WICHITA, Kan. – Fort Hays State wrestling claimed third place at the RWC Jet Invitational hosted by Newman University on Sunday. The Tigers turned in a solid performance with wrestlers in only seven of the ten weight classes. Six of the seven finished in the top four of their respective weight classes.

At 141 pounds, Brandon Ball remained hot picking up the only first place finish of the day for the Tigers. After a bye in the first round, Ball handled his first opponent, Garrett Wilson of Newman, with an 18-0 technical fall. From there he went on to win the semifinal bout with Otero Junior College’s Downey Wood by an 8-4 decision. In the finals, Ball claimed victory with his second technical fall of the day, this time over Northeastern Oklahoma A&M’s Curtis Burnett. Ball handled Burnett easily walking away from the mat with a 16-1 win and now improves to 18-3 on the season.

Rakim Dean went 2-1 for the day on his way to a second-place finish. After a bye in the first round Dean went on to win his next two matches. In the quarterfinals, Dean pinned Imani Woodley from Otero Junior College just 27 seconds into the match. To advance to the finals, Dean handled Oklahoma City’s Derek Siversten with a 4-2 decision. In the final bout Dean was just ousted by Cody Chaney from Emmanuel College (Ga.) in a tight 4-3 decision.

Redshirt-freshman Christian Lance was great once again on the mat for the Tigers, finishing as the runner up in the 285-pound weight class. Lance, who is now 22-2 on the year, went 2-1 on the day. After a free run into the quarterfinals, Lance won with a 17-2 technical fall over Bethany College’s Nick Pearce. In the semifinal bout, Lance handled Dalton Weidl of Newman easily with a 7-3 decision. He squared off in the first-place match with Central Oklahoma’s Caleb Cotter, who was the culprit of Lance’s first loss of the season. Unfortunately, Cotter once again got the better of Lance as he walked off the mat with a 5-4 decision win.

At 133 pounds, Wyatt Alvis had his best tournament of the year for FHSU as he took home a third-place finish. After a bye in the first round, Alvis dropped his first match to Darius Bunch from Emmanuel College by the score of 2-1. After receiving another bye in the consolation bracket, Alvis proceeded to win his next match over Newman’s Cole Sutterfield by major decision, 11-3. He advanced to the consolation finals against Blake Dauphin of Central Oklahoma after an injury default in the semifinals. Alvis made quick work of Dauphin pinning him just 36 seconds into the second period.

Austin Brandt improved to 9-7 this season with his third-place finish at 197 pounds. In the quarterfinals, Brandt picked up a 5-3 decision over Zak Pitt from Emmanuel College to advance to the semifinals. There he dropped the ensuing bout to Northeastern Oklahoma’s Rushton Duke by the way of a technical fall. Brandt bounced back in the consolation bracket and pinned Nate Finnel of Otero Junior College at the 2:58 mark to move into the third-place match. There Brandt went into overtime and picked up a sudden victory takedown against Riley Fielder of Oklahoma City.

At 174 pounds Micquille Robinson picked up fourth place honors and now sits at 17-9 on the season. After a bye in the first round, Robinson went on to claim a major decision over Oklahoma City’s Zaine Jackson by the score of 10-1. In the semifinals, Robinson was sent to the consolation bracket as he was on the wrong end of a major decision by Central Oklahoma’s Miguel Barreras, 11-2. In the consolation semifinals Robinson bounced back with a 4-1 decision, but then dropped the third place match to Kyle Ryan of Newman by a 3-1 decision.

The Tigers get plenty of time off before they return to action on Saturday (Jan. 7) when head to Adams State for dual action.

