LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl unsuccessfully argued that he should not be charged with taking advantage of a child because she was actually 16 under a Kansas law that says life begins at fertilization.
Jordan Ross-photo Douglas Co.
Defense attorney Cooper Overstreet argued in a motion that Jordan Ross, 21, of Topeka, could not be convicted of aggravated indecent liberties with a child because, under the state’s definition of life, the alleged victim would be 16, rather than 15. The age of consent in Kansas is 16.
“Because of recent statutory amendments establishing that life begins at fertilization, the alleged victim in this case should be considered by this court as nine months older than her date of birth,” according to Overstreet’s motion. “Because of this, at the time of the alleged incident, the alleged victim would have been 16 years old and thus a charge of aggravated indecent liberties is factually impossible.”
Douglas County District Court Judge James McCabria rejected Overstreet’s motion, The Lawrence Journal-World reported .
In arguing against Overstreet’s motion, Prosecutor Alice Walker cited a Kansas Court of Appeals opinion that said the state’s law defining life as beginning at conception applied to public health codes, not to criminal codes. Age is calculated by birth date, and redefining that to equate with “life beginning at conception” would “introduce an unacceptable uncertainty into the criminal law,” according to the opinion.
“Courts must construe statutes to avoid unreasonable or absurd results,” the appeals judges wrote.
Ross was scheduled to go to trial Monday but McCabria delayed the trial after Overstreet said he needed time to change his defense plan.
Ross was charged a year ago with raping the girl at a Lawrence party in August 2017, when Ross was 19 and the girl was 15. Overstreet had planned to argue the sex was consensual.
Recently, prosecutors added the alternative charge of aggravated indecent liberties with a child, which does not consider consent as a factor. The state needs to prove only that the victim was 14 or 15 when the sex occurred and that the defendant acted “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly,” Walker said in a court filing.
When the judge allowed the charge to be added, Overstreet filed the “life begins at fertilization” motion.
Stacey Donovan, the chief public defender in Shawnee County District Court and an adjunct professor at the University of Kansas School of Law, said she’s had sex crime defendants ask her to try the “conception” argument but she never did.
A hearing to set Ross’ new trial date is scheduled for Jan. 3. He remains free on $20,000 bond.
MARYSVILLE, Kan. (AP) — An inmate has been sentenced to 47 years in prison for setting a fire and shooting at officers while escaping from a Kansas jail with another inmate.
Matson Hatfield -photo Marshall County
Matson Zane Hatfield, 31, was sentenced Tuesday for attempted murder and other charges for the October 2017 escape from the Marshall County jail, near the state’s border with Nebraska.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation says Hatfield fled to a nearby home and later surrendered. A pickup truck also was stolen at gunpoint from a county employee. The KBI says 47-year-old Jeffrey Guenther was arrested after rolling the truck in Gage County, Nebraska.
The KBI says shots were fired at a Kansas fire department truck and at a man in front of a home. Charges are pending against Guenther.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A man whose abduction of a 10-year-old Kansas girl sparked a massive manhunt before she was found dead in Missouri has lost his appeal of his conviction and death sentence.
Pamela Butler-file photo courtesy KCTVButler is being held in the Federal Prison in Terre Haute, IN -file photo courtesy KCTV
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday rejected the claims of 44-year-old Keith Nelson that his attorney had provided ineffective assistance. Nelson snatched Pamela Butler in 1999 as she was roller-skating near her Kansas City, Kansas, home.
A witness to the abduction got Nelson’s license plate, but he managed to get away. Pamela’s strangled body was found later in a wooded area in Grain Valley, Missouri.
Among the issues the appeal raised was his attorneys’ advise that he plead guilty. The court denied the appeal on each count.
GEARY COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects after an arrest Tuesday on Interstate 70.
Tammy Kay-photo Geary CountyJohn Kay -photo Geary County
Just after 9:30a.m., police stopped a vehicle just west of the Milford Lake exit on Interstate 70.
Following a search, police arrested Tammi Renee Kay, 43, and John Mark Kay, 43, both of Georgia on suspicion of Distribute Marijuana, Possession of Paraphernalia With Intent to Manufacture / Plant / Cultivate Controlled Substance and Taxation; Drugs. John Kay was also charged with following another vehicle too closely.
