FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State’s Kate Lehman was named the Most Outstanding Player and a First Team selection to headline the 2014-15 Daktronics/Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-Region Team, announced Thursday (March 13) by the organization.

Lehman was also the MIAA Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year and has been one of the top players in the nation this season.  Sporting a double-double average of 19.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game this season, the senior has scored in double figures 28 times this season and has recorded 18 double doubles, adding to her career total of 55.  She has averaged over 10 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks the previous two seasons, and is the team’s leading scorer in 23 games and the leading rebounder in 27 games, reaching the 20-point margin in 13 contests.  She also has one triple double this season and three in her career.

The Newton, Kan., native is the only player in NCAA Division II history to reach 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 blocks for a career, ranks second all-time in NCAA Division II career blocks (506) and fifth all-time in career blocks among any division in NCAA Women’s Basketball history.  Lehman was a First Team All-Region selection in 2013-14 and a Second Team pick in 2012-13.

The Tigers, 28-3 overall, secured the MIAA Regular Season Championship by going 18-1 in conference play this year and reached the MIAA Tournament Final last week against Emporia State.  FHSU held the No. 1 ranking in the Central Region Rankings all throughout the three releases leading up to the selection show, and was picked to host NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament Central Regional this weekend.  The Tigers are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2004-05, and second overall since becoming members of Division II in 1991-91.

Lehman will now advance to the All-American ballot with the teams announced later in the month.  The team is sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., and is voted on by the NCAA Division II members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

The complete Daktronics/Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-Region Team is below…

First Team
Name School Yr. Hometown
Kate Lehman, Fort Hays State (Sr., Newton, Kan.)
Shaunteva Ashley, Augustana (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.)
Lizzy Jeronimus, Pittsburg State (Sr., Lenexa, Kan.)
Arielle Saunders, Harding (Sr., Valley Springs, Ark.)
Fatima Adams, Arkansas Tech (Jr., Bryan, Texas)

Second Team
Rachel Krogman, Northern State (Sr., Elkton, S.D.)
Jordan Spencer, Wayne State (Sr., Omaha, Neb.)
Aminata Fall, Southern Nazarene (Sr., Dakar, Senegal)
Aungelique Sledge, Henderson State (Gr., West Helena, Ark.)
Anika Whiting, Concordia-St .Paul (Sr., Ashland, Wisc.)

Central Region Most Outstanding Player
Kate Lehman, Fort Hays State (Sr., Newton, Kan.)

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State baseball lost in a midweek non-conference game at Newman University on Wednesday (Mar. 11) in Wichita, Kan. The Tigers fell by a score of 11-0, dropping to 3-9 overall on the season.

Steven Federau dropped to 0-2 on the season with the loss. He pitched 4.0 innings in his start, allowing four runs (two earned) on five hits with a walk and a strikeout. Chase Newman also allowed four runs (two earned) in 0.2 innings of relief, allowing three hits. Alex Cox allowed the final three runs to the Jets in 1.0 innings of relief work and Trevor Rinne recorded the final out of the sixth.

David Herrera kept the Tigers scoreless, going 4.1 innings in his start. He allowed four hits and two walks, while striking out three. Lane Ramsey and Kevin Luman combined to allow just one hit over 2.2 innings.

The game ended by run-rule in the seventh.

Kevin Czarnecki finished 2-for-3 at the plate for the Tigers, while Connor Ross, Cooper Langley and Andre Vieyra all recorded hits.

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State outhit Colorado School of Mines on Tuesday but fell short in its comeback effort, dropping a 16-12 contest at Larks Park. FHSU, which had seven doubles and three home runs as part of its 15-hit effort on the day, is now 3-8 overall this season.

Austin Unrein led the Tigers with three hits on the day, finishing 3-for-4 with a walk, two RBI, a double and a home run. Connor Ross has three hits as well, going 3-for-5. The Tigers’ team-leader in RBI was Cooper Langley  (2-for-5), who drove in four and had a double and a home run. Kevin Czanecki (two RBI), Gus Strunk  (two RBI), Nick Hammeke (two RBI) and Andre Vieyra also had doubles for the Tigers while Czarnecki also hit his first home run of the season.

On the mound, Tyler Patty started the game and threw into the fifth, giving up nine runs (six earned) on seven hits while striking out six. Will Amen threw the remainder of the fifth, allowing one run (earned) with two strikeouts and two walks, while Ty Thomas (0-1) was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs in 0.2 innings off three hits. Kyle Vogt threw the final 3.2 innings of play, giving up two more runs (both unearned) with four strikeouts.