RWC Results for Fort Hays State
133 – Wyatt Alvis (5-5) placed 3rd and scored 10.50 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Wyatt Alvis (Fort Hays State) 5-5 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – Darius Bunch (Emmanual College) 2-1 won by fall over Wyatt Alvis (Fort Hays State) 5-5 (Fall 0:18)
Cons. Round 2 – Wyatt Alvis (Fort Hays State) 5-5 received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 3 – Wyatt Alvis (Fort Hays State) 5-5 won by major decision over Cole Sutterfield (Newman) 0-6 (MD 11-3)
Cons. Semi – Wyatt Alvis (Fort Hays State) 5-5 won by injury default over Gunner Laffoon (Otero Junior College) 5-6 (Inj. 0:00)
3rd Place Match – Wyatt Alvis (Fort Hays State) 5-5 won by fall over Blake Dauphin (Central Oklahoma) 8-6 (Fall 3:36)

141 – Brandon Ball (18-3) placed 1st and scored 16.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Brandon Ball (Fort Hays State) 18-3 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – Brandon Ball (Fort Hays State) 18-3 won by tech fall over Garrett Whitson (Newman) 6-6 (TF-1.5 4:25 (18-0))
Semifinal – Brandon Ball (Fort Hays State) 18-3 won by decision over Downey Wood (Otero Junior College) 9-4 (Dec 8-4)
1st Place Match – Brandon Ball (Fort Hays State) 18-3 won by tech fall over Curtis Burnett (Northeast Oklahoma) 14-3 (TF-1.5 7:00 (16-1))

149 – Jacob Kay (13-8) place is unknown and scored 0.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Jacob Kay (Fort Hays State) 13-8 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – Gavin Millhouse (Oklahoma City) 5-7 won by decision over Jacob Kay (Fort Hays State) 13-8 (Dec 9-5)
Cons. Round 2 – Jacob Kay (Fort Hays State) 13-8 received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 3 – John Risewick (Bethany (Kan.)) 2-2 won by decision over Jacob Kay (Fort Hays State) 13-8 (Dec 17-11)

174 – Micquille Robinson (17-9) placed 4th and scored 5.50 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Micquille Robinson (Fort Hays State) 17-9 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – Micquille Robinson (Fort Hays State) 17-9 won by major decision over Zaine Jackson (Oklahoma City) 2-8 (MD 10-1)
Semifinal – Miguel Barreras (Central Oklahoma) 23-4 won by major decision over Micquille Robinson (Fort Hays State) 17-9 (MD 11-2)
Cons. Semi – Micquille Robinson (Fort Hays State) 17-9 won by decision over Anthony Lodermeier (Otero Junior College) 14-8 (Dec 4-1)
3rd Place Match – Kyle Ryan (Newman) 3-3 won by decision over Micquille Robinson (Fort Hays State) 17-9 (Dec 3-1)

184 – Rakim Dean (16-8) placed 2nd and scored 12.00 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – akim Dean (Fort Hays State) 16-8 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – akim Dean (Fort Hays State) 16-8 won by fall over Imani Woodley (Otero Junior College) 7-9 (Fall 0:27)
Semifinal – akim Dean (Fort Hays State) 16-8 won by decision over Derek Sivertsen (Oklahoma City) 5-3 (Dec 4-2)
1st Place Match – Cody Chaney (Emmanual College) 3-0 won by decision over akim Dean (Fort Hays State) 16-8 (Dec 4-3)

197 – Austin Brandt (9-7) placed 3rd and scored 8.50 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Austin Brandt (Fort Hays State) 9-7 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – Austin Brandt (Fort Hays State) 9-7 won by decision over Zak Pitt (Emmanual College) 1-2 (Dec 5-3)
Semifinal – Ruston Duke (Northeast Oklahoma) 17-4 won by tech fall over Austin Brandt (Fort Hays State) 9-7 (TF-1.5 3:42 (16-0))
Cons. Semi – Austin Brandt (Fort Hays State) 9-7 won by fall over Nate Finnel (Otero Junior College) 1-2 (Fall 2:58)
3rd Place Match – Austin Brandt (Fort Hays State) 9-7 won in sudden victory – 1 over Riley Fielder (Oklahoma City) 3-9 (SV-1 8-6)

