FHSU Athletics

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State had five student-athletes named to the D2CCA Men’s Soccer All-Central Region Team, released on Monday (Nov. 30). Four of the five earned first team honors and one garnered a second team selection. Mauricio Castorino was named the D2CCA Central Region Player of the Year after garnering MIAA Player of the Year and All-MIAA First Team honors. The D2CCA All-Region Team is voted on by the sports information directors of the Central Region in men’s soccer.

Earning first team honors were forwards Castorino and Maurizio Costa, midfielder David Lucio and defender Killian Gorman. All four also earned All-MIAA First Team honors. Luan Silva earned a second-team nod at defender. All five were instrumental in leading FHSU to a new program record for wins as the Tigers finished the year at 13-5-2.

Finishing the season with 10 goals and eight assists, Castorino led the MIAA in points for the season with 28. Castorino adds this honor on top of conference player of the year and all-conference first team honors. He was the MIAA Freshman of the Year in 2014 before earning conference player of the year honors this year.

Costa finished the year with 20 points, providing nine goals and two assists for the Tigers. He led the team in game-winning goals with three and buried all four penalty kick opportunities he had in the regular season.

Lucio earns an all-region nod for the second-straight year after second team honors last year. He is the only senior of the five to earn all-region honors this year. Lucio finished the year with 11 points, putting in four goals with three assists. Three of his points came during the postseason with a goal and an assist. He ranked fourth on the team in minutes played with 1584, while starting all 20 contests.

Gorman went the distance on the field for the Tigers in 2015, playing every minute possible as a defender. He helped the Tigers to a 1.24 goals against average and five shutouts. He had a goal in Fort Hays State’s 4-2 Central Regional Final win over Upper Iowa in the NCAA Tournament and finished the year with three points.

Silva was a more offensive minded defenseman for the Tigers, providing two goals and two assists for the season for a total of six points. He played 1,330 minutes and had one game-winning goal.

Castorino, Costa, Gorman, and Silva were all sophomores in 2015 and return to the team next year. Lucio departs after helping the Tigers to two-straight NCAA Central Region Championships and four consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament.

Below is the D2CCA Men’s Soccer All-Central Region Team for 2015.

2015 D2CCA Men’s Soccer All-Central Region Team

First Team
Pos                Name                                           School                                                    Yr             Hometown                      
GK                 Connor Rortvedt                          Upper Iowa                                             So.            Verona, Wis.
F                    Mauricio Castorino                    Fort Hays State                                     So.            Asuncion, Paraguay
F                    Crosby Lee                                  Northeastern State                                 Sr.            Golden, Colo.
F                    Maurizio Costa                           Fort Hays State                                     So.            Asuncion, Paraguay
F                    Tinashe Chigede                         Ouachita Baptist                                     So.            Tulsa, Okla.
MF                 Trevor Reed                                Northeastern State                                 So.            Cabot, Ark.
MF                 Joseph Garcia                             Northeastern State                                 Fr.             Grand Prairie, Texas
MF                 Johnny McBeth                           Upper Iowa                                             So.            Glasgow, Scotland
MF                 David Lucio                                Fort Hays State                                      Sr.            Wichita, Kan.
D                    Eric Crawford                              Northeastern State                                 Sr.            Ontario, Canada
D                    Killian Gorman                          Fort Hays State                                      So.            Manhattan, Kan.
D                    Hugo Alves                                  Upper Iowa                                             Sr.            Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
D                    Logan Dahnert                             Upper Iowa                                             So.            Fort Atkinson, Wis.

Second Team
Pos                Name                                          School                                                    Yr             Hometown                       
GK                 Eric Shephard                             Northeastern State                                 Sr.            Allen, Texas
F                    Jackson Buchanan                     Harding                                                   Jr.             Tulsa, Okla.
F                    Ryan Pinkerton                           Upper Iowa                                             Jr.             Apple Valley, Calif.
F                    Garrett Gibson                            Southwest Baptist                                   Jr.             Raymore, Mo.
F                    Andre Hayne                               Lindenwood                                            Sr.            Vitoria, Brazil
MF                 Alfredo Paez                               Lindenwood                                            Sr.            Caracas, Venezuela
MF                 Josiah Ireland                             Harding                                                   Sr.            Searcy, Ark.
MF                 Jason Diaz                                  Harding                                                   Fr.             Waco, Texas
MF                 Josue Morales                            Northeastern State                                 Sr.            Houston, Texas
D                    Phillip White                               Harding                                                   Jr.             Tulsa, Okla.
D                    Tyler Mouton                              Ouachita Baptist                                     So.            Flower Mound, Texas
D                    Paul Samia                                 Northeastern State                                 Sr.            Colorado Springs, Colo.
D                    Luan Silva                                 Fort Hays State                                      So.            Highlands Ranch, Colo.