FHSU fell behind 4-0 through the first 2.5 innings, but stormed back with six runs in the bottom of the third to take a 6-4 lead. With one out, Hammeke doubled to right before taking third on Caleb Cherryholmes’ single up the middle. Strunk followed with a double to right center to score two, coming home himself on Unrein’s home run to right in the next at-bat. Czarnecki and Langley continued the rally with back-to-back doubles to score Czarnecki, and after Connor Ross reached on a single, both runners moved up on an error – which allowed Langley to score.

After CSM struck with three runs of its own in the top of the fourth, FHSU with another three, coming on Langley’s two-out, three-run blast. After Unrein doubled and Czarnecki walked, Langley took a 1-0 pitch over the center field wall for his third home run of the season, knotting the game at 9-all.

From there, however, the Tigers’ bats were held quiet as the Orediggers built up a 16-9 lead over the next 3.5 innings. In the bottom of the eighth, FHSU scored three, but it was too late for the Tigers as CSM held on for the win. Unrein led off the eighth with a walk, scoring on Czarnecki’s home run to left in the next at-bat. With one out, Ross doubled to left and took third on a Casey Sedbrook groundout. During Vieyra’s at-bat, Ross came home on a wild pitch to close out the Tigers’ scoring.

For Colorado Mines, Clark Martin (1-0) earned the win after throwing a scoreless fifth inning and Connor Lambert was credited with the save, tossing the final four innings. Lambert and Shane Johnson each had four RBI for the Orediggers, who hit a combined five home runs in the game.

Fort Hays State heads to Wichita, Kan., on Wednesday for another midweek game, taking on Newman at 3 p.m.

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State’s Trey Herman shot a two-round total of 146 (2-over par) at the Dave Falconer Classic, hosted by Arkansas Tech University at Chamberlyne Country Club in Danville, Ark. He helped the Tigers to a 17th-place finish in their first event of the spring.

Herman shot an even-par 72 in the first round before carding a 2-over par 74 in the second round. His score was five strokes back of winner Mauricio Lira from Henderson State, who won the tournament with an overall total of 141 (3-under par). Herman was just a stroke back of a five-way tie for seventh at 1-over par.

Dylan Wonnacott and Grant Storey  each carded two-round totals of 158 to tie for 77th. Wonnacott shot rounds of 85 and 73, while Storey shot 80 and 78. Kade Megaffin had rounds of 83 and 76 for a total of 159, tying for 83rd, and Billy Frey had rounds of 87 and 90 for a total of 177, tying for 109th

The Tigers shot a two-round total of 621 as a team. Washburn won the tournament by seven strokes over Southwestern Oklahoma State, with a total of 584.

The Tigers return to action in two weeks at the Broncho Invitational, hosted by Central Oklahoma, in Edmond, Okla., March 23-24.

The Fort Hays State Lady Tigers drop two spots to No. 6 in the latest USA Today/WBCA Division II rankings. Emporia State, who beat FHSU 49-46 in the MIAA tournament title game Sunday, jumps up one to No. 9 while Pittsburg State, who lost to the Lady Hornets in the semifinals, falls three spots to No. 16. Wayne State, who won the NSIC regular season title but lost in the finals of their conference tournament, drops two to No. 19. They are the top-four seeds in the NCAA II Central Regional which begins Friday at Gross Coliseum.

The rest of the regional field, Northern State, Arkansas Tech, Harding and Minnesota State, are all receiving votes.

Rank	Institution – First Place Votes	Previous Rank	Record	Total Points
1.	Alaska – Anchorage – 26	1	29-1	719
2.	Limestone College (S.C.) – 1	3	30-1	673
3.	Columbus State (Ga.)	5	30-1	629
4.	Lewis (Ill.)	2	28-2	594
5	West Texas A&M	6	27-2	585
6.	Fort Hays State (Kan.)	4	28-3	563
7.	Drury (Mo.)	8	26-3	539
8.	Michigan Tech	9	27-2	537
9.	Emporia State (Kan.)	10	25-4	514
10.	Adelphi (N.Y.)	11	28-3	448
11.	Indiana (Pa.)	7	25-3	401
12.	Union (Tenn.)	15	26-3	357
13.	Stonehill College (Mass.)	14	22-4	345
14.	California (Pa.)	T18	26-4	322
15.	Bloomsburg (Pa.)	12	24-4	292
16.	Pittsburg State (Kan.)	13	26-6	266
17.	Cedarville (Ohio)	22	27-3	212
18.	Nova Southeastern (Fla.)	24	24-5	183
T19.	Wayne State College (Neb.)	17	27-5	176
T19.	Wayne State (Mich.)	16	22-5	176
21.	Humboldt State (Calif.)	T18	23-5	109
22.	University of District of Columbia	23	25-4	103
23.	University of New Haven (Conn.)	21	23-5	87
24.	Seattle Pacific (Wash.)	20	21-6	84
25.	Hawaii Pacific	NR	25-4	62

Dropped Out: Rollins College (Fla.).

