EMPORIA, Kan. – Aaron Nicholson scored a career-high 24 points and hit seven of Fort Hays State’s 17 three-pointers as the Tigers rally from 15 down in the second half to beat Emporia State 82-71 Wednesday night at White Auditorium.

The Hornets (7-8, 2-4 MIAA) scored on their first possession of the second half to go up 15 but FHSU (12-4, 6-1 MIAA) responded with a 26-6 run to go up five. They pushed the lead to 12 with a little over eight minutes then hit some big threes down the stretch after the Hornets closed the gap to four.

Mark Johnson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

After shooting 37-percent in the first half, the Tigers hit 70-percent of their shots in the second half and finished 56-percent for the game including 17-of-29 from beyond the arc.

Nicholson hit seven threes and Jared Vitztum added six. The two combine to go 13-for-16 from beyond the arc.

Brady Werth scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half as the Tigers win their seventh straight at White Auditorium.

EMPORIA, Kan. – No. 3 Fort Hays State rallied from a 12-point second half deficit to take a late two-point lead but Addie Lackey hit a 3-pointer with 16 seconds to play to lift Emporia State to a 54-51 win over the Tigers Wednesday night at White Auditorium. Its’s the first loss of the season for FHSU (15-1, 6-1 MIAA) after opening the season with a school record 15 straight wins.

The Hornets (12-4, 3-3 MIAA) scored the first 12 points of the third quarter to take a 12-point lead and led by nine after three quarters.

The Tigers rallied with a 17-4 run and took a 51-49 lead on a Taylor Rolf three with 1:51 to play but the Hornets scored the final five points

Tony Hobson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

The Tigers hit their first two 3-pointers and raced out to an early 9-0 lead but would miss 16 of their next 17 from long range before hitting three of five from long range in the fourth quarter.

FHSU shot 30-percent from the floor and went 6-for-24 from beyond the arc.

Taylor Rolfs led the Tigers with 13 points, 11 of them in the fourth quarter. Kacey Kennett and Lanie Page both added 10.

Tyra Jones led ESU with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Emily Miller added 10.

For the second time in program history, the Fort Hays State women’s basketball team is ranked first in the country according to the latest D2SIDA Media Poll, released Tuesday (Jan. 15). The Tigers also slid up one spot in the WBCA Division II Coaches Poll, climbing to third in the coaches rankings.

Fort Hays State was listed atop nine ballots in the media poll and two in the coaches poll. The Tigers were one of two programs to receive first-place votes in the coaches poll alongside top-ranked Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

The Tigers were previously ranked first in the country in the media poll on December 15, 2015 season after a 9-0 start to the 2015-16 season, including a victory over top-ranked Emporia State. FHSU also spent two weeks atop the coaches poll during the same span.

The Black and Gold are ranked in the top three nationally in the coaches poll for the first time since January 19, 2016. This is the 15th weekly coaches poll in which the Tigers have been ranked in the top five in the nation. FHSU has spent two weeks ranked No. 1 in the country, one week at No. 2, five weeks at No. 3, three weeks at No. 4 and four weeks at No. 5. The Tigers are 7-1 all-time while ranked third in the coaches poll.

Tony Hobson’s squad is the lone MIAA program recognized in the latest media poll, while No. 24 Lindenwood is the only other conference school ranked according to the coaches association.

The Tigers will take their undefeated record on the road again this week, with trips to Emporia, Kan. and Topeka, Kan. on the horizon. FHSU opens the road trip against Emporia State Wednesday (Jan. 16) at 5:30 p.m. inside White Auditorium.

Below are the complete national polls for January 15, 2019.

