FHSU Athletics

The Fort Hays State tennis team edged Kansas Wesleyan on Tuesday evening in Salina, Kan., by a score of 5-4 in non-conference play. The Tigers moved to 10-8 overall with the win. Fort Hays State won two of three doubles matches and then split with KWU in singles play for the one-point win.

In doubles play, Camille Caron-Bedard adn Reinette Strydom teamed at the No. 1 position to defeat Amber Zimmerman and Heather Koester 8-4. The No. 3 team of Raven Dick adn Katie Harp defeated Taylor Noeal and Brenda Sanchez also by a score of 8-4. The No. 2 team of Jessica Johnson and Michelle Miller fell 8-6 to Cassidy Cook and Sydney Reece.

All singles matches finished in straight sets. At No. 1, Caron-Bedard defeated Zimmerman 6-1, 6-2. At No. 3, Strydom defeated Reece 6-1, 6-1 and at No. 4, Hipp defeated Sanchez 6-1, 6-0. Miller lost at the No. 2 position 6-0, 7-5 to Cook, while Johnson fell at No. 5, 6-4, 6-1 to Koester. Dick lost at No. 6 by a 6-3, 6-0 count to Noel.

The Tigers pick up another road non-conference match at Stephens College on Friday in Columbia, Mo., before taking on Lindenwood on Saturday in conference play in St. Charles, Mo.

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State women’s golf finished fifth at the Virginia McCoy Intercollegiate held by Park University in Parkville, Mo. Samantha Hobson led the way for FHSU at The Deuce at the National Golf Club, a par-70 layout, by finishing fourth individually.

Hobson, much like her performance last week at the UNK Invite, vaulted up the leaderboard with a strong second round. She shot a four-over par 76 on Tuesday after shooting 84 on Monday. The improvement saw her move from ninth to fourth in the individual standings, carding a total of 160. She was 12 strokes off the winning pace of 148, shot by Damla Bilgic of Iowa Western Community College.

Hobson finished 21 strokes ahead of  Quillen Eichhorn, the next finisher for FHSU. Eichhorn shot rounds of 90 and 91 for a total of 181 and a 22nd-place finish. Abby Schmidtberger tied for 23rd, two strokes back of Eichhorn with rounds of 92 and 91. Megan DeWerff bounced back from a first-day 96 to shoot 88 the next and finish in a tie for 26th. Hadley Tharp also competed, shooting rounds of 107 and 94 to finish in 43rd.

FHSU finished fifth as a team, shooting a total of 708. Iowa Western won the tournament with a 661, followed by Ottawa University at 684 and Truman at 687.

The Tigers return to action in two weeks at the MIAA Championships in Lawrence, Kan., at Alvamar Golf Course (April 20-21).

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State women’s soccer coach Craig Shaw announced the signings of nine student-athletes for the 2015 season.  Eight of the nine players will be incoming freshman while one junior college transfer will join the team.  Six signees hail from Colorado, while Kansas, Nebraska and Texas each have one representative.  Position breakdown of the signing class includes one goalkeeper, one outside/center back hybrid, two center backs, two midfielders and three forwards.

FHSU completed its fourth season of women’s soccer in 2014 and compiled a 13-5-2 record, just missing a berth to the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers ended the regular season with an eight-game unbeaten streak and won their MIAA Tournament first round game over Missouri Western at home.
A complete list of the team’s commitments is below…

Jessica Babyak
Freshman, Center Back
Austin, Texas
McNeil High School

Megan Kneefel
Freshman, Goalkeeper
Aurora, Colo.
Smokey Hill High School

Savannah Mclease
Freshman, Forward
Lakewood, Colo.
Jefferson County Open School

Cassi Moosburger
Freshman, Forward
Arvada, Colo.
Arvada West High School

CheyAnn Queener
Junior, Center Back
Colorado Springs, Colo.
Laramie County Community College

Taylor Rodriguez
Freshman, Midfielder
Grand Island, Neb.
Grand Island Senior High School

Jenna Schemmel
Freshman, Forward
Longmont, Colo.
Silver Creek High School

Taryn Schnell
Freshman, Outside Back/Center Back
Littleton, Colo.
Bear Creek High School

Taylor Spencer
Freshman, Midfielder
Winfield, Kan.
Winfield High School

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State men’s golf finished eighth as a team at the rain-shortened Lindenwood Invitational in St. Charles, Mo. The tournament was held at Missouri Bluffs Golf Club, a par-71 course in St. Charles.

