FHSU Athletics

TOPEKA, Kan. – Fort Hays State knew its opportunity for hosting an MIAA Tournament match heading into Sunday at Washburn. The Tigers seized their opportunity with a 1-0 win over the Ichabods and leaped Southwest Baptist in the conference standings for fourth place alone.

Cenayda Guzman provided the game winner in the 58th minute as Kelsey Steffens found her in the box in traffic. The goal lifted the Tigers to a victory by the score of 1-0 for the third consecutive match.

Abbie Flax recorded three saves in her team-leading fourth shutout win of the season. She moved to 4-1-1 on the season.

The win pushed FHSU to 7-4 in the conference standings and a total of 21 points. Southwest Baptist tied its final match of the season, dropping the Bearcats behind the Tigers in the standings. As the No. 4 seed, Fort Hays State will host No. 5 seed Southwest Baptist at FHSU Soccer Stadium in the MIAA Tournament First Round on Wednesday night (Nov. 4) at 6 pm.

Below are the first round tournament match-ups on Wednesday.

2015 MIAA Women’s Soccer Tournament First Round (Nov. 4)
No. 7 seed Nebraska-Kearney at No. 2 seed Central Oklahoma – 3 pm
No. 5 seed Southwest Baptist at No. 4 seed Fort Hays State – 6 pm
No. 8 seed Washburn at No. 1 seed Central Missouri – 7 pm
No. 6 seed Missouri Western at No. 3 seed Northeastern State – 7 pm

The semifinals and finals are scheduled for November 6 and 8 respectively, hosted by the highest remaining seed.

FHSU Athletics

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Fort Hays State led for nearly 60 minutes before a bizarre finish on the road at Northeastern State on Sunday (Nov. 1). The Tigers fell 3-2 as NSU buried two penalty kicks in the final six minutes of the game to escape the 20th-ranked Tigers on its home field.

Anthony Hernandez put the Tigers in front 1-0 in the 11th minute after a nice pass off the heel of Mauricio Castorino. FHSU held that advantage until the 70th minute when NSU’s Trevor Reed scored a header off a free kick.

The Tigers looked as if they would escape with a win when Maurizio Costa buried a penalty kick at 84:01, but then all sorts of chaos ensued.

Only 20 seconds later, the Tigers were whistled for a violation in the box, setting up a penalty kick for Jonathan Guzman who squared the match again.

Then at 87:13, Luis Torres was issued a red card for a play in the box and Guzman scored another penalty kick to put the RiverHawks in front with less than two minutes to play.

Fort Hays State put two shots on net in the final two minutes, but both were saved. Jackson Biles picked up the win in goal for NSU with seven saves. Michael Yantz took the loss for FHSU with four saves.

Even with the loss, Fort Hays State still controls its own destiny in conference play. The Tigers will need to win their final two home games this coming week against Upper Iowa and Lindenwood to win an MIAA Championship. Anything else and they come up short of claiming their first conference crown.

FHSU Athletics

BOLIVAR, Mo. – After falling down 2-0 against Southwest Baptiston Saturday, Fort Hays State rallied for three straight sets and a 3-2 win over the Bearcats. The Tigers moved to 18-11 overall and 7-7 in the MIAA.

The Tigers dropped the first set 25-18 and the second 25-23 before rallying back. The Tigers stayed alive by taking a closely played third set 25-23. Crystal Whitten provided the set-winning kill.

The Tigers trailed by five early in the fourth set but rallied to tie the set at 14-14. FHSU pushed in front, but SBU kept it close and tied it once again at 22-22. After trading points, Mallory Flagor put down a kill and Ari Johnson delivered a service ace to force the fifth and decisive set with another 25-23 set win.

The Tigers looked to be running away with the fifth set up 7-2, but at 10-6, SBU went on a four-point run to tie it 10-10. The Tigers fought the rally off with a three-point run of their own, going up 13-10. Whitten would go on to provide the match-winning kill for a 15-12 final set win.