WBCA Division II Coaches Poll – Week 8						D2SIDA National Media Poll – Week 8
Rk.	Team (1st)	Rcd.	Pts.	Prev.		Rk.	Team (1st)	Rcd.	Pts.	Prev.
1	Indiana (Pa.) (22)	13-0	596	1		1	Fort Hays State (9)	15-0	388	2
2	Drury	15-0	572	3		2	Northwest Nazarene	14-0	374	3
3	Fort Hays State (2)	15-0	551	4		3	Drury (2)	15-0	354	6
4	Northwest Nazarene	14-0	525	5		4	IUP (1)	13-0	353	5
5	UC San Diego	14-0	490	6		T5	Jefferson	17-0	331	7
6	Ashland	14-1	452	7		T5	West Texas A&M (4)	13-1	331	1
7	Union (Tenn.)	15-1	428	8		7	UC San Diego	14-0	306	8
8	West Texas A&M	13-1	409	2		8	Florida Southern	14-1	294	9
9	Grand Valley State	15-1	407	9		9	Union	15-1	251	10
10	Thomas Jefferson Univ.	17-0	384	12		10	Lewis	13-2	246	4
11	University of the Sciences	14-1	373	11		11	USciences	14-1	244	11
12	Alaska Anchorage	13-1	329	14		12	California	13-1	213	13
12	Virginia Union	14-1	329	12		13	Anderson (S.C.)	14-2	204	14
14	Florida Southern	14-1	272	15		14	Grand Valley	15-1	201	12
15	California (Pa.)	13-1	250	16		15	Alaska Anchorage	13-1	177	15
16	Bentley	14-2	236	10		16	Southwestern Okla.	13-1	171	18
17	Southwestern Oklahoma St.	13-1	214	20		17	Virginia Union	13-1	123	19
18	Lewis	13-2	202	17		18	Ashland	15-1	114	20
19	Angelo State	10-2	119	18		19	Colorado Mesa	12-1	111	RV
20	Charleston (W.V.)	13-1	118	25		20	North Georgia	10-2	101	21
21	Anderson (S.C.)	14-2	114	24		21	Bentley	14-2	93	17
22	North Georgia	9-2	82	23		22	MSU Moorehead	14-2	73	23
23	Colorado Mesa	12-1	80	NR		23	Lee	13-3	55	24
24	Lindenwood	11-1	48	NR		24	Angelo State	10-2	37	16
25	Truman State	14-2	33	NR		25	Newberry	11-2	14	25

Cleary won three NAIA national titles at Martin Methodist College

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State University Athletic Director Curtis Hammeke announced on Tuesday the hiring of Gerry Cleary as the new head men’s soccer coach at FHSU. Cleary becomes the second head coach in program history, taking over a program that claimed four of the last five NCAA Central Regional titles and made its first national semifinal appearance in 2018.

“I am excited, grateful and humble to have the opportunity to take the reins of such a great program at such a great school,” said Cleary. “I look forward to building on to such a successful team.”

Cleary has three NAIA national championships to his credit as a head coach, all at Martin Methodist College. He guided the Martin Methodist women’s program to national championships in 2005 and 2007. After coaching the women’s program at Martin Methodist for eight seasons, he took over the men’s program in 2011. Following a combined 21-13-1 in his first two seasons coaching the men’s program, Cleary guided the RedHawks to the national championship in 2013 with a record of 19-2-2. Cleary became the first coach ever in collegiate soccer to win national championships with both a women’s and men’s program at the same school.

As head coach of the women’s program at Martin Methodist, Cleary compiled a record of 137-27-11 (.814) over his eight seasons guiding the program. His teams won seven consecutive conference regular season and tournament titles from 2004 to 2010. As head coach of the men’s program for three seasons (2011-2013), Cleary compiled a record of 40-15-3 (.716) and guided the team to the Southern States Athletic Conference title in 2013. Overall, in 11 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Cleary has a record of 177-42-14 (.790) with 15 conference championships (regular season and tournament combined).

Cleary earned NAIA National Coach of the Year honors three times, twice for women’s soccer (2005 and 2007) and once for men’s soccer (2013). He also earned NSCAA NAIA National Coach of the Year twice, NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year twice, and NAIA Region XI Coach of the Year twice. He was the TransSouth Athletic Conference Coach of the Year seven times in his tenure as the women’s coach at Martin Methodist.

Following his third national championship season at Martin Methodist, Cleary moved on to serve as an assistant coach for four years at the NCAA Division I level at California State University-Bakersfield, where he assisted Richie Grant. During his time in Bakersfield, he also served as Director of Coaching for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Club Central California Aztecs.