Central Region Player of the Year:  Mauricio Castorino, Fort Hays State, So., F (Asuncion, Paraguay)

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State outscored Sterling College 47-28 in the second half as they rally from an eight-point first half deficit for an 86-70 win Saturday night at Gross Coliseum. The Tigers scored the final four points of the first half to pull within three at halftime then tallied the first seven points of the second half to grab the lead for good.

Mark Johnson Postgame Interivew

 

Jake Stoppel Postgame Interview

 

Game Highlights

 

FHSU  heated it up in the second half, shooting 55-percent while holding the Warriors to 32-percent.

Dom Samac scored 16 of his game-high 20 in the second half to lead the Tigers. Rob Davis hit five 3-pointers and scored 19 while Jake Stoppel added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Craig Nicholson dished out eight of the Tigers 23 assists.

Brandon Givens his six 3-pointers (five in the first half) and lead Sterling with 19 points. Terrance Boyd added 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Fort Hays State improves to 5-0 with the win. They open MIAA play Wednesday at home against Washburn.

 

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State scored 15 unanswered points after falling behind by one in the first quarter and cruise to a 94-45 win over Sterling College Saturday evening at Gross Coliseum. The 7th-ranked Tigers used a 34-6 first half run to go up 27 in the second quarter and led by 31 at halftime and by as many as 51 in the second half as they wrap up non-conference play 6-0.

Tony Hobson Postgame

 

Game Highlights

Paige Lunsford and Beth Bohuslavsky led six Tigers in double-figures with 15 points each. Nikola Kacperska scored 14 off the bench, Jill Faxon added 12. Taylor Chandler and Chelsea Mason both scored 11. Chandler led the Tigers with six rebounds and dished out three assists with no turnovers and hit all three of her 3-point tries.

FHSU shot 50-percent from the floor and were 10-of-26 from 3-point range. They only turned the ball over five times while forcing 26 and outscored the Warriors 33-0 off turnovers.

 

FHSU Athletics

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State head softball coach Adrian Mohr has announced five signings for the 2017 season. Signing in the early period with the Tigers are Lexie Kimminau, Lily Sale, Jeni Mohr, Bailey Boxberger, and Tess Gray. Three are from Colorado and two are from Kansas.

Kimminau, the younger sister of former Tiger pitcher Kelsey Kimminau, is currently a senior at Pomona High School in Arvada, Colo. She was an all-state selection and all-conference first team selection as a pitcher in her senior year. She helped her team to a second-place finish at the Class 5A State Tournament as a senior. To go with a 2.87 ERA, she also hit .333 with nine home runs and 33 RBI as a hitter.

Sale, a teammate of Kimminau’s at Pomona High School, is a three-time all-league selection at shortstop. She earned all-league second team honors as a senior, but also garnered first team honors as a junior. As a senior in 2015, she hit .369 with four home runs and 26 RBI.

Mohr is currently a senior at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. She was an all-league first team selection at third base, but can also play the middle infield. As a senior in 2015, she hit .329 with four home runs and 17 RBI.

Boxberger is currently a senior at Olathe South High School in Olathe, Kan. She can play both first and third base. She was a Kansas Class 6A All-State Second Team selection in 2015 as an infielder, while also garnering all-league honors. She helped Olathe South to the 6A State Championship in 2015.

Gray is currently a senior at Blue Valley Southwest High School in Overland Park, Kan. She was an all-league selection at catcher as a junior. Over her last two years, she has hit .480 with 48 hits, 27 RBI, and two home runs.

Boxberger and Gray have yet to complete their senior seasons in softball as Kansas high schools play softball in the spring.

By Diane Gasper-O’Brien
University Relations and Marketing

HAYS, Kan. — If Shawn Behr could give players on this year’s Fort Hays State University football team a piece of advice, it would be to enjoy this time heading into their season finale.

The 2015 FHSU football team qualified for post-season action for the first time in 20 years with its 8-3 record, and the Tigers were invited to represent the MIAA in the Mineral Water Bowl Dec. 5 in Excelsior Springs, Mo.

Game time is noon vs. the University of Minnesota-Duluth. More information about the game and accompanying activities can be found at www.fhsu.edu/BowlBound.

Behr, a native of Great Bend, was the starting quarterback on the last Tiger team to make it to post-season play, in 1995. He has been paying particular attention to Fort Hays State the past five years as the Tigers consistently improved under Head Coach Chris Brown.

“The cool thing about Coach Brown is that every single year, he’s gotten one win better,” said Behr, who lives in Great Bend with his wife, Desa, and their 7-year-old daughter, Kya. “I’m so glad to see he finally got over that hump.”

After going 4-7 in his first year as the Tiger head coach in 2011, Brown’s teams have climbed the ladder with season marks of 5-6, 6-5 and 7-4 before this year’s efforts tied the school record for most wins in a season.