Trey Herman led the way for FHSU by shooting a 4-over par 75 in round one and a 1-under par 70 in the second round to finish at 3-over par overall. His score of 145 tied for 10th. Dylan Wonnacott shot 2-over and 3-over (73 and 74) to finish in a tie for 14th with a total of 147. Grant Storey gave the Tigers rounds of 79 and 80 to tie for 43rd. Kade Megaffin carded 82 and 90 to finish alone in 53rd, while Micah Fabarez shot 97 and 88 to finish alone in 55th.

Herman was just six strokes back of the individual medalist, Andrew Huseman of Indian Hills Community College, who shot 3-under par overall (139). Indian Hills had three of the top four performers in the tournament and won the event with a team score of 567. Lindenwood was second at its home meet with a total of 580. FHSU shot 621 as a team.

FHSU returns to action next week (Apr. 13-14) at the Washburn Invitational, one of the MIAA sanctioned events for the season. It will be the final meet before the MIAA Championships.

FHSU Athletics

Estafania Lopez shattered the FHSU women’s javelin record on Saturday at the ESU Relays in Emporia, Kan. Lopez posted the nation’s best mark in the event so far, throwing 169’7.25″. She helped the Tigers to a fifth-place finish at the meet.

Lopez topped the school’s previous “new model” javelin record of 160’9″ set by Makayla McPhail in 2012. Teammate Madison Wolf had thrown the second-best effort in the nation last week at the Alex Francis Classic in Hays at 160’3″, but Lopez moved into the top spot nationally by over nine feet. Wolf finished third in the event on Saturday with a throw of 145’11.5″, while Megan Honas was fourth with a throw of 143’6.75″ to move up the national provisional mark list.

FHSU won three other events at the meet. Danille Berry posted a provisional qualifying mark in the high jump, winning with a height of 5’7″. That ties the seventh-best effort nationally so far. Alex Keehn won the 5,000 meters in a time of 18:49.53 to top a field of six runners. The 4×800-meter relay team won in a time of 10:18.25.

The Tigers scored 83 points as a team to finish fifth out of 14 teams. Missouri-Kansas City won the meet with 181 points, while Central Missouri was second at 124.5 points.

Keehn breaks school record in 10,000 meters
Fort Hays State’s Cory Keehn broke the FHSU 10,000-Meter Run Record and posted the third-fastest time nationally in the event at the San Francisco State Distance Carnival in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday. The majority of the track team was in action at the ESU Relays in Emporia, Kan., where the Tigers took sixth as a team.

Keehn ran a time of 29:44.68 in the event to finish second and post a solid provisional qualifying mark. He was just three seconds off the pace of unattached runner Andreas Ahwall. Keehn topped two other runners that ran sub-30:00, Blake Taneff of Ohio State and Aaron Mora of Chico State. Teammate Jonny Burnansky finished 16th in the event in 30:30.08, also obtaining a provisional mark. Michael Kinuthia was just three-tenths of a second short of getting a provisional in the 1500 meters with a time of 3:52.35.

Fort Hays State generated 57 points as a team at the ESU Relays in Emporia, Kan., finishing sixth out of 12 teams. FHSU did not have any top three finishers individually, but had one fourth-place and three fifth-place finishers. The 4×800-meter relay team finished third.

The Fort Hays State baseball team split their doubleheader with Missouri Western Saturday at Larks Park to win their first conference series of the season. After rallying for a pair of walkoff wins on Friday, the Tigers score four in the bottom of the seventh to to take game one 8-7. The Griffons score nine runs in the top of the first and go on to win game game two 9-5. FHSU is now 10-22 and 8-16 in the MIAA while the Griffons move to 19-5 and 13-11 in the conference.

The Griffons scored three runs in the top of the seventh to take a 7-4 lead in the first game but Connor Ross hit a two-out, three-run homer to tie the game. Caleb Cherryholmes followed with a solo shot on a 2-2 pitch to give teh Tigers the win.

Despite giving up three runs – one earned – in the top of the seventh, Giles Fox picks up the win in relief. Ross and Cherryholmes both had three RBIs.

The Griffons hit two home runs in the top of the first to grab a 9-0 lead in game two. The Tigers tallied single runs in the second, third, fifth, sixth and ninth innings.