285 – Christian Lance (22-2) placed 2nd and scored 11.50 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Christian Lance (Fort Hays State) 22-2 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – Christian Lance (Fort Hays State) 22-2 won by tech fall over Nick Pearce (Bethany (Kan.)) 0-2 (TF-1.5 5:27 (17-2))
Semifinal – Christian Lance (Fort Hays State) 22-2 won by decision over Dalton Weidl (Newman) 3-4 (Dec 7-3)
1st Place Match – Caleb Cotter (Central Oklahoma) 20-2 won by decision over Christian Lance (Fort Hays State) 22-2 (Dec 5-4)

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

HAYS, Kan. – For a second straight year, Fort Hays State has beaten a No. 1 ranked Emporia State team on their home floor. Tatyana Legette scored a career-high 23 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the Tigers (8-2, 2-2 MIAA) to a 54-51 win Saturday afternoon at Gross Coliseum.

Legette scored 17 consecutive points over the second and third quarters helping the Tigers overcome an early 8-0 deficit. She scored the first basket of the fourth quarter which pushed the Tiger lead to 10.

 

Tony Hobson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

Taylor Rolfs 3-pointer with 3:51 to play gave FHSU a 51-41 lead, but the Hornets (9-1, 1-1 MIAA) scored eight unanswered to close the gap to two with 1:42 to play.

Kacey Kennett nailed a 3-pointer off an in-bounds pass to push the lead to five with 1:13 left. The ESU hit a couple of free throws to pull within three but missed on two 3-point attempts in the closing seconds.

The Tigers were held under 30-percent shooting for the fourth straight game, hitting 28.6-perecent but hit went 22-of-28 from the free throw line. Emporia State was held to 26.3-percent shooting.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

HAYS, Kan. – Emporia State hit a season-high 14 3-pointers and Fort Hays State shot 39-percent in the Hornets 75-67 win Saturday afternoon at Gross Coliseum. Emporia State (4-6, 1-1 MIAA) beat the Tigers in Gross Coliseum a year ago giving them back-to-back wins in Hays for the first time since the 1992-93, 1993-94 seasons.

The Hornets used an 8-0 run midway through the first half to build a 13 point lead and never led by less six the rest of the game. After building a 10-point halftime lead, they scored the first eight points of the second half to take control and led by as 24 on four different occasions in the second half.

Fort Hays State (6-4, 2-2 MIAA), who was held to 39 points over the first 32 minutes, scored 28 in the final eight.

 

Mark Johnson Postgame Interview

Rob Davis Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

Rob Davis was the only Tiger to reach double-figures with 32 points. It’s his third 30-point game of the season and the fourth of his FHSU career.

It appears one of Fort Hays State’s all-time best running backs won’t be back for his senior season. Shaquille Cooper, who rushed for 971 yards and six touchdowns and had another 420 receiving yards with five scores this season, tweeted out yesterday and confirmed that he will forego his senior season for a professional career.

Cooper, who was a two-time All-MIAA first team selection, ran for 146 yards and a touchdown with 66 receiving yards and a score in the Tigers C.H.A.M.P.S Heart of Texas Bowl win. Cooper finished fourth on the school’s all-purpose yardage list and had 12, 100-yard rushing games, the second most in school history.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

HAYS, Kan. – Aaron Nicholson scored a career-high 22 points and Hadley Gillum added 20 points along with 10 rebounds as Fort Hays State rallied from a 20-point first half deficit and beat Washburn 89-82 Wednesday at Gross Coliseum.

The Ichabods (8-1, 0-1 MIAA) hit seven of their first 10 shots including five from 3-point range to grab an early 19-2 lead and led by 27-7 with 10:10 to play in the first. The Tigers (6-3, 2-1 MIAA) answered with a 27-7 run to tie the game late in the half and trailed by two at the half.

After a back and forth second half, FHSU pushed the lead to five with 2:37 to play. Trey O’Neil, who scored a career-high 18 points, hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game with 1:11 to play which pushed the lead to seven.

Mark Johnson Postgame Interview

Aaron Nicholson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

The Tigers shot 45-percent from the floor but hit 12 of 21 from beyond the arc and were 25 of 26 from the free throw line.