Flagor led the Tigers with 17 kills, while Whitten added 15. Sydney Dixon had nine kills and Megan Anderson added eight. Jacobsen stepped in nicely on defense, racking up a team-best 18 digs and three service aces. Hannah Wagy had 48 assists and Flagor added 15 digs for a double-double. Rebekah Spainhour had nine blocks to go with six kills.

Payton White led SBU with 18 kills, Lori Angello had 14, and Kalyn Sotomayor added 12. Anna Stuehm had 53 assists and Taryn Marton led in digs with 22.

The Tigers will play their final four matches of the regular season at home. FHSU hosts Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri State next weekend.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

HAYS, Kan. – Traveon Albert passed for 212 yards and rushed for another 90 to lead the Fort Hays State Tigers to a 24-7 win over Nebraska-Kearney Saturday afternoon at Lewis Field. The Tigers improve to 6-3 while the Lopers fall to 0-9.

Chris Brown Postgame Interview

Derek Kendall-Campbell / Jose Delgado  Postgame Interviews

Game Highlights

Derek Kendall-Campbell, who rushed for 45 yards, scored on a one-yard run with 6:54 to play in the second quarter to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead. A 22-yard Drew O’Brien field goal pushed the lead to 10-0 at the half.

Shaquille Cooper, who rushed for 93 yards, capped an 18-play, 67-yard drive with a one-yard plunge to push the lead to 17-0.

UNK used a 66-yard pass to Cougar Williams to set up a one-yard Bronson Marsh run to pull the Lopers within 17-7 with 7:58 to play.

Kendall-Campbell hauled in a 61-yard touchdown pass on the next possession to put the game away. Kendall-Campball finished with 45 rushing yards and 73 through the air.

FHSU finished with 448 yards, 233 on the ground and 215 through the air. The Lopers finished with 242 but just 60 on the ground

NEW YORK (AP) — Their nicknames are Thor, Captain America and the Grandyman, and they’ve helped the New York Mets pull within two games to one in the World Series.

Noah Syndergaard worked six tough innings and David Wright and Curtis Granderson hit two-run homers as the Mets trounced the Kansas City Royals 9-3 in New York. Granderson’s blast put the Mets ahead to stay in the third inning before Syndergaard and the Mets’ bullpen shut down the Royals the rest of the way.

Syndergaard struggled over the first two innings, surrendering three runs and six hits. But he later retired 12 straight batters at one point and capped his performance by working out of a bases-loaded jam to end the sixth. The rookie also had six strikeouts after teammates Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom managed just four Ks in 11 innings of the series.

Wright became the second Met to collect four RBIs in a World Series game, and the first since Rusty Staub in Game 4 of the 1973 Fall Classic. In addition to his first home run of this postseason, the Mets’ third baseman and team captain added a two-run single while the Mets scored four times in the sixth to put the game out of reach.

Granderson was 2-for-5 with three runs scored to help the Mets bounce back from two straight losses in Kansas City.

The Royals managed just one hit off Syndergaard and the Mets’ bullpen after the second inning. Addison Reed, Tyler Clippard and Jeurys Familia each worked a perfect inning of relief to close out the win.

Royals starter and loser Yordano Ventura was reached for five runs and seven hits in just 3 1/3 innings.

Royals outfielder Raul Mondesi Jr. became the first player ever to make his major league debut in the World Series. Mondesi entered as a pinch-hitter in the fifth inning and struck out on four pitches.

The teams get back at it Saturday night in New York. Former Met Chris Young will start for the Royals against Steven Matz, who will be making just his ninth major league start. Young tossed three innings of no-hit relief in picking up the victory in Game 1 of the series.

FHSU Athletics

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State remained alive for a possible first-round home match in the MIAA Tournament as it downed Nebraska-Kearney 1-0 on a cold, rainy night at FHSU Soccer Stadium. With the win, the Tigers moved to 9-7-1 overall and 6-4 in the MIAA. UNK dropped to 4-9-4 overall and 3-5-2 in the MIAA.

The Lopers committed a foul in the box in the 22nd minute and Gabrielle Makatura buried a penalty kick, which proved to be all the scoring FHSU needed in the team’s seventh shutout of the season.