KANSAS CITY (AP) — The case against a Kansas man who is fighting deportation to his native Bangladesh will go on until at least 2022.
Syed Jamal prior to his release from the Platte County Jail in March photo SHARMA-CRAWFORD ATTORNEYS AT LAW
Syed Jamal had the first hearing on his recently reopened case on Tuesday in Immigration Court in Kansas City, Missouri.
Judge Glen Baker said he would review whether Jamal qualified for certain forms of deportation relief. Jamal’s wife is also seeking relief from deportation.
Baker set the next hearing in the case for April 27, 2022.
Jamal is a chemistry instructor who came to the United States in 1987 on a student visa. He is married, the father of three U.S.-born children and has been living for years under a deportation order but with a valid work permit.
Jamal and his supporters began fighting his deportation since immigration agents arrested him in January at his home in Lawrence.
He was on a plane back to Bangladesh when a court ordered that he be removed from the plane in Hawaii.
SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect in connection with a shooting.
Law enforcement investigating Tuesday’s shooting -photo courtesy KWCH
Just before 3pm Tuesday, deputies responded to report of a man firing a handgun behind the DCF building in the 3100 block of S. Oliver in Wichita, according to Sheriff Jeff Easter.
At 3:06 pm, law enforcement arrived and spotted the suspect North of the DCF building in a creek area waving a handgun. Law Enforcement deployed behind cover in different locations and was able to observe the suspect fire at least 4 rounds in the direction of traffic that was traveling on George Washington Boulevard and towards the DCF building, which was open and occupied, along with the DCF parking lot that had an employee next to their car.
Law Enforcement gave verbal commands to drop the weapon and the suspect fired two rounds towards the DCF building and then started to swing the weapon towards law enforcement. At 3:23 pm, a deputy, who was equipped with a Sheriff’s Office issued rifle fired 2 shots at the male striking him one time in the shoulder area.
A short time later an S.W.A.T. vehicle was used to approach the suspect and safely taking him into custody.
The suspect, Richard J. Gore, age 60, of Wichita, Ks. was transported by EMS to Wesley hospital and was treated for his injury. The suspect appeared to be intoxicated at the time of the incident. He may be released as soon as today.
Through our investigation we have recovered 18 shell casings in the area where the suspect was located and other evidence indicates he had the ability to fire more rounds. The handgun was recovered as well. The DCF building was struck along with at least one light pole. It does not appear that DCF was the target of the shooting at this point in our investigation.
When Mr. Gore is released from the hospital he will be booked into the Sedgwick County Adult Detention Facility for 5 counts of Aggravated Assault LEO, 1 count of Aggravated Assault and 1 count of Criminal Discharge of a Weapon, according to Easter.
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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Sedgwick County authorities say a deputy shot and wounded a man who was firing a handgun near the Wichita Department for Children and Families.
Sheriff’s spokesman Tim Myers said the man shot on Tuesday is hospitalized in serious condition.
Myers said the man apparently was homeless and may have been intoxicated. He says the man refused to follow orders and was shot when he pointed the handgun in the direction of a Wichita police lieutenant and two sheriff’s deputies. One of the deputies shot the man.
Officers responded after receiving several 911 calls reporting a shooting near the DCF building. Myers says investigators don’t know why the man was shooting or where he got the gun.
Turmoil marks the troubled norm for foster care in Kansas.
Kansas Department for Children and Families secretary Gina Meier-Hummel and DCF deputy general counsel Kasey Rogg in Meier-Hummel’s office. DCF’s new grants for child welfare are a departure from the contracts of the past two decades. MADELINE FOX / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
Now political, financial and legal forces look poised to slam the system into a new level of chaos that makes seasoned child welfare professionals worried about a barrage of change.
And a lawsuit filed by three organizations against state agencies says Kansas so bungles the care of kids in crisis it renders them homeless, shifting them one night after the next to new, unfamiliar, sometimes unsafe locations.
In the midst of all this, the state’s Department for Children and Families plans to blow up the system it’s used for more than two decades to delegate children’s care to private nonprofit companies.
Once courts pull children from troubled homes in Kansas, the practical work of finding them temporary or permanent homes largely gets handed off to private companies.
With new grants that go into effect July 1, DCF is splitting some jobs among more nonprofits. It’s turning children’s foster home choices over to a master software program. And the agency plans to switch foster care and family preservation to a grant system — meaning it’ll reach out to companies directly and skip the oversight of the state’s Department of Administration.