Washburn, who was led by Brady Skeens 19 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and five blocked shots, shot 48-percent including 9-of-21 from 3-point range and 13 of 20 from the foul line.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State overcame a cold shooting night as they rallied from an 11-point deficit late in the third quarter to beat Washburn 67-64 in overtime Wednesday at Gross Coliseum.

After hitting five of their first 11 shots to start the game, the Tigers hit only two the rest of the first, second and third quarters. They then knocked in seven of their first eight shots in the fourth quarter to erase the double-digit deficit and pick up their first conference win.

Tony Hobson Postgame Interview

 

Game Highlights

Nikola Kacperska, who scored a game-high 18 points, hit a short jumper to give the Tigers a late lead in regulation. She knocked down a 3-pointer early in the overtime to push the lead to seven.

Washburn had a chance to send the game to a second overtime but Jharian Bowen, who hit three 3-pointers, had one rim out at the horn.

Washburn (6-3, 0-1 MIAA) turned the ball over 23 times resulting in 29 Fort Hays State points.

Carly Heim and Kacey Kennett both scored 13 for the Tigers who improve to 7-2 overall. Kennett also pulled down a team-best 10 rebounds.

Bowen led four Ichabods in double-figures with 17 points.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Fort Hays State volleyball senior Crystal Whitten was listed as Honorable Mention All-America by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, announced Wednesday by the organization. Whitten becomes the fifth Tiger all-time to receive national honors and is the first since 2005 (Kelly Skidmore).

Whitten wrapped up an impressive career with 491 kills this season, leading the MIAA and ranking 22nd in the country with 4.13 kills per set. She also led the team with 395 digs and 25 service aces, leading the Tigers in all three categories for the second-straight season. Her 491 kills rank fifth in a single season during the rally scoring era at FHSU, while her 4.13 kills per frame is sixth-best in the program’s NCAA Division II history.

The Wichita, Kan. native matched her career-high with 23 kills against Central Oklahoma (Oct. 14), tying the school’s rally scoring era record with 76 attack attempts.

Whitten recorded 1,507 kills and 1,266 digs in her four-year collegiate career, split between Pittsburg State and FHSU. She nearly reached 1,000 kills in just two seasons as a Tiger, recording 911 kills over the last two seasons. She averaged 3.76 kills per set in 68 matches for FHSU, third-best in the program’s NCAA Division II history. She also ranks seventh in DII program history with 3.44 digs per set.

The outside hitter was one of eight MIAA student-athletes to receive All-America status. Nebraska-Kearney and Washburn each had three players honored, while Central Oklahoma had one honoree.

FHSU Sports Information

WACO, Texas – Fort Hays State senior defensive end Sie Doe, Jr. has been named to the American Football Coaches Association All-America First Team for the 2016 season. Doe has already been tabbed the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year and the D2CCA Super Region 3 Defensive Player of the Year this season and adds another prestigious honor to his collection.

The AFCA has named Doe one of the top four defensive linemen in the nation. Two are from the MIAA as he joins Collin Bevins of Northwest Missouri State. Also named to the first team are Lucky Baar of McKendree (Ill.) and Dylan Donahue of West Georgia.

The AFCA’s Division II All-America Selection Committee is made up of three head coaches from each of the AFCA’s seven districts, one of whom serves as a district chairman, along with another head coach who serves as the chairman of the selection committee. The coaches in each district are responsible for ranking the top players in their respective districts prior to a conference call between the district chairmen and the committee chairman on which the teams are chosen.

Doe completed the season with a new FHSU school record 15 sacks, while adding 19.5 tackles for loss. He had 81 total tackles and tied for the NCAA lead in forced fumbles with five for the season. He also matched the FHSU career record of 21.5 sacks by Trevell Smittick.

Over two years at FHSU, Doe amassed 151 tackles, 34.5 tackles for loss, 21.5 sacks, and eight forced fumbles. He earned all-conference honors both years with the program.