Tiger starter Alex Cox lasted just 2/3 of an inning, giving up five runs on five hits and takes the loss. Justin Hersch pitched 8 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, scattering seven hits and striking out four. Connor Ross and Keven Czarnecki both had two hits and Nick Hammeke homered.

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State split with Northwest Missouri State to close out its 10-game homestand on Saturday (April 4).  The Tigers finished the weekend with a 7-1 loss in game one to NWMSU before claiming a 5-1 win in game two.

FHSU (21-16, 12-8 MIAA) hits the road to begin a 10-game stretch of games away from Tiger Stadium, beginning with a doubleheader on Friday at Emporia State.

Northwest Missouri State 7, Fort Hays State 1
Fort Hays State hung tough, but a late push by Northwest Missouri State dealt the Tigers a 7-1 loss in game one.

Paxton Duran (10-8) was tagged for the loss, giving up seven runs (five earned) over 5.1 innings pitched.  Duran struck out five and walked eight before Sarah Cochran entered to throw the final 1.2 innings.  Cochran finished with one hit allowed and two strikeouts.

Rilee Krier was a perfect 3-for-3 in the game with a stolen base, while Mackenzie Villarreal had two hits and a walk. Amanda Vaupel had the Tigers’ only RBI with a seventh inning single.

Early runs hurt the Tigers, as NWMSU loaded the bases in the first two innings and had runs come home on walks, putting the score at 2-0.

From there, both teams threatened on the offensive end, including bases loaded situations for the Tigers in the second and fourth innings, before the Bearcats tacked on five more runs in the sixth.

Down to its last chance, FHSU rallied with two outs to get on the board, but could muster just one run in the final innings.  After Tori Beltz singled to right and was replaced by Gabrielle Sandoval as a pinch runner, Samantha Villarreal singled to move Sandoval to second.  Vaupel followed with a line drive single to right center, scoring Sandoval.

Fort Hays State 5, Northwest Missouri State 1
Down early, the Tigers used a four-run fifth inning to rally past Northwest Missouri State and claim a 5-1 win for the split.

Kelsey Kimminau (9-7) threw all seven innings, giving up just one run with two strikeouts in the win.

Kylie Strand, Samantha Villarreal, Mackenzie Villarreal and Krier each had two hits for FHSU, including doubles from Strand and Villarreal.  Vaupel’s lone hit of the game was her sixth home run of the season

NWMSU again took an early 1-0 lead, using an RBI double in the second from Kendle Schieber to score Baylee Scarbrough.

FHSU tied it in the fourth behind Mackenzie Villarreal’s RBI single. Samantha Villarrreal led off the inning with a double down the right field line prior to Madision Putman replacing her as a pinch runner.  With one out, Mackenzie Villarreal drove a 3-2 pitch on the ground into left field, where it skipped past NWMSU’s Lea Crouse and allowed Putman to score.

The Tigers took the lead in the fifth, stringing together six hits for four runs in the inning.  After Erin Elmore reached on a fielder’s choice and Beltz singled to left with two outs, Samantha Villarreal came through with an RBI single up the middle, plating Elmore.  With two Tigers on base for Vaupel, the senior took the first pitch she saw over the fence in left center for three more runs, making it 5-1.

The Bearcats threated in the seventh, loading the bases thanks to three FHSU errors in the inning, but the Tigers regrouped and hung on for the win.

The Hays High girls soccer team closed out play at the McPherson Invitational with a 2-0 win over Augusta in the seventh place match Saturday afternoon. Tressa Becker scored the Indians first goal with 7:31 to play in the first half. Talyn Kleweno scored the second on an assist from Brooke Russell with 21:42 to play in the second half.

The Indians outshot Augusta 11-0 as they improve to 1-3 on the season.

Talyn Kleweno was named to the all-tournament team.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

The Fort Hays State Tigers score 27 runs on 26 hits as they pick a pair of walkoff wins over Missouri Western Friday at Larks Park. The Tigers have won three in-a-row for the first time this season and improve to 9-21 and 7-15 in yhe MIAA.

Steve Johnson Postgame Interiew

 

Game 1: Fort Hays State 10, Missouri Western 9
Austin Unrein hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game then Andre Vieyra’s sacrifice fly to right scored pinch runner Jake Lanferman. Nick Hammeke opened the inning with a single to center followed by Connor Ross’ double to straight away center. Cooper Langley also doubled in the inning.