The grants have been awarded to three new players, in addition to the two current contractors. Missouri-based Cornerstones of Care and Florida-based Eckerd Connects are moving in to handle family preservation, and former contractor TFI Family Services is returning to again pick up territory as a foster care provider.
But some, like family psychologist Wes Crenshaw, say adding agencies is just shuffling the puzzle pieces around rather than making a real fix. Crenshaw has worked with foster kids since before the state started delegating the care of foster children to private contractors in 1996.
“What magic,” Crenshaw said, “does a nonprofit out of Florida have to come to Kansas and sprinkle its pixie dust on our situation and make it better?”
Both lost family preservation responsibilities in the new system. Cornerstones of Care will handle services to help keep families out of foster care in a handful of counties around Kansas City. Eckerd will pick up the rest of the state.
DCF Secretary Gina Meier-Hummel said fresh blood will mean new tools to get at child welfare problems.
“The more people you bring in,” she said, “the more resources you bring to the table, the better the outcomes for kids and families.”
But neither of those two new providers has run family preservation in Kansas before. Child advocates have reason to be skeptical of Eckerd. Its foster care programs in Florida have had many of the same problems that plague Kansas — kids sleeping in offices, rotating between one-night placements, and suffering abuse while in care.
That worries foster care advocate Lori Ross, who questioned why that didn’t concern the agency enough exclude Eckerd from its new grantees.
Eckerd’s checkered record springs from how it managed kids in its care. But as a family preservation contractor, it won’t actually have custody of kids. It’ll provide counseling, parenting classes and other services to families who are still together in their homes.
DCF attorney Kasey Rogg says the new system is structured to give DCF better oversight over how the outfits it hires spend the money. Rather than simply handing over a flat per-month payment for each contractor and a per-child payment, he said the grants aim to give DCF more accountability and oversight over how the state’s money is spent.
But advocates skeptical of DCF say that while it may mean more oversight of the contractors, it means less oversight of the state agency. Under the old system, contracts were awarded through the Kansas Department of Administration. Under the new system, DCF gets to award and administer the grants directly.
Ross worries that letting DCF directly award the grants could cloud who’s ultimately responsible for a child’s well-being.
The state did award a statewide foster care contract — not a grant — for DCF’s new placement matching system. It will allow DCF to keep a master list of available beds across both its grantees and the smaller child placing agencies that recruit and work with foster families.
That way, DCF can plug in basic details — age, gender, school district, allergies and the like — and find a list of all the beds in the child’s zip code that could take them in, regardless of who manages the bed.
The placement matching system is a bright spot even for child welfare advocates who are skittish about the other incoming changes to foster care and family preservation.
The two current contractors have been accused of placing kids in the homes licensed by their own agency first, before turning them over to other child placing agencies. Both contractors deny they hoard placements that way.
But with a central system with all the available beds logged dictating where kids go, advocates say kids are more likely to end up in homes that are best for them.
Publicly, many people who work with foster kids, foster parents, social workers and providers talk in upbeat tones about how the new grants might help. Privately, that’s replaced by fretting about whether DCF blowing up its system could breed years of chaos, and even worse care for children.
Christie Appelhanz, executive director of the Children’s Alliance of Kansas, an organization representing the current contractors and new grantees, says many are worried.
“People who have been through one of the contractor transitions before, they are definitely terrified — I don’t think is a stretch — about what’s to come,” she said.
University of Kansas social work professor Becci Akin says it’ll likely take 18 to 24 months after the contracts switch in July to tell if the changes are actually improving the lives of kids in peril.
For kids caught in parts of the state where those changes take place, that’s more uncertainty for their already uprooted lives. Pamela Robbins, head of the Kansas Foster and Adoptive Parent Association, remembers trying to adopt one of her daughters during a previous contract change.
In the 18 months it took to finalize her daughter’s adoption, Robbins said she had eight different social workers — including some they met only once.
“Little did we know,” Robbins said.
Social worker turnover has been high already. It’s a high-stress job. Workers deal with high caseloads full of traumatized children and, at times, angry or overwhelmed birth and foster parents.
The task force looking at Kansas’ child welfare system says they’re underpaid, though DCF says Kansas pays on par with the national average.