With a wet field and slick ball, both teams were limited in good shot opportunities. FHSU outshot UNK 11-6 in the match.

Making her first appearance in goal for the Tigers, senior Kimi Kaniaupio recorded the shutout win. She saved five shots in the winning effort. Ali Hirschman took the loss for UNK in goal with three saves.

Eight Tiger seniors were honored at halftime of the match, playing in their final regular season home match. Makatura and Kaniaupio were part of the eight, which also included Dani Harris, Kylee Loneker, Mallory Diedrich, Cenayda Guzman, Ember Albertson and Jordon Hester. Loneker, Diederich, and Hester, who are all injured, came out of the match after a minute of action in a nice jesture for three seniors that have made big contributions to the program.

The Tigers close out the regular season on Sunday at Washburn University in the final conference match of the season. The Tigers are tied for fourth in the MIAA standings at 6-4 with Southwest Baptist. SBU has the tiebreak on FHSU for hosting in the first round of the conference tournament if they remain tied after Sunday.

FHSU Athletics

JOPLIN, Mo. – Fort Hays State pulled out a tightly contested match with Missouri Southern on Friday by a score of 3-1 on the road. The Tigers had to win two sets by two points, which included a 27-25 win in the fourth to secure the victory. FHSU moved to 17-11 overall and 6-7 in the MIAA, while MSSU dropped to 2-21 overall and 1-11 in the MIAA.

Fort Hays State had a seven-point lead in the first set at 16-9 before Missouri Southern came storming back to an 18-18 tie. At 23-23, Sydney Dixon put down two straight kills to lift FHSU to the first-set victory. FHSU trailed by five early in the second set before coming back to lead 16-15. FHSU used a 4-0 run to build a 21-16 lead and then held on from that point to go up 2-0 in the match.

Missouri Southern built a 10-point lead at 21-11 in the third set, but the Tigers put together a furious rally to almost come all the way back. FHSU pulled within two at 24-22, but the Lions closed out the third with a kill. The Lions nearly forced a fifth and decisive set, leading 22-20 in the fourth before FHSU rallied to force a win-by-two situation. Mallory Flagor had a kill to put the Tigers up 26-25, then MSSU committed a hitting error to end the match.

Crystal Whitten and Flagor led the way in kills for FHSU, each with 15. Hannay Wagy churned out 46 assists, while Flagor led in digs with 14. Whitten joined Flagor with double-doubles as she added 11 digs.

Bridgette Jaeger led MSSU in kills with 14, while Payton Graves added 12 and Callie Whetstone had 10. Bradyn Wall produced 34 assists and Katie Wiele had 17 digs.

The Tigers play at Southwest Baptist in another conference match on Saturday.

FHSU Athletics

BOLIVAR, Mo. – Fort Hays State used three second half goals to notch a 4-1 win over Southwest Baptist on Friday (Oct. 30). The Tigers moved to 11-3-1 overall and 3-1-1 in the MIAA with the win, while SBU dropped to 0-15, 0-7 in the MIAA.

The Tigers trailed briefly as the Bearcats recorded their only goal at the 20:39 mark on a header by Ryan Estus. The equalizer came only 1:30 later as Joe Albright and Kyle Markovits at the top of the box in the middle of the field, who beat the keeper between two defenders. The teams went into halftime locked in a 1-1 tie.

FHSU had a flurry of goals within about a six and a half minute span to put the match out of reach. At 61:22 Maurizio Costa took a cross from Luan Silva and buried it to put the Tigers in front. Just over three minutes later at 64:26, Silva got in the scoring act by beating the goalkeeper one-on-one after a pass from David Lucio. At 67:46, Austin Clifton put the match out of reach when he beat the keeper one-on-one after a pass from Paul Luna.

FHSU outshot SBU 21-7 in the match. FHSU placed 13 of the shots on goal. FHSU goalkeeper Michael Yantz had to make just one save in the winning effort. He is now 11-3-1 on the season.