Game Highlights

 

Giles Fox (1-2) picks up the win in relief, allowing one run on five hits, striking out four and walking none over 3 1/3 innings.

The Griffons scored three in the first to take the early lead. FHSU used two bunt singles to score five in the second. Missouri Western hit three home runs to score four in the fourth to take the lead back.

Game 2: Fort Hays State 17, Missouri Western 16
Nick Hammeke singled to center with two outs, driving in Cooper Langley with the game-winning run.

The Tigers overcame early deficits of 5-1 and 12-7 to win their third straight for the first time this season.

Game Highlights

 

Austin Unrein picks up the win in relief, allowing two runs on three hits over the final two innings. Unrein also had had two hits and drove in five.

The Tigers hit four home in the game. Andre Vieyra, Austin Unrein and Cooper Langley all hit two-run shots and Caleb Cherryholmes added a solo blast.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

Fort Hays State Softball used a seven-run burst in the early innings of game two to split its doubleheader against No. 14 Missouri Western on Friday (April 3) at Tiger Stadium.  FHSU saw its comeback efforts fall short in a 7-5 game one loss, but the offensive rally carried over into the early parts of game two for an 8-7 win.

FHSU (20-15, 11-7 MIAA) closes out a 10-game homestand on Saturday with a Noon doubleheader against Northwest Missouri State.

No. 14 Missouri Western 7, Fort Hays State 5
Fort Hays State rallied late but couldn’t complete the comeback in game one, falling to the ranked Griffons, 7-5, to start the day.  The Tigers outscored MWSU, 5-3, after the first, but an early 3-0 deficit proved too much for FHSU.

Paxton Duran (10-7) took the loss, allowing four runs on six hits in four innings pitched.  Duran struck out one and walked two before Sarah Cochran entered to throw the final three innings in shutout fashion with four strikeouts.

Amanda Vaupel had the Tigers’ only base hit (a double) but six other Tigers recorded hits in the game.  Vaupel finished 1-for-3 with two RBI and Tori Beltz was 1-for-4 with two RBI.

MWSU used a three-run home run in the top of the first to jump out to an early lead, later adding to it with one run in the top of the fourth.  From there, the lead stretched to 7-0 in the top of the sixth before the Tigers woke up to score five over the final two innings.

In the bottom of the sixth, Courtney Dobson led off the inning with a single to right before Kylie Strand reached on a fielder’s choice. With one on and one out, Erin Elmore singled to right before both Elmore and Strand moved up on a wild pitch.  From there, Samantha Villarreal singled to drive home Strand and Vaupel drove a pitch into right for a two-RBI double, cutting the lead to four (7-4)

The Tigers again struck in the seventh, but it was too late as MWSU held on for the win.  After Dobson walked and strand again reached on a fielder’s choice (though an error allowed Dobson to reach second safely), Beltz came through with a one-out single to score the two baserunners.

Fort Hays State 8, No. 14 Missouri Western 7
A 7-0 lead in the first two innings propelled the Tigers to an 8-7 win to close the doubleheader with Missouri Western.

Kelsey Kimminau (9-7) picked up the win after throwing five innings, striking out four with five runs allowed. Sarah Cochran threw an inning with two runs allowed while Savannah Price closed out the game for her first save of the season.

Vaupel was 3-for-4 in the game and was one of four Tigers to have multiple hit games.  Vaupel (three RBI) and Strand (two RBI) each had a home run and a double, Veronica Knittig (2-for-3) had a home run and Erin Elmore had two hits. Beltz had the Tigers’ other extra base hit – a double.

Strand started the game with a double, moving to third on Elmore’s ground out.  With two outs, Samantha Villarreal drew a walk and Vaupel followed by taking an 0-1 pitch on a line over the right field fence.

In the second, FHSU extended its lead with four more runs – starting with Knittig’s solo shot.  From there, Dobson walked and Strand hit a two-run blast for her sixth round-tripper of the season.  Elmore then singled as the fourth straight Tiger to reach base, and came around to score when Beltz doubed to left field.  The Tigers put runners on second and third, but couldn’t plate any more runs.

After MWSU got two back in the third and fourth, a two out single from Rilee Krier in the bottom of the fourth to score Villarreal, making it 8-2.

MWSU continued to push over the next two innings, cutting the deficit to one with three runs in the fifth and two in the sixth, but the Tigers buckled down and held on for the win, working past a leadoff walk in the seventh to keep the Griffons at bay.