Akin, the KU professor, says the switch in contractors will bring more uneasiness. Many front-line social workers weren’t around the last time contractors changed in 2013. If they work in areas where the providers are changing, they could get anxious about their job security and switch agencies even before the new provider formally takes over.
Crenshaw, the psychologist who’s worked with foster kids for years, said paying enough to keep seasoned, knowledgeable providers working in the foster care system is the best way to keep kids on track as they move through a chaotic system.
“You can make up any act or grant, or name it anything you can call it — the Fluffy Happy Family World,” he said. “As long as it doesn’t have enough money to pay the people that matter and teach them and supervise them, you’re as doomed this week as you were last week.”
Madeline Fox is a reporter for the Kansas News Service. You can reach her on Twitter @maddycfox.
SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating an aggravated assault of an officer and have identified the suspect in custody.
Hanafin -photo Sedgwick County
Just before 4p.m. Tuesday, an officer on motorcycle patrol observed a 1996 Chevy Cavalier driven by 33-year-old Brandon Hanafin westbound in the eastbound lanes of Kellogg in Wichita, according to Captain Brent Allred.
The officer attempted to stop the vehicle. It traveled into a parking lot in the 1000 Block of Kellogg, made an abrupt turn and drove head-on and attempted to strike the motorcycle patrol officer. The officer was unable to move and fired two rounds from his duty weapon and striking only the vehicle.
Law enforcement authorities processing the scene of the officer-involved shooting-photo courtesy KWCH
The vehicle traveled southbound and Hanafin excited the vehicle and fled on foot.
Just before 6p.m., following a search of the area southeast of Kellogg and Webb, Hanafin was captured with the assistance of a police patrol dog.
Hanafin was injured by the dog, hospitalized briefly for injuries and booked on requested charges of aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer and outstanding warrants, according to Allred. He has a previous convictions for aggravated assault, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
The officer is a 22-year veteran of Wichita Police and has been placed on administrative leave.
SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect following an officer-involved shooting in Wichita.
Law enforcement authorities processing the scene of the officer-involved shooting-photo courtesy KWCH
Just before 4p.m. Tuesday, an officer on motorcycle patrol observed a vehicle traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of Kellogg in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.
The officer attempted to stop the vehicle. It traveled into a parking lot in the 1000 Block of Kellogg. The officer decided not to pursue the vehicle behind the business but observed the vehicle off the road to the west of the business. It made a u-turn and drove toward and attempted to strike the motorcycle patrol officer, according to Davidson.
At that time the officer fired his gun at the vehicle. The driver then excited the vehicle and fled on foot. Just before 6p.m., following a search that included the Wichita SWAT Team and the Kansas Highway Patrol, the suspect was located and arrested just before 6p.m.
Davidson did not release the suspect’s name or if he was wounded as a result of the shooting.
Alice Ann (Mathes) Brown was born on October 24, 1932, the third of six children, to John “Johnny” W. Mathes SR. and Margaret “Margie” Catherine (Ford) Mathes. After a lengthy illness, on November 20, 2018, Alice left us to rejoin her husband, Robert, in their eternal home, at the age of 86.
Alice grew up in Norton and graduated from Norton Community High School in 1950. On December 5, 1954, Alice was united in marriage to Robert “Bob” L. Brown Jr., in Norton. They were married 56 years until his passing on April 10, 2011. To this union three children were born, Barbara Ann, Catherine Elizabeth, and Anthony Louis. Soon after their marriage, Alice and Robert moved to Ft. Knox, Kentucky and Frankfurt, Germany, where Robert was stationed with the U.S. Army. After returning stateside, they made their home in Norton until 1964, when they relocated to Goodland, Kansas where they remained for 44 years.
Alice was an educator by profession, having instructed Business Education at the Northwest Kansas Area Vocational Technical School in Goodland for 36 years and was fondly referred to as Mrs. B. She loved being a teacher and made countless lifelong friends while doing so. Alice was a member of the First Christian Church in Goodland. After retirement from teaching, Alice wrote and published a cook book entitled “Mrs. B’s – Through the Generations – A Cookbook with History.” Alice was well known as a superb baker and cook, and she was always eager to share her baked goods and specialty items with townspeople and friends, especially during the holidays. Year after year, she delivered her goodie baskets and tins throughout Goodland.