2016 AFCA Division II Coaches’ All-America – First Team
Offense

Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Coach	Hometown (High School)
QB	Trey Heid	6-2	199	Sr.	Augustana (S.D.)	Jerry Olszewski	Lakeville, Minn. (North)
RB	Michael Anderson	5-9	190	Sr.	West Virginia Wesleyan	Del Smith	Elkridge, Md. (Howard)
RB	Chris Robinson	5-9	193	Jr.	Delta St. (Miss.)	Todd Cooley	Bude, Miss. (Franklin County)
WR	Garry Brown	6-1	200	Sr.	California (Pa.)	Gary Dunn	Columbus, Ohio (Westerville South)
WR	Xavier Ayers	5-11	180	Sr.	Western New Mexico	Adam Clark	Albuquerque, N.M. (Albuquerque)
TE	*Adam Shaheen	6-6	277	R-Jr.	Ashland (Ohio)	Lee Owens	Galena, Ohio (Big Walnut)
OL	*Jordan Morgan	6-4	320	R-Sr.	Kutztown (Pa.)	Jim Clements	Philadelphia, Pa. (Parkway Northwest)
OL	Zach Voytek	6-5	305	Sr.	New Haven (Conn.)	Chris Pincince	Trumbull, Conn. (Trumbull)
OL	Nate Theaker	6-6	303	Gr.	Wayne St. (Mich.)	Paul Winters	White Lake, Mich. (Lakeland)
OL	Jac’que Polite	6-5	300	Sr.	Winston-Salem St. (N.C.)	Kienus Boulware	Ridgeland, S.C. (Ridgeland)
OL	Alex Cappa	6-7	305	R-Jr.	Humboldt St. (Calif.)	Rob Smith	Dublin, Calif. (Dublin)

Defense

Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Coach	Hometown (High School)
DL	Lucky Baar	6-2	250	Sr.	McKendree (Ill.)	Mike Babcock	Chicago, Ill. (Morgan Park)
DL	Collin Bevins	6-6	285	Sr.	Northwest Missouri St.	Adam Dorrel	Creston, Iowa (Creston)
DL	Dylan Donahue	6-3	240	Sr.	West Georgia	Will Hall	Billings, Mont. (West)
DL	Sie Doe, Jr.	6-1	230	Sr.	Fort Hays St. (Kan.)	Chris Brown	Cleveland, Ohio (Lakewood)
LB	Connor Harris	6-0	243	Sr.	Lindenwood (Mo.)	Patrick Ross	Lee’s Summit, Mo. (Blue Springs South)
LB	Cody Burtscher	5-11	230	Sr.	Tarleton St. (Texas)	Todd Whitten	Burleson, Texas (Burleson)
LB	Osband Thompson	6-0	194	Jr.	Tuskegee (Ala.)	Willie Slater	Miami, Fla. (Jackson)
DB	Philbert Martial	5-10	166	Sr.	North Alabama	Bobby Wallace	Mobile, Ala. (McGill-Toolen)
DB	Kenny Moore	5-9	185	Sr.	Valdosta St. (Ga.)	Kerwin Bell	Valdosta, Ga. (Lowndes)
DB	Dustin Rivas	5-11	180	Jr.	Colorado Mesa	Russ Martin	Thornton, Colo. (Horizon)
DB	Drew Hebel	5-11	172	R-So.	Black Hills St. (S.D.)	John Reiners	Broomfield, Colo. (Legacy)

Specialists

Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Coach	Hometown (High School)
PK	Cole Antley	5-10	150	So.	Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)	Todd Knight	Atlanta, Ga. (East Coweta)
P	Hector Dominguez	5-10	190	Sr.	Texas A&M-Commerce	Colby Carthel	Hacienda Heights, Calif. (Wilson)
AP	Kamal Cass	5-11	185	Jr.	Eastern New Mexico	Josh Lynn	Clovis, N.M. (Clovis)