The Tigers prepare for another MIAA showdown with Northeastern State on Sunday (Nov. 1) in Tahlequah, Okla.

FHSU Athletics

NEWBERRY, S.C. – Fort Hays State’s Jon Inman was selected sixth at 184 pounds in the 2015-16 Preseason Division II Wrestling Coaches Association Poll, released on Wednesday (Oct. 28). Inman enters his junior year with the Tigers and has put together a career record of 66-20, and a Division II record of 50-14 at 184 pounds.

In the 2014-15, Inman took first, second, or third in six tournaments, including first place at the MIAA Championships and third place at the NCAA Super Regional, which qualified him for the NCAA Division II Championships for the second straight year. Inman also took home placement honors at the Bethany Swede Invitational (1^st), the Northern Colorado Open (1^st), the University of Nebraska-Kearney Holiday Inn Open (2^nd), the FHSU-Bob Smith Open (2^nd), and the Jet Invitational (3^rd).

Inman not only represents FHSU on the mat but also in the classroom. He was one of seven Tigers named to the 2014-15 NWCA Division II All-Academic Team as a Criminal Justice major with a 3.83 GPA.

Below is the 2015-16 preseason poll.

Team Rankings

FHSU Athletics

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State Wrestling was picked third in the 2015-16 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll, released on Wednesday (Oct. 28). The Tigers tied for third in the voting with Central Oklahoma, each with 15 votes.

Nebraska-Kearney has been selected as the unanimous favorite to win the dual title this year. The Lopers received a maximum amount of 25 points in the poll (since coaches cannot vote for their own team). Last year’s dual champion Lindenwood was selected second with 19 votes, while the Tigers and Bronchos tied in the voting at 15. Fort Hays State took third alone in the conference last year, while UCO finished fourth.

The Tigers return three national qualifiers from last year’s squad, which includes Jon Inman, Noah Killip and Bradley Little. The Tigers had three champions at the MIAA Championships. FHSU placed fifth in Super Regional 4 last year with four national qualifiers. Trey Page was the lone Tiger to reach All-American status last year at heavyweight, placing third nationally with a record of 48-3.

Below is the 2015-16 MIAA Preseason Wrestling Coaches Poll.

2015-16 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Nebraska-Kearney (5) 25
2. Lindenwood 19
T3. Fort Hays State 15
T3. Central Oklahoma (1) 15
5. Central Missouri 11
6. Newman 5

Fort Hays State Weekly Football Press Conference
October 27, 2015

Fort Hays State head football coach Chris Brown along with select players met with members of the media on Tuesday. The 5-3 Tigers will be trying to bounce back from their loss at No. 2 Northwest Missouri State when they host winless Nebraska-Kearney Satudray at Lewis Field. Kickoff is at 2:37 p.m. for the MIAA TV Network Game of the Week.

Head coach Chris Brown

Bandit back Daniel Lindsey

Running back Derek Kendall-Campbell

Center Colby Hamel

FHSU Athletics

ALVA, Okla. – Fort Hays State won both of its matches in a triangular at Northwestern Oklahoma State on Tuesday. The Tigers defeated the host Northwestern Oklahoma State 3-0 in their first match of the day, then survived a five-set match with Oklahoma-Panhandle State, 3-2. The Tigers moved to 16-11 overall on the season.

Fort Hays State 3, Northwestern Oklahoma State 0
After the Tigers hit .371 in a conference match with Lindenwood this past Saturday, they followed it with another great offensive effort against Northwestern Oklahoma State in non-conference play. The Tigers hit .360 as a team against the Rangers, cruising to a straight-set win.

The Tigers hit .469 in the first set as they put down 19 kills. After struggling a bit to a .163 hitting percentage and just 14 kills in the second set, FHSU caught fire again in the third and hit .487 with 20 kills. Meanwhile, the Tigers limited the Rangers to a .179 hitting percentage overall.

Crystal Whitten put down a team-best 13 kills and hit .400, while Megan Anderson added 11 kills and hit .625. Mallory Flagor also reached double digits in kills with 10. Sydney Dixon and Rebekah Spainhour each recorded eight kills. Hannah Wagy notched 43 assists and Kailey Klibbe had a team-high 17 digs.