Alice was a cherished wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, cousin, and aunt to her family and will be greatly missed. She was a beloved friend to many and always had an outstretched hand to those in need. Her favorite color was red, she loved her family and friends dearly, and was fond of listening to music, particularly the Statler Brothers.
Survivors include: two daughters, Barbara Brown, Deermont, CO; Catherine, and husband Gary, Crossley, Independence, MO; granddaughter, Emily (Brown) VanScoik, Sturgis, MI; sister, Patricia Mathes; brothers, David Mathes and Jimmie Mathes, all of Colorado; sisters-in-law, Rosemary Mathes; Rosa Brown, both of Norton; several other relatives and friends
Alice was preceded in death by her parents, husband, one son, Anthony, one sister, Mary Ward, one brother, John “Bill” Mathes Jr., several other relatives she loved dearly and is now rejoicing with.
GRAVESIDE SERVICES – Wednesday, November 28, 2018 – 1:30 P.M.
INTERMENT – Norton Cemetery – Norton, Kansas
MEMORIALS – Alice Brown Memorial Fund
Mary Jean Lohoefener of Oberlin, 92, passed away Monday, November 26, 2018 in Colby, Kansas. Mary was born November 8, 1926 to Lorenzo (Rennie) H. and Jessie L. (Woolley) Barnes in Oberlin, Kansas. She was proud of being a great niece to James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok (via her paternal grandmother, Lydia Hickok Barnes).
Mary graduated from Decatur Community High School in 1944. She married Wayne Lohoefener, and spent many years being a wife, farmhand and mother. In 1973, Wayne mentioned that his friends’ wives worked… Mary went to work at Decatur County Hospital, and loved being a nurse aide for thirty-five years, retiring at age 83. Mary cared for any animal, particularly her cats and her last dog, Sam. She enjoyed arrowhead hunting, digging for bottles, collecting antiques, and refinishing/repairing her many finds. After she gave up her driver’s license, Mary spent years riding her bike around Oberlin, enjoying her independence.
Mary was preceded in death by her parents, husband and sisters: Irel (Barnes) Hayes, Velma (Barnes) Ater, Beverly (Barnes) Higley, Ethel (Barnes) Nicodemus, and Ruth Barnes.
She is survived by her sister, Marjorie Evelyn (Barnes) Lindberg of Gordonsville, VA; children: Bill (Sharon Erickson) Lohoefener of North Platte, NE, Dr. Ren (Lyn Lohmeier) Lohoefener of Sacramento, CA, and Jo Ellen (Phil) DeYoung of Colby, KS; grandchildren: Chad (Julie) Lohoefener, Zoë & Oliver of Tampa, FL, Ryan Lohoefener of Phoenix, AZ, Brett Lohoefener of Ames, IA, and Cole Lohoefener of Lincoln, NE.
There will be no visitation. The family plans to have a Celebration of Life at a later date. Suggested memorials are to the Decatur County Health Systems and the North Platte City Animal Shelter (in memory of Sam) and may be sent in care of Pauls Funeral home, 121 N. Penn Ave, Oberlin, KS 67749.
Racheal HamelThomas More Prep-Marian announced Wednesday that Racheal Hamel has accepted the position of head high school girls soccer coach. She begins her role as the team prepares for the 2018-19 Season.
Hamel is a current student at Fort Hays State University. Previously, Hamel played central mid-field for the Bethel Threshers. Her soccer career started at the age of 5.
“I fell in love with the game,” she said.
Her love for the game grew and ultimately led her to soccer camp counseling.
“Camp is where I figured out I enjoyed coaching and leading. I want to teach the ladies that God comes first and weave His teachings into my daily routines,” Hamel said.
“We are excited to welcome Racheal Hamel to our coaching staff and have her lead our girls soccer program. Racheal has a vested interest in the girls soccer program at TMP-Marian as a former player and will do everything in her power to ensure the success of the program. Racheal will bring excitement and passion to the program, as well as, provide a positive role model for our student athletes,” said Troy Schulte, activities director.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to murder and other charges in the abuse and death of her 3-year-old son, whose body was found encased in concrete in the laundry room of their Wichita home.
Miranda Miller, 37, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, child abuse and aggravated child endangerment under a deal in which she faces a prison sentence of about 29 years. With credit for good behavior, she could get out of prison in about 25 years, District Attorney Marc Bennett told announced after Miller’s hearing in Sedgwick County District Court. Sentencing was set for Jan. 14.