“Coach Cleary is highly respected among his soccer coaching peers and brings a great deal of experience and expertise to our men’s soccer program,” FHSU Athletic Director Curtis Hammeke said. “We’re excited about his leadership of our student-athletes moving forward.”

Cleary played for Richie Grant at Lambuth University in Jackson, Tennessee from 1995-98, where he was a three-time All-America and four-time All Mid-South Conference selection. Cleary twice earned Mid-South Conference Player of the Year honors and helped his university to three conference championships.

Cleary received his bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education from Lambuth University in 1999. He then earned a master’s degree in Educational, Instructional, and Curriculum Supervision from Christian Brothers University in 2002, where he also served as an assistant coach for both the men’s and women’s soccer programs. Working under head coach Gareth O’Sullivan at Christian Brothers, they won eight Gulf South Conference Championships with both programs combined, finishing with a Division II Women’s National Championship in 2002.

Cleary has also coached Rocket City United in the National Premier Soccer League, located in Huntsville, Alabama. Cleary’s coaching tips have been published multiple times in World Soccer Magazine and World Class Coaching – the world’s leading resource magazine for soccer coaches.

Legette Leads Tigers To Two Home Wins

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The MIAA announced its women’s basketball athlete of the week award. Fort Hays State’s Tatyana Legette was tabbed with this week’s award. It is the second time this season she has received the conference’s weekly honor.

Legette helped the Tigers defend their home court with a pair of victories last week after averaging 17.5 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. She scored 17 points alongside seven rebounds and four blocks in a win over Northeastern State. Legette tallied 18 points, seven rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks in a victory against Central Oklahoma on Saturday, January 12.

Courtesy MIAA

Ten Tigers place, two claim individual titles

HAYS, Kan. – The No. 12 ranked Fort Hays State wrestling team captured their fifth Kansas Cup title in six years inside Gross Memorial Coliseum on Sunday (Jan. 13). The Tigers won the event with 137 team points. No. 4 ranked Efe Osaghae claimed his second individual title of the season in the 165-pound weight class. Sophomore A.J. Cooper (285 pounds) captured his first individual title this year.

Broderick Green (125 pounds), Ryne Cokeley (149 pounds), No. 9 ranked Marty Verhaeghe (174 pounds), Micquille Robinson (184 pounds) and Jordan Davis (197 pounds) all earned runner-up finishes. Reese Cokeley (141 pounds) and Jonathan Ball (157 pounds) claim third-place finishes and Conrad Cole (133 pounds) finishes in fourth-place.

Osaghae went 2-0 on the day with a 9-3 decision over Noah Perkins of Newman in the semifinals and a narrow 3-2 decision over Nick Lucas of Pratt CC to claim the individual title. Cooper topped off a 2-0 day with his first title this season and going 2-0 in the tournament. Cooper earned a fall over Lexington Plummer of Kansas Wesleyan in the semifinals before using a 9-2 major decision over Thor Balavage of Newman in the title match.

Green defeated Brayan Balderrama (Pratt CC) by fall in the first round before pinning Logan McDowell of Bethany in the semifinals. Green dropped the title match to Emmanuel Brown (Baker) by a 7-3 decision. Ryne Cokeley went 1-1 in the tournament with a fall over Cody Wuthnow (Cloud County CC) in the semifinals before falling to Kameron Frame (Newman) by a 9-6 decision in the title match.

Verhaeghe finished 1-1 on the day with a pin in the semifinals over Kobryn Mann (Cloud County CC) and dropping the title match to Lucas Lovvorn (Baker) by a 10-2 major decision. Robinson finished 2-1 in the tournament with a 9-7 sudden victory over Joshua Wilson (Bethany) in the first round. Robinson then defeated Matthew Cruickshank (Cloud County CC) with a 15-3 major decision, before falling to Jacob Smith (Baker) in a 3-2 decision in the title bout.