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State’s Kate Lehman added one more honor to her 2014-15 accomplishments this week, being named to the Women’s Division II Bulletin All-America First Team.

The recognition is the third All-American award for Lehman this season, who was also named a First Team honoree by the Daktronics/Division II Conference Commissioners Association and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. The senior finished her career last month as a member of the Tigers’ NCAA Division II Sweet 16 squad that won 30 games for the second time in program history. Lehman is also the only Division II women’s basketball player to earn All-America First Team honors on the court and Academic All-America First Team honors in the classroom.

Joining Lehman on the First Team is Shaunteva Ashley (Augustana), Jada Blackwell (Cal Poly Pomona), Shareta Brown (Wayne State [MI]) and Chontiquah White (West Texas A&M). Brown was named the Division II Bulletin Player of the Year, and joins Lehman as a finalist for the WBCA National Player of the Year award that is announced on April 6.

The Newton, Kan., native finished the season with a near double-double average of 19.3 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Lehman finished the season with over 300 rebounds for the second consecutive season and posted 141 blocks (her second highest career total). She became the first player in NCAA Division II history to record at least 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 blocked shots in her career and finished as the top rebounder and shot blocker in FHSU history. Her 515 career blocks ranks as the highest in MIAA history, second most in NCAA Division II and fourth highest all-time at any level of NCAA (Division I, II or III) play.

Complete Division II Bulletin All-America

Below are the Record Lists that feature Lehman …

FHSU Career Records
1st all-time in Rebounds (1,109)
1st all-time in Blocks (515)
1st all-time in Free Throws Made (523)
1st all-time in Free Throw Attempts (787)
1st all-time in Double-Doubles (55)*
2nd all-time in Scoring (1,917)
2nd all-time in Field Goals Made (697)
Tied 2nd all-time in Scoring Average (15.8)
3rd all-time in Field Goal Percentage (.543)
6th all-time in Field Goal Attempts (1,283)

FHSU Season Records (Highest career total only)
1st in Free Throws Made (167 in 2014-15)
1st in Free Throws Attempts (256 in 2014-15)
1st in Rebounding Average (11.2 in 2013-14)
1st in Blocks (155 in 2013-14)
1st in Double-Doubles (20 in 2013-14)*
2nd in Rebounds (337 in 2014-15)
2nd in Scoring (655 in 2014-15)
Tied 4th in Scoring Average (19.3 in 2014-15)
4th in Field Goals Made (244 in 2014-15)
10th in Field Goal Attempts (422 in 2014-15)

FHSU Game Records (Highest career total only)
1st in Blocks (11, Kansas Wesleyan, 12/16/14)
1st in Free Throws Attempted (20, vs Central Missouri, 3/7/15)
Tied 8th in Field Goals Made (14, Missouri Southern, 1/3/15)
Tied 8th in Free Throws Made (12, last vs Central Missouri, 3/7/15)
Tied 10th in Rebounds (17, last vs Northeastern State, 2/28/14)

Unofficial MIAA Records (as of April 2, 2015)
1st all-time in Career Free-Throw Attempts (787)
1st all-time in Career Blocks (515)
1st in Single-Season Blocks (155 in 2013-14)
Tied for 1st in Single-Game Blocked Shots (11, Kansas Wesleyan, 12/16/14)

Unofficial NCAA Division II Records (as of April 2, 2015)
2nd all-time in Career Blocks (515)
Tied for 3rd all-time in Career Triple Doubles (Three)
Tied for 4th in Season Triple Doubles (Two)
Tied for 5th in Season Blocks Average (5.3 in 2013-14)
6th all-time in Career Double-Doubles (55)
7th in Single-Season Blocks (155 in 2013-14)
Tied for 17th all-time in Consecutive Double-Doubles (Nine in 2013-14)
Tied for 18th all-time in Single-Season Double-Doubles (20 in 2013-14)
Only Player in NCAA Division II history to record at least 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 500 blocked shots

* NCAA Division II Era Only

Gregg Marshall will remain Wichita State’s head basketball coach. Sources say he’s verbally agreed to a new seven-year contract that will pay him nearly $3-million per season.

Marshall interviewed with Alabama on Monday but their athletic director Bill Battle released a statement Wednesday night saying they are moving on with their search.

Marshall has 204 wins in his eight years at Wichita State and has led the Shockers to four straight NCAA tournament appearances including the 2013 Final Four.