To reach the post-season is something special, said Behr, whose name is on numerous single-season and career top 10 lists for FHSU football. Behr, who still holds the all-time FHSU record for most passing touchdowns in a season with 34, had seven 300-yard passing games his magical senior season.

“It all culminates with the post-season,” Behr said. “You work hard, and there are some monumental wins throughout the season. But once you finally make the post-season, it’s such a great feeling.”

The 1995 Tigers lost just one regular-season game and finished 8-2-2 overall after losing to Texas A&M-Kingsville in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs. Fort Hays State football is 0-3 in post-season action.

Behr would like to see that streak end this year, and he hopes to be on hand in person to see it happen.

His wife, a graduate of Kansas State University, is “a huge K-State fan,” and West Virginia is playing the Wildcats in Manhattan the same day as the Tigers’ bowl game.

“I’m hoping to drop off my wife and daughter in Manhattan and go on to the bowl game,” Behr said. Excelsior Springs is just two and a half hours from Manhattan.

There is a tailgate party before the bowl game, sponsored by the FHSU Alumni Association. Online registration and more information about the tailgate events are available at http://ow.ly/UZLgL (case sensitive).

After graduating from Fort Hays State in 1996, Behr played one year of professional ball in Europe before returning home. He said he has a “lifetime of memories” from his senior season.

Behr, general manager of Marmie Ford-Lincoln auto dealership in Great Bend, hopes to reunite with some alumni at the bowl tailgate party, then hopefully settle in to watch a good game.

A victory in the bowl game not only would give the Tiger football program its first post-season win but also would set a school record for most victories in a season.

“At any rate, we just need to win it,” Behr said. “We had a fantastic season in 1995, but it would have been even better to have won that last game.”  

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State shot 62-percent from the floor including 9-of-16 from 3-point range as they move to 4-0 with a 92-76 win over Newman University Tuesday at Gross Coliseum. The Tigers led most of the way, racing out to an early 12-point first half lead. The Jets answered with a 22-8 run to go up two with 8:18 to play, but the Tigers closed the first half on a 19-2 run to lead 55-39 at the break.

Mark Johnson Postgame Interview

 

Rob Davis Postgame Interview

 

Game Highlights

 

Newman scored the first six points of the second half only to see the Tigers answer with a 9-0 run to build the lead 19.

Dom Samac led three Tigers in double-figures with 20 points, 16 of them in the first half. Rob Davis added 15 and Kenny Enoch 14. Craig Nicholson scored six while dishing out eight assists. Kyler Kinnamon scored eight and had six assists.

The Tigers outscored the Jets 44-24 in the paint and 27-18 off of turnovers.

James Pegues scored 21 to lead Newman who falls to 3-1.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

HAYS, Kan. – No. 7 Fort Hays State raced out a 9-0 lead and never led by less than seven as they roll past Newman 76-34 Tuesday at Gross Coliseum. The Tigers hit their first four 3-pointers in building a 19-point first quarter lead. They would build the lead to 27 at the half and 30 after three as they improve to 5-0.

Tony Hobson Postgame Interview

 

Game Highlights

 

Chelsea Mason broke out of her shooting slump, hitting her first four 3-point attempts and scored a game-high 25 points. Paige Lunsford also hit a couple of threes and scored 11. Nikola Kacpersksa added 10.

The Tigers shot 42-percent from the floor and hit 11 of 23 from beyond the arc.

FHSU continued to play well on the defensive end of the floor, forcing 25 Jet turnovers and outscored Newman 40-8 off of turnovers. They have now outscored their opponents 136-16 off of turnovers in their first five games.

FHSU Athletics

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State’s Jon Inman has been named the MIAA Wrestler of the Week on Tuesday (Nov. 24). Inman earns the honors for his efforts at the Nebraska-Kearney Holiday Inn Open this past weekend in Kearney, Neb.

Inman went 3-0 for the tournament in the Elite Division at 184 pounds. He recorded a fall over Asiah Dyer of Midland in 1:53 in his first match, defeated Luke Paine of Wyoming 7-2 in the semifinals, and defeated Zach Stodden of Nebraska-Kearney by a 14-6 major decision in the final. Ranked No. 6 in the nation at 184 pounds, Inman ran his overall record to 8-0 on the season.

Inman has now won two tournaments this year, also winning at the Bethany College Open at the beginning of the season.

By BERNIE WILSON
AP Sports Writer

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Rockhurst made their first four penalty kicks as Fort Hays State was eliminated in a 1-1 tie (4-1 PK’s) in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Tournament.

The Tigers started the scoring in the 21st minute as David Lucio scored his fourth of the season unassisted. The Hawks would answer just 15 second later as Claudio Romano netted a goal to tie it up. Defensively FHSU stopped six shots on goal for the day as they held RU scoreless in the second half.

Fort Hays State finishes the season with a 13-5-2 overall record having advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Tournament.