Davis picked up two wins on his way to the runner-up finish after picking up a major decision (10-2) over Sean Jackson (Colby CC) and a 6-5 decision over Chris Henderson (Pratt CC) in the semifinals. Davis dropped the title bout to David Dow (Baker) by major decision (17-3). Reese Cokeley saw his first action on the mat as a Tiger with a solid third-place finish. Cokeley went 1-1 on the day, including a 10-1 major decision over Caysen Smith (Bethany) in the consolation championship.

Jonathan Ball also earned a third-place finish after earning a pin in the first round over Luke Culbertson (Pratt CC) and earning another fall over Isaiah Frederick (Kansas Wesleyan) in the consolation semifinals. Ball defeated Victor Monarrez (Bethany) with a 10-0 major decision. Conrad Cole picked up two wins on the day with a fall over Brady Lowell (Cloud County CC) and a 4-2 decision over Joshua Crager (Kansas Wesleyan).

Fort Hays State won the team title with 137 team points. Baker finished second with 125 points, while Newman (121 points) earned a third place finish.

The Tigers are back in action Thursday (Jan. 17) when they host Colorado School of Mines for a non-conference dual. The Tigers and Orediggers will battle it out inside Gross Memorial Coliseum, beginning at 7 p.m.

HAYS, Kan. – Marcus Cooper scored 22 points, Jared Vitztum added his first career double-double and Fort Hays State used their best shooting game of the season to beat Central Oklahoma 90-84 Saturday afternoon at Gross Coliseum.

Vitztum, hit five of the Tigers 13 threes and scored 20 points along with 12 rebounds, both career highs. Brady Werth added 12 points and nine boards for the Tigers (11-4, 5-2 MIAA) who shot 60.4-percent and picked up third straight win and ninth of their last 10 games.

The Tigers recorded assists on 21 of their 32 baskets led by a career-high 12 from Kyler Kinnamon who moves into fourth in FHSU history with 379.

Mark Johnson Postgame Interview

Jared Vitztum Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

The Tigers used a 14-5 run to build a nine-point lead with 6:54 to play in the first half. UCO (8-7, 1-5 MIAA) responded with a 14-5 run of their own to close out the half and lead 40-38 at halftime.

Vitztum hit a three which was followed by a Werth steal which led to an Aaron Nicholson layup put the Tigers up nine with 15:19 to play and would lead by 10 with a little over 13 minutes to play.

UCO rallied and tied the game 72-72 with 5:54 to play but a 10-0 run by the Tigers which included four points each from Cooper and Payton Stephens over the next two minutes and 19 seconds pushed the lead back to 10.

Loyola-Chicago transfer Adarius Avery scored 26 and pulled down 12 rebounds and Ashford Golden added 23 points to lead the Bronchos.

 

HAYS, Kan. – Tatyana Legette scored a game-high 18 points and the fourth-ranked Fort Hays State women used their best shooting game of the season to beat Central Oklahoma 81-61 Saturday afternoon at Gross Coliseum.

Legette pulled down a game-high seven rebounds, had six assists, two blocked shots and three steals as the Tigers improve to 15-0 and 5-0 in the MIAA. Kacey Kennett added 14 points, Lanie Page 13, Whitney Randall 12 and Taylor Rolfs 11.

Tony Hobson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

FHSU, who shot 52-percent from the floor, closed the first quarter on a 14-2 run to build a 14-point lead at the quarter break. It was part of a bigger 20-4 run that saw push their lead to 19 two minutes in to the second quarter.

UCO (11-5, 2-4 MIAA), who lost their third straight and fourth in their last five games, responded after a timeout and outscored the Tigers 16-6 to pull within six and trailed 37-28 at halftime.

The Tigers put the game away with a decisive 21-5 run over the third and fourth quarters and led by as many as 25 early in the fourth.

The Tigers are back on the road Wednesday at Emporia State then play at Washburn the following Saturday.

HAYS, Kan. – Marcus Cooper scored a game-high 22 points including the final eight for Fort Hays State as the Tigers rallied for a 69-65 comeback win over Northeastern State Thursday night at Gross Coliseum. The Tigers remain unbeaten at home and improve to 10-4 overall and 4-1 in the MIAA.

