players named to the D2CCA All-America team for the 2018 season. Linebacker Jose Delgado and placekicker Dante Brown both earned First Team honors at their respective positions. Both have received All-America honors for two consecutive seasons.

Delgado, the D2CCA Super Region 3 Defensive Player of the Year, headlines the first-team selections at linebacker. Delgado finished the year with 117 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries and 1 forced fumble, earning MIAA Defensive Player of the Year honors as well. He reached double figures in tackles eight times in the 12 games played in 2018, reaching 14 twice. He reached double figures in a game 20 times throughout his 44-game career with the Tigers, earning All-MIAA honors three times and first-team honors the last two years. With 402 career tackles, he became the all-time tackles leader in Fort Hays State’s NCAA Division II era.

Brown now has All-America honors at two different positions after earning All-America Third Team honors as a punter last year from the Don Hansen Football Committee. Earning first team honors as a kicker, Brown was the leader in voting for kickers nationally. His numbers back the selection as he led the nation in field goals made with 28. He averaged an NCAA-best 2.33 field goals per game, breaking the MIAA record for field goals in a season by three and coming just two shy of the NCAA Division II single-season record. He converted 84.8 percent of his field goal attempts, going 28-of-33 for the season, to rank fifth in NCAA Division II. Brown also shattered the Fort Hays State single-season record for points with 123, going past the mark of 94 set last year by his predecessor at placekicker, Brandon Brown. With 123 points, Brown ranks 12th in NCAA Division II in scoring. Brown also remained the team’s punter this year with 67 punts for 2,772 yards, averaging 41.4 yards per attempt. He was an All-MIAA First Team selection at both kicker and punter this year.

Delgado and Brown are the third and fourth repeat All-America performers at Fort Hays State in the program’s NCAA Division II history. They join Keith Eck (1995 and 1996) and Nathan Shepherd (2016 and 2017) as the only players to receive postseason All-America honors multiple years. Eck was the FHSU record holder for tackles (361) in the program’s NCAA history until Delgado broke that mark this year with 41 more.

The Fort Hays State women’s basketball team has continued its climb in the national polls after a pair of conference victories, moving to No. 6 in the WBCA Division II Coaches Poll while sliding up to fourth in the D2SIDA Media Poll.

The Tigers are up three spots in the Coaches poll after earning a pair of wins as the ninth-ranked team in the country last week. Fort Hays State was one of four schools to be listed atop at least one ballot this week, picking up one first-place vote. The Tigers earned 469 points in the voting process, 15 points behind fifth-place Bentley.

Fort Hays State is the top-ranked team in the central region in both polls, with Central Missouri ranked 15th in the Coaches poll and Augustana ranked 14th in the Media poll.

The Tigers are 4-1 all-time as the sixth-ranked team in the country after sitting at that spot in the polls twice during the 2014-15 season.

It is the best ranking for the Tigers in the Coaches poll since they were ranked fifth on February 9, 2016 while it is their top spot in the Media poll since they were No. 1 on December 15, 2015.

Two other MIAA programs join the Tigers and Jennies in the Coaches poll, with Central Oklahoma and Emporia State clinging to last week’s rankings of No. 23 and No. 24, respectively.

The Tigers will take a brief hiatus from conference play over the holiday season before returning to league play against Central Missouri in January. Tabor College opens the non-conference stretch when the Bluejays come to Gross Memorial Coliseum for a 7 p.m. tip Friday (Dec. 14).

Below are the complete national polls for December 11, 2018.

WBCA Coaches Poll – Week 4						D2SIDA Media Poll – Week 4
Rk	Team (1st)	Rcd	Pts	Prev		Rk	Team (1st)	Rcd	Pts	Prev
1	Union (Tenn.) (18)	9-0	594	2		1	Union (14)	9-0	392	1
2	Indiana (Pa.) (3)	8-0	563	3		2	Bentley (1)	10-0	380	3
3	West Texas A&M	8-0	538	4		3	West Texas A&M	8-0	371	4
4	Drury	9-0	504	6		4	Fort Hays State	8-0	345	6
5	Bentley	10-0	484	5		5	Northwest Nazarene (1)	9-0	338	7
6	Fort Hays State (1)	8-0	469	9		6	Lewis	6-1	313	9
7	Northwest Nazarene	9-0	432	10		7	IUP	8-0	294	11
8	Ashland (2)	8-1	428	1		8	USciences	8-0	278	10
9	University of the Sciences	8-0	392	11		9	UC San Diego	8-0	269	12
10	UC San Diego	8-0	369	12		10	Drury	9-0	256	14
11	Grand Valley State	8-1	330	15		11	North Georgia	6-1	253	13
12	Virginia Union	8-1	321	8		12	California	8-0	218	17
13	Alaska Anchorage	7-1	293	13		13	Florida Southern	6-1	164	20
14	California (Pa.)	8-0	278	17		14	Augustana	10-1	163	24
15	Central Missouri	7-2	249	7		T15	Grand Valley	8-1	159	RV
16	North Georgia	6-1	233	16		T15	Alaska Anchorage	7-1	159	18
17	Florida Southern	6-1	202	18		17	Jefferson	9-0	155	19
18	Black Hills State	6-1	182	14		18	St. Mary’s (Texas)	8-1	138	NR
19	Thomas Jefferson Univ.	9-0	165	25		19	Virginia Union	8-1	109	5
20	Lewis	6-1	163	22		20	Wingate	6-2	103	22
21	Saint Mary’s (Texas)	8-1	144	NR		21	Ashland	8-1	96	2
22	Angelo State	5-1	85	21		22	Southwestern Okla.	8-1	88	RV
23	Central Oklahoma	8-1	68	23		23	Angelo State	5-1	37	16
24	Emporia State	7-2	53	24		24	Central Missouri	6-2	30	8
25	Stonehill	8-2	51	19		25	Central Washington	6-1	25	R

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After recording a pair of double-doubles against conference rivals, senior Tatyana Legette has been named MIAA Women’s Basketball Athlete of the Week, announced by the league office Monday (Dec. 10).