Prosecutors say Miller and her boyfriend, 41-year-old Stephen Bodine, tortured her son, Evan Brewer, for months before his death.
Evidence against them included videos and photos showing Evan being abused, including footage of him chained and naked in a basement, being berated by Bodine and Miller, and forced to stand in a corner for hours. Much of the evidence came from a cache of 16,000 photos and videofiles collected by the couple’s home surveillance system.
Bodine-photo Sedgwick Co.
Bodine was convicted last month of first-degree murder and faces a possible life sentence at a Dec. 17 hearing. Miller had testified against Bodine in exchange for the chance to plead guilty to a less serious charge in Evan’s death.
According to Miller’s testimony at Bodine’s trial, Bodine had been punishing Evan for not eating on May 19, 2017, when he took the screaming boy into the bathroom. She said he soon came out with her son’s wet and lifeless body in his arms. Miller said Bodine mixed up several bags of concrete and buried the boy’s body in it.
It would be four months before authorities found the body . By the time Evan’s body was chipped out of the concrete block, it was so badly decomposed that an autopsy could not determine how the boy died. He had Benadryl in his system, and Miller said she thinks Bodine sickened him in the days leading up to his death by force-feeding him large amounts of salt.
Evan’s father, Carlo Brewer, had been seeking custody of his son, and authorities had been alerted at least six times that Evan was being abused.
The boy was the grandson of former Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer.
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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The mother of a 3-year-old Kansas boy whose body was found encased in concrete says she wants new legal representation because her attorney “has it in his mind that I’m guilty” and “has not helped me fight my case.”
Miranda Miller’s hand-written motion is dated Nov. 13. A hearing in her case is scheduled for Wednesday.
Miller previously testified against her boyfriend, 41-year-old Stephen Bodine, in exchange for the chance to plead guilty to a less serious charge in the death of her son, Evan Brewer. Prosecutors say the couple tortured Evan for months before his death.
Bodine was convicted last month of first-degree murder and faces a possible life sentence. Miller’s deal, if finalized, likely would limit her sentence to about 27 years.
The Fort Hays State University men’s soccer team felt right at home Tuesday night, enjoying the festivities under snow showers during the NCAA Division II Championships Festival Opening Ceremonies in Pittsburgh, Pa. Photo by Ryan Prickett
By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN FHSU University Relations and Marketing
Followers of Fort Hays State University fall athletics won’t have to wait until next year to watch Tiger football.
Tiger fútbol – i.e. soccer – is still alive in 2018.
The FHSU men’s soccer team traveled to Pittsburgh, Pa., earlier this week to compete for a national championship in the program’s eighth year of existence. The Tigers qualified for the NCAA Division II championship week by winning a quarterfinal match on their home field on Nov. 17.
FHSU Athletic Director Curtis Hammeke said Fort Hays State is fortunate this year to be part of the National Championships Festival, unique to NCAA Division II and held every four years for fall, winter and spring sports.
“This is going to be a great experience for our student-athletes, to be a part of the festival year,” Hammeke said. “It really enhances the experience for all of them, because it’s a much bigger production than it would be at one location for each individual sport.”
More than 900 student-athletes will be competing in Pittsburgh for six fall championships – men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, women’s volleyball and women’s field hockey.
The festival has an Olympic-type setting, featuring an opening and closing ceremony for the student-athletes on Tuesday and a social lounge area where they can congregate, similar to an Athletes Village. The festival also features participation in community engagement during the week.
It also will give the Tigers a chance to tell others about Fort Hays State. FHSU will be one of three schools representing Kansas at the festival. Washburn University’s volleyball team made the top eight, and Pittsburg State qualified its women’s cross country team as well as one runner in the men’s competition.
“Any time you can get to where you are competing at the national level, it brings more exposure,” Hammeke said, “not only to your sport, but to your university as a whole, on a regional and national level and in a positive light.”
The 2-0 victory over Ohio Valley University on a cold, windy day not only lifted the program to new heights, but it also gave Brett Parker – the only head coach in program history – his 100th victory at FHSU.
The Tigers would like to make that 102 by the end of the weekend. The semifinal winners will advance to the national title game at 11 a.m. Central Time Saturday.
But first things first. FHSU is scheduled to take on Barry (Fla.) University in the first of two semifinal matches at 10 a.m. Thursday.