Others receiving votes: University of Southern Indiana 57; California State University – Dominguez Hills 42; Colorado Mesa University 42; Northern State University (S.D.) 41; Arkansas Tech University 38; Rollins College (Fla.) 33; Midwestern State University (Texas) 31; California Baptist University 18; Harding University (Ark.) 17; Kentucky State University 17; West Chester University of Pennsylvania 16; Northern Michigan University 15; Ashland University (Ohio) 14; Minnesota State University – Mankato 13; Lander University (S.C.) 9; Florida Institute of Technology 8; Benedict College (S.C.) 7; University of Central Missouri 6; University of Charleston (W.Va.) 6; California State Polytechnic University – Pomona 5; University of West Florida 4; West Liberty University (W.Va.) 4; Missouri Southern State University 3; Grand Valley State University (Mich.) 2; Western Washington University 1.

Game times and ticket prices have been announced for the NCAA II Women’s Basketball Central Regional Tournament hosted by Fort Hays State. The Lady Tigers will play Minnesota State at 5pm Friday March 13 at Gross Coliseum.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and are all general admission. There will be at least 100 “change out” tickets behind each team’s bench every game.

The Lady Tigers are 28-3 and are making their second appearance in the NCAA Tournament and their first since 2005. They are the MIAA regular season champs and lost 49-46 to Emporia State in the MIAA Tournament Championship on Sunday in Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.

NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Central Regional
Hosted by Fort Hays State
Hays, Kan.

First Round – Friday, March 13
Game 1: #3 Pittsburg State vs. #6 Northern State, 12pm
Game 2: #2 Emporia State vs. #7 Arkansas Tech, 2:30pm
Game 3: #1 Fort Hays State vs. #8 Minnesota State-Mankato, 5pm
Game 4: #4 Wayne State vs. #5 Harding, 7:30pm

Semifinals – Saturday, March 14
Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 5pm
Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7:30pm

Championship – Monday, March 16
Game 7: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 7pm

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

Kelly Moton hit a driving layup and was fouled with 31 seconds to play to give Emporia State the lead back. Moton would hit two more free throws with seven seconds left lifting No. 10 Emporia State to a 49-46 win over No. 4 Fort Hays State in the MIAA tournament finals Sunday afternoon at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City. It’s the Hornets third straight MIAA tourney title and their eighth overall as they improve to 25-4. The Lady Tigers fall to 28-3.

FHSU Postgame Press Conference

 

Game Highlights

 

The Lady Tigers trailed most of the day. The Hornets close the first half on an 11-2 run, holding FHSU to one field goal over the final 9:30. ESU pushed the lead to 11 early in the second half but Fort Hays State rallied with a 16-5 run to grab their only lead on a Niclola Kacperska 15-foot jumper with 55 seconds to play.

Both teams saw the effects of playing three games in three days. The Tigers shoot just 33-percent including 5-of-19 from 3-point range. The Lady Hornets hit just 33-percent and were 3-of-17 from beyond the arc. FHSU hit just 5-of-12 free throws and the Hornets 8-of-9.

Kacperska led the FHSU with 19 points, Kate Lehman added 13 and Jill Faxon 11. Kelly Moten led the Lady Hornets with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Kacperska and Lehman were named to the All-Tournament team.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

Kate Lehman scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds leading No. 4 Fort Hays State to a 59-53 win over Central Missouri in the MIAA tournament semifinals Saturday night at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City. FHSU (28-2) avenges three straight MIAA tournament losses to the Jennies and advance to their first MIAA tournament finals Sunday at 3:30pm. FHSU will face Emporia State who defeated Pittsburg State 67-53 in the other semifinal.

FHSU Postgame Press Conference

Game Highlights

 

The Lady Tigers led by six at the half and were up as many as seven in the second half. UCM, who’s biggest lead with three midway through the first half, rallied to tie the game 46-46 with 5:33 to play but the Lady Tigers outscore them 13-7 the rest of the way.

FHSU shot just 28-percent from the floor and were 5-of-16 from 3-point range but hit 20-of-30 free throws. UCM hit on 34-percent but were 0-for-10 from beyond the arc and 9-of-12 from the free throw line. The Lady Tigers outrebound the Jennies by four and had 24 offensive rebounds resulting in 18 points.