Legette posted a strong start to the conference season, averaging 19.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and two assists over two league wins last week at home. The Topeka, Kan. native dropped in 23 points alongside 13 rebounds against Nebraska-Kearney Tuesday (Dec. 4) before compiling 15 points and 10 rebounds in a victory over No. 24 Emporia State. It was Legette’s third-career double-double against the Lady Hornets.

The forward took advantage at the charity stripe all week, knocking down 20-of-22 from the free throw line (90.9 percent).

It is the third time in her career Legette has earned this distinction after picking up the award twice last season (11/20/17 and 2/26/18). She is the first Tiger to earn multiple conference player of the week honors since Kate Lehman picked up the accolade 15 times.

Legette and the ninth-ranked women’s basketball team will take a break from conference play when they host Tabor Friday (Dec. 14) at 7 p.m.

Dante Brown of Fort Hays State football was honored as one of 10 finalists for the 2018 Fred Mitchell Outstanding Placekicker Award. The award is given annually to a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division II, Division III, NAIA or NJCAA placekicker that excels on the football field and in the community.

On Monday (Dec. 10), Roldan Alcobendas of Eastern Washington University was named the 2018 Fred Mitchell Award winner, one of the top kickers in FCS this year. Eastern Washington is one of the top programs in FCS, currently in the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs. Alcobendas is a perfect 15-of-15 on field goal attempts so far this year, while knocking through 62 PAT tries this year as well. Alcobendas participated in numerous community service projects at EWU and holds a 3.23 GPA as a business administration marketing major with a minor in communications. Like Brown of FHSU, Alcobendas also serves as EWU’s punter and averages an impressive 45.3 yards per punt this season. Also like Brown, Alcobendas was an all-conference first team selection at both kicker and punter.

Brown was one of four kickers from NCAA Division II that made the finalist list, along with three from FCS and three from NCAA Division III.

Brown had one of the most successful kicking seasons in NCAA Division II history, converting 28 field goals out of his 33 attempts. His 28 field goals are second most for a season in Division II history, only two shy of the record 30 set by Jeff Glas from the University of North Dakota in 2005. Three players were tied for second on the single-season list with 27 until Brown went past that mark this year, including 2017 Fred Mitchell Award recipient Cole Tracy (Assumption College) who moved on to kick for Division I Louisiana State University this year. Brown broke the MIAA record of 25 made by Simon Mathieson in 2015, but Mathieson set that record in 15 games played compared to just 12 for Brown. Brown also broke Matieson’s MIAA record for attempts in a season.

With the Division II national championship game between Ferris State and Valdosta State as the only remaining game on the 2018 calendar, Brown leads Division II in field goals made by seven. Kristov Martinez of Texas A&M-Commerce made 21 field goals this year in 13 games before his team was eliminated from the NCAA Playoffs. Brown is tied for the national lead for all collegiate levels with Andre Szmyt of Syracuse, who also has 28 field goals through 12 games. Syracuse has one more game remaining when it faces West Virginia in the Camping World Bowl in Orlando, Florida on December 28. The aforementioned Cole Tracy of LSU is still in the hunt for the national lead at all levels, currently with 25. LSU faces Central Florida in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona on January 1.

Brown finished with a new FHSU single-season scoring record of 123 points in 2018, adding 39 PAT conversions to his 28 field goals. It passed the old scoring record of 112 points set by Clint Bedore in 1995 with 18 touchdowns and 2 two-point conversions. Brown shattered the FHSU single-season field goals made record of 16 set by his predecessor Brandon Brown in 2016. He also broke the kicking points record of 94 set by Brandon Brown in 2017.

Brown earned MIAA Special Teams Player of the Year, while also earning All-MIAA First Team selections at both kicker and punter this season. He also received D2CCA All-Super Region 3 First Team honors at kicker.

The award is named for Fred Mitchell, who enjoyed a distinguished career as one of the nation’s first prominent small-college placekicking specialists at Wittenberg University in Ohio. He is a Wittenberg University Athletic Hall of Famer, author, philanthropist and former Chicago Tribune sports columnist. The recipient of the Fred Mitchell Award is chosen based on both excellence on the football field and the community.

Below is the list of finalists for the 2018 Fred Mitchell Award.

ROLDAN ALCOBENDAS – 2018 FRED MITCHELL AWARD WINNER
Eastern Washington University – Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)

JON ALBERTS
Central College (Iowa) – Division III

DANTE BROWN
Fort Hays State University (Kan.) – Division II

MITCHELL CARTER
Colorado State University-Pueblo – Division II

AUSTIN ERRTHUM
University of Northern Iowa – FCS

WOJCIECH GASIENICA
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater – Division III

JJ JERMAN
East Tennessee State University – FCS

KRISTOV MARTINEZ
Texas A&M-Commerce – Division II

JONAS SCHENDERLEIN
Concordia University, St. Paul (Minn.) – Division II

JAKE TANNER
DePauw University (Ind.) – Division III