The match can be seen live online at https://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule/2018/11/29. It will be live-streamed in the Memorial Union’s Cody Commons as well as in Victor E. Lounge in Gross Memorial Coliseum.
With its 17-2-1 record, highlighted by a 14-match winning streak, Fort Hays State received the No. 1 seed for the final four.
Fort Hays State, ranked 11th in the nation, might have a bit of an advantage over its opponent, No. 4 seed and 20th-ranked Barry, whose home is in warm and sunny Miami.
FHSU practiced in cold temperatures recently and left town Monday, a day after Hays’ first winter blizzard of the season. Snow showers are forecast for the Pittsburgh area today and Thursday, with game-time temperatures in the mid-30s.
“We practiced in 30 degrees today with about an inch of snow on the ground,” FHSU Coach Brett Parker said via telephone Tuesday. “I don’t know if it will make a difference. But at least we know what to expect. We definitely are not afraid of cold weather. We’ll take any advantage we can get at this stage.”
The other half of the bracket also features a warm-weather team in No. 2 seed Cal Poly Pomona (17-6-0), which will face what would have to be a local favorite in No. 3 seed West Chester University (15-2-5).
West Chester, located in western Pennsylvania, is only about a four-and-a-half hour drive from Highmark Stadium.
However, Cal Poly Pomona has an edge in experience on the entire field; this marks the third trip to the final four in four years for the Broncos, who finished as national runners-up in 2015. CPP will enter Thursday’s match on a four-game winning streak after defeating three nationally ranked teams on its way to Pennsylvania.
Although Fort Hays State’s program is less than a decade old, Parker said reaching the national semifinals has been a long time coming.
FHSU made it to the quarterfinals four of the past five seasons. The first three years, the Tigers suffered close, heartbreaking losses each time – either by one goal or on penalty kicks following two overtime periods.
Then came this year.
“That (quarterfinal) game is always so difficult with the level of opponent you face and what’s at stake,” Parker said. “We finally got the monkey off our back.”
The Tigers had to overcome some adversity to even get to the quarterfinals this year.
Despite earning the top seed in the Central Region and earning the chance to host the regional and national quarterfinals, things didn’t look good early in the second half in the regional championship game.
FHSU was playing Northeastern State University, a team the Tigers had beaten twice before this season.
“It’s hard beating a team three times in a season, and it got harder each time we faced them,” Parker said.
None was more difficult than the regional title game. The Tigers trailed the RiverHawks 1-0 in the second half when FHSU’s star player went down with an ankle injury.
When junior forward Santiago Agudelo – the top scorer in all of NCAA II with 26 goals – left the field, Parker said, he didn’t have time to wonder how his team would react.
“Soccer is such a team game, and everybody realized they had to pick up some of the slack,” Parker said. “Of course, we would love to have Santiago, one of the best players in the country at his position, but we haven’t missed a beat.”
Fort Hays State went on to score three goals in the final nine minutes to beat Northeastern State, 3-1. The RiverHawks finished the season 15-3-1 with all three of its losses being to the Tigers.
“I think that really helped our confidence in the quarterfinal game, after still playing well in the regional game even without Santiago,” Parker said.
Agudelo, who injured tendons in his left ankle, is in a cast and won’t play this week. But he is still a big part of the team; his role has just changed.
“He’s a big reason why we are even here,” Parker said. “We wish he was playing, but it’s great having him with us on the sidelines, too.”
When looking back at the season, the 2018 Tigers will have plenty to celebrate: their 8-0 conference record earned FHSU a second straight MIAA championship.
Parker was honored as MIAA Coach of the Year for a second consecutive year. Agudelo was named Player of the Year for both the MIAA and the Central Region. Earlier today, Agudelo also garnered National Player-of-the-Year honors, as well as first-team All-America recognition by D2CCA. Two senior teammates, defender Luis Torres and goalkeeper Fernando Pina, also earned All-America honors.
The 17 victories to date surpassed the previous program-best by three. FHSU will finish the season ranked no lower than fourth in the nation.
But all the reminiscing will have to wait.
Right now, the Tigers are focused on Thursday morning’s game, and then hopefully can begin preparing for another match on Saturday.
“If we are going to fly all the way across the country, we might as well play two games,” Parker said. “We’re planning on being here, playing on Saturday.”