Ashanti Banks led NWOSU (8-14) with eight kills, Kaydee Yukawa had 13 assists, and Carley Geer had 16 digs.

Fort Hays State 3, Oklahoma-Panhandle State 2
Only six days after cruising to a straight-set win in Goodwell, the Tigers found themselves in a match with a struggling Oklahoma-Panhandle State team with just one win on the season. The Tigers were able to escape in five sets, moving to 16-11 overall, while OPSU dropped to 1-25.

The first set looked very similar to the week prior as the Tigers blitzed the Aggies by a score of 25-12. However, the Aggies retaliated with a 28-26 win in the second set to square the match. The Tigers had two set points but could not convert as OPSU rallied for the final three points of the set.

The Tigers took command once again in the third and coasted to a 25-18 win, but then let a five-point lead slip away in the fourth. Up 14-11, the Tigers allowed OPSU to go on an 8-0 run with four straight points in the run coming on service aces by OPSU’s Celci Bakos. OPSU nearly blew several set point opportunities as FHSU rallied for four straight points to make it 24-23, but FHSU committed an error to close the fourth set.

The fifth set was closely contested up to a 9-8 lead by FHSU, but FHSU took six of the final seven points in the set to escape with the win.

Rebekah Spainhour put down a team-best 19 kills and hit .630 in the match with just two errors. Crystal Whitten had 14 kills and Mallry Flagor added 13, while hitting .417. Megan Anderson and Sydney Dixon each had seven kills. Hannah Wagy produced 53 assists, while Kailey Klibbe had a team-high 14 digs.

Fort Hays State heads back on the road this weekend in conference play at Missouri Southern and Southwest Baptist.

FHSU Sports Information
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State men’s soccer moved up to No. 20 in the latest NSCAA Division II Poll, released on Tuesday (Oct. 27). The Tigers moved up four spots in the rankings after holding the No. 24 ranking for two consecutive weeks.

The Tigers moved up thanks to a pair of non-conference wins over Oklahoma Baptist and West Texas A&M. Upper Iowa joins FHSU as the two representatives from the MIAA in the top 25 as they nudge back in this week at No. 25. Fort Hays State sits at 10-3-1 overall, while Upper Iowa is 11-3-1 overall. Northeastern State was No. 15 in last week’s poll, but fell out after losses to Upper Iowa and Lindenwood.

Fort Hays State goes on the road this week for a pair of conference matches at Southwest Baptist and Northeastern State.

Below is the NSCAA Division II Poll for October 27, 2015.

Rank School Prev. W-L-T
1 Pfeiffer University 1 15-0-0
2 Midwestern State University 3 11-0-1
3 University Of Charleston 5 14-1-0
4 Southern New Hampshire University 2 13-1-0
5 California State University-Dominguez Hills 6 12-1-2
6 Palm Beach Atlantic University 4 13-1-1
7 Rockhurst University 12 12-1-2
8 Colorado School Of Mines 7 13-0-3
9 Seattle Pacific University 9 11-1-3
10 LIU Post 10 11-1-2
11 Saginaw Valley State University 18 14-2-0
12 Lee University 11 11-2-1
13 Lander University RV 11-2-0
14 St. Edward’s University 16 11-2-2
15 Millersville University 14 12-2-1
16 Fresno Pacific University RV 11-2-2
17 Northwood University (Mich.) 8 13-1-1
18 Merrimack College RV 10-2-2
19 Wingate University 19 12-2-2
20 Fort Hays State University 24 10-3-1
21 Carson-Newman University 13 12-2-1
22 Barry University RV 8-3-2
23 Urbana University 20 11-2-2
24 Fort Lewis College 25 11-3-2
25 Upper Iowa University NR 11-3-1

Also receiving votes: Cal Poly Pomona (15), Notre Dame College (11), Saint Leo University (7), Young Harris College (6), Bloomsburg University (2), California State University Stanislaus (1), Northeastern State University (1).