Lehman hit 12-of-20 free throws and blocked five shots to become the first women’s basketball player in NCAA II history to score over 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and block over 500 shots.

Chelsea Mason hit five 3-pointers and scored 17 while Nicola Kacperska added 12. Keriann Shaw grabbed 12 rebounds.

 

 

 

FHSU Sports Information

No. 4 Fort Hays State was listed as the top ranked team for the third consecutive week in the NCAA Central Region Rankings, released Wednesday (Feb. 25). The Tigers have been first in every version of the poll, released weekly leading up the NCAA Tournament Selection Show, held March 8. The top eight teams in the region advance to the NCAA Regionals, held March 13-15 at a site to be determined.

The Central Region is made up of teams from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA), the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and the Great American Conference (GAC). Automatic bids are granted to the winners of the postseason conference tournaments, with the final five seeds handed out on an at-large basis. Northern State has already locked up an automatic bid after winning the NSIC Tournament this week.

The Tigers (26-2, 18-1 MIAA) are 22-2 against NCAA Division II teams on the year – with all matchups coming against regional opponents. FHSU is one of five MIAA teams listed in the rankings, joining Emporia State (No. 2), Pittsburg State (No. 3), Central Missouri (No. 9) and Missouri Southern (No. 10). Three teams from the NSIC are listed in the poll, with Wayne State (No. 4), Northern State (No. 7) and Minnesota State-Mankato (No. 8) representing the conference. Harding (No. 5) and Arkansas Tech (No. 6) are the GAC teams listed in the rankings.

This week’s poll saw minimal changes and no new teams mentioned. Emporia State and Pittsburg State flipped the second and third overall spots, while Arkansas Tech and Northern State swapped the sixth and seventh positions.

Fort Hays State won the MIAA Regular Season Championship outright this season and is the No. 1 seed in the MIAA Tournament, which began Tuesday (March 3) at home sites. FHSU earned an automatic bye into the quarterfinals and begins tournament play this Friday (March 6) against ninth-seeded Northeastern State. Game time from Municipal Auditorium is 12 pm.

The complete NCAA Central Region Rankings for March 4 are below…

Rank School In-Region Record DII Record
1 Fort Hays State 22-2 22-2
2 Emporia State 21-4 21-4
3 Pittsburg State 23-5 25-5
4 Wayne State College 24-4 24-4
5 Harding 20-6 20-6
6 Arkansas Tech 18-4 20-5
7 Northern State 22-6 22-6
8 Minnesota State – Mankato 20-8 21-8
9 Central Missouri 17-8 19-8
10 Missouri Southern 18-6 18-6

FHSU Sports Information

After qualifying four wrestlers for the NCAA Championships last weekend, the Fort Hays State Wrestling program moved up one spot to No. 16 in the Division II Wrestling Coaches Top 20, released Wednesday (March 4) by the organization.

Individually, Jon Inman (184) and Trey Page (285) remained in the rankings while Noah Killip (141) dropped out. Inman moved up one spot to No. 7 after taking third in the NCAA West Super Regional and Trey Page jumped to fourth (from No. 5) after winning the NCAA West Super Regional. Killip and Bradley Little (157) joined the two ranked Tigers in earning berths to the NCAA Championships with Top 4 finishes in NCAA West Super Regional.

The complete Division II Wrestling Coaches Association rankings for March 4 are below…

Rank School Points Last
1 Notre Dame (Ohio) 157 4th
2 Maryville (Mo.) 155 2nd
3 Nebraska-Kearney 139 7th
4 St. Cloud State (Minn.) 136 1st
5 Mercyhurst (Pa.) 121 6th
6 Western State (Colo.) 115 8th
7 Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) 111 3rd
8 Colorado Mesa 97 10th
9 McKendree (Ill.) 91 5th
10 Lindenwood (Mo.) 90 15th
11 Lake Erie (Ohio) 81 19th
12 Ashland (Ohio) 73 NR
13 Kutztown (Pa.) 60 18th
14 North Carolina-Pembroke 44 9th
15 Augustana (S.D.) 31 12th
16 Fort Hays State (Kan.) 26 17th
T17 Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.) 24 NR
T17 Tiffin (Ohio) 24 NR
19 Minnesota State-Mankato 22 13th
20 Newberry (S.C.) 20 16th

Others receiving votes: Adams State (Colo.), Central Missouri, Central Oklahoma, Colorado State-Pueblo, Findlay (Ohio), Gannon (Pa.), San Francisco State (Calif.), Shorter (Ga.), Southwest Minnesota, Wheeling Jesuit (W.Va.), Upper Iowa.