*-2015 AFCA All-American

2016 AFCA Division II Coaches’ All-America – Second Team
Offense

Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Coach	Hometown (High School)
QB	Jeff Kidd	6-4	227	Sr.	LIU-Post (N.Y.)	Bryan Collins	Salem, Ore. (Sprague)
RB	Austin Ekeler	5-9	195	Sr.	Western State (Colo.)	Jas Bains	Eaton, Colo. (Eaton)
RB	Max Mickey	5-9	185	Jr.	Sioux Falls (S.D.)	Jed Stugart	Holden, Mo. (Holden)
WR	Marcel Newson	5-11	195	Sr.	Mississippi College	John Bland	Coldwater, Miss. (Coldwater)
WR	Damon Gibson	6-4	230	Jr.	Minnesota St.-Moorhead	Steve Laqua	Beardsley, Minn. (Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley)
TE	Kenny Johnston	6-4	220	R-Sr.	Florida Tech	Steve Englehart	Jacksonville, Fla. (Stanton College Prep)
OL	Stephen Evans	6-4	301	Sr.	North Alabama	Bobby Wallace	Boston, Mass. (Arch Bishop Williams)
OL	Zachary Douglas	6-2	297	R-Sr.	Ashland (Ohio)	Lee Owens	Marshallville, Ohio (Smithville)
OL	Peter Bateman	6-6	285	Sr.	Minnesota-Duluth	Curt Wiese	La Crescent, Minn. (La Crescent)
OL	Akoakoa Paleka-Kennedy	6-3	285	Sr.	Midwestern St. (Texas)	Bill Maskill	Hilo, Hawaii (Kamehameha-Hawaii)
OL	Jared Machorro	6-7	280	Jr.	Texas A&M-Commerce	Colby Carthel	Coldspring, Texas (Oakhurst)

Defense

Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Coach	Hometown (High School)
DL	Trevon Biglow	6-1	240	Sr.	Harding (Ark.)	Ronnie Huckeba	Oklahoma City, Okla. (Putnam City)
DL	Ray Edwards	6-1	225	Sr.	Wingate (N.C.)	Joe Reich	Sacramento, Calif. (Highlands)
DL	Marcus Martin	6-3	245	R-Jr.	Slippery Rock (Pa.)	Shawn Lutz	West Mifflin, Pa. (West Mifflin)
DL	Zach Sieler	6-6	275	So.	Ferris St. (Mich.)	Tony Annese	Pinckney, Mich. (Pinckney)
LB	Tyke Kozeal	6-0	240	Sr.	Nebraska-Kearney	Josh Lamberson	Sargent, Neb. (Sargent)
LB	Jordan Herdman	6-2	235	R-Sr.	Simon Fraser (B.C.)	Kelly Bates	Winnipeg, Man. (Sturgeon Heights Collegiate)
LB	*Kyle Kitchens	6-2	205	Jr.	Catawba (N.C.)	Curtis Walker	Decatur, Ga. (Decatur)
DB	C.J. Broussard	6-0	198	Sr.	Azusa Pacific (Calif.)	Victor Santa Cruz	Clovis, Calif. (Clovis)
DB	Matt McKoy	6-2	212	Sr.	Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.)	Jim Collins	Canton, Mich. (Canton)
DB	Raheem Wilson	5-11	185	Sr.	Southeastern Oklahoma	Bo Atterberry	DeSoto, Texas (DeSoto)
DB	Marcus Sayles	5-10	170	Sr.	West Georgia	Will Hall	Alpharetta, Ga. (Chattahooche)

Specialists

Pos	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	School	Coach	Hometown (High School)
PK	Ryan Sheehan	5-10	180	Jr.	Colorado Mesa	Russ Martin	Chandler, Ariz. (Mountain Pointe)
P	*Brett Benes	6-0	180	Sr.	Charleston (W.Va.)	Pat Kirkland	Boca Raton, Fla. (Cardinal Newman)
AP	Richie Sanders	5-7	185	R-Sr.	Mercyhurst (Pa.)	Marty Schaetzle	Painesville, Ohio (Lake Catholic)

*-2015 AFCA All-American