125 Pounds
1. T.J. North, Augustana (S.D.)
2. Jerry Huff, Adams State (Colo.)
3. Willie Bohince, Mercyhurst (Pa.)
4. Da’Wayne Robertson, Minnesota State-Mankato
5. Matt Turek, Gannon (Pa.)
6. Tim Prescott, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
7. Josh Kieffer, Indianapolis (Ind.)
8. Garrett Evans, Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)

133 Pounds
1. Daniel DeShazer, Nebraska-Kearney
2. Michael Labry, Ashland (Ohio)
3. Nate Rodriguez, Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)
4. Nick Crume, Indianapolis (Ind.)
5. Sam White, Notre Dame (Ohio)
6. Jordan Gurrola, San Francisco State (Calif.)
7. Eric Hughes, Colorado State-Pueblo
8. Dakota Bauer, Maryville (Mo.)

141 Pounds
1. Daniel Ownbey, North Carolina-Pembroke
2. Maurice Miller, Notre Dame (Ohio)
3. Kyle Webb, Lindenwood (Mo.)
4. Darren Wynn, McKendree (Ill.)
5. Josh Myers, Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)
6. Preston Bowshier, Wheeling Jesuit (W.Va.)
7. Sam Hanau, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.)
8. Alphonso Vruno, Minnesota State-Mankato

149 Pounds
1. Frank Cagnina, Central Missouri
2. Keenan Hagerty, Maryville (Mo.)
3. Terrel Wilbourn, Lindenwood (Mo.)
4. Cameron Throckmorton, Shippensburg (Pa.)
5. Nick Goebel, Findlay (Ohio)
6. Destin McCauley, Nebraska-Kearney
7. Jeremy Landowski, Mercyhurst (Pa.)
8. Reis Humphrey, New Mexico Highlands

157 Pounds
1. Clint Poster, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
2. Jon Rivera, Notre Dame (Ohio)
3. James Martinez, Colorado Mesa
4. Francis Mizia, Mercyhurst (Pa.)
5. Chase White, Nebraska-Kearney
6. Sean Turner, Anderson (S.C.)
7. Derrick Weller, Lindenwood (Mo.)
8. Greg Hegarty, Maryville (Mo.)

165 Pounds
1. Chris Watson, Central Oklahoma
2. Cody Quinn, Minnesota State-Mankato
3. Gabe Fogarty, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
4. Nick Haferkamp, McKendree (Ill.)
5. Dimitri Willis, Maryville (Mo.)
6. Angelo Bortoluzzi, Mercyhurst (Pa.)
7. Juan Stimpson, North Carolina-Pembroke
8. Bo Candelaria, Kutztown (Pa.)

174 Pounds
1. Joey Davis, Notre Dame (Ohio)
2. Elliot Copeland, Western State (Colo.)
3. Zeb Wahle, Maryville (Mo.)
4. Terrence Zaleski, North Carolina-Pembroke
5. August Mizia, Mercyhurst (Pa.)
6. Jacob Begin, Southwest Minnesota
7. Payne Hatter, Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)
8. Joe Pittman, Newberry (S.C.)

184 Pounds
1. Dallas Smith, Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)
2. John Vogt, McKendree (Ill.)
3. Nick Burghardt, Maryville (Mo.)
4. Garrett Lineberger, Notre Dame (Ohio)
5. Jacob Waste, California Baptist
6. Kyle Piatt, Western State (Colo.)
7. Jon Inman, Fort Hays State (Kan.)
8. John McArdle, Lindenwood (Mo.)

197 Pounds
1. Sam Mangum, Western State (Colo.)
2. Romero Cotton, Nebraska-Kearney
3. Julian Smith, McKendree (Ill.)
4. Ryan Beltz, Maryville (Mo.)
5. Jayd Docken, Augustana (S.D.)
6. Huston Evans, Newberry (S.C.)
7. Jake Cramer, Tiffin (Ohio)
8. Evan Rosborough, Lake Erie (Ohio)

285 Pounds
1. Ziad Haddad, Kutztown (Pa.)
2. Garrett Gray, Tiffin (Ohio)
3. Austin Goergen, St. Cloud State (Minn.)
4. Trey Page, Fort Hays State (Kan.)
5. Jordan Passehl, Colorado Mesa
6. Andrew Ewers, Shorter (Ga.)
7. Cole Wilson, Southwest Minnesota
8. Logan Hopp, Upper Iowa