Cooper’s 3-pointer with 51 seconds to play tied the game at 64. He then stole a RiverHawk pass which set up a dunk to put the Tigers up 66-64 with 27 seconds left.

After NSU hit one of two free throws to pull within one with 18 seconds left, Cooper hit three straight free throws to seal the win.

Along with his 22 points, Cooper led the Tigers with nine rebounds and had five steals.

Mark Johnson Postgame Interview

Marcus Cooper Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

Devin Davis came off the bench to score 14 and Brady Werth added 13 points along with four blocked shots.

In a game that saw 12 ties and 11 lead changes, Northeastern State (6-8, 0-5 MIAA) used an early 10-0 run to build an eight point lead five minutes into the game. The Tigers responded with a 13-4 run to go up one. Neither team would lead by more than five the rest of the way.

The RiverHawks shot 55-percent in the first half but were held to 41-percent in the second half. The Tigers were held to 39-percent shooting in the second half and 41-percent for the game.

HAYS, Kan. – Tatyana Legette and Whitney Randall both scored 17 points and the fourth-ranked Fort Hays State women overcame a slow start to blow past Northeastern State 88-50 Thursday at Gross Coliseum.

The Tigers (14-0, 5-0 MIAA) trailed early by five but used a 21-4 keyed by 12 Whitney Randall points to take the lead back for good. They went on a 33-3 run over the third and fourth quarters to blow the game open and led by as many at 45 in the second half.

Tony Hobson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

Kacey Kennett added 15 points and Taylor Rolfs hit four threes and scored 14 points while grabbing five rebounds along with four assists as the Tigers bench scored 42 points.

FHSU shot 50-percent from the floor and hit 10-of-22 threes while dishing out 18 assists with only eight turnovers.

After knocking off a ranked team on the road last week, the Fort Hays State women’s basketball team continued its climb in Tuesday’s release of the national rankings (Jan. 8). The Tigers are now ranked fourth in the WBCA Division II Coaches Poll while they sit second in the D2SIDA Media Poll. Fort Hays State was listed atop four total ballots, picking up three first-place votes in the media rankings while garnering one first-place selection in the coaches poll.

The Tigers are one of seven remaining undefeated programs in Division II, all of which are ranked in the top 12 in the coaches poll. FHSU is the only MIAA program represented in the media poll and is one of two conference schools listed in the latest coaches poll alongside No. 19 Central Missouri.

This is the 14th weekly coaches poll in which the Tigers have been ranked in the top five in the nation. FHSU has spent two weeks ranked No. 1 in the country, one week at No. 2, four weeks at No. 3, three weeks at No. 4 and four weeks at No. 5. The Tigers were last ranked fourth in the coaches poll over two consecutive weeks late in the 2014-15 season (2/24/15-3/3/15).

The Tigers are 4-1 while ranked No. 4 in the nation and 64-22 all-time while ranked, including a 60-21 mark under head coach Tony Hobson.

Below are the complete national polls for January 8, 2019.

 

WBCA Coaches Poll – Week 7 (1/8/19)						D2SIDA Media Poll – Week 7 (1/8/19)
Rank	Team (1st)	W-L	Pts.	Prev.		Rank	Team (1st)	W-L	Pts.	Prev.
1	Indiana (Pa.) (20)	11-0	566	2		1	West Texas A&M (11)	12-0	387	2
2	West Texas A&M (1)	12-0	546	3		2	Fort Hays State (3)	13-0	381	3
3	Drury (1)	13-0	530	4		3	Northwest Nazarene (1)	12-0	368	4
4	Fort Hays State (1)	13-0	498	5		4	Lewis	11-1	343	5
5	Northwest Nazarene	12-0	478	6		5	IUP (1)	11-0	336	6
6	UC San Diego	13-0	422	9		6	Drury	13-0	299	8
7	Ashland	13-1	418	8		7	Jefferson	14-0	295	16
8	Union (Tenn.)	13-1	416	1		8	UC San Diego	12-0	293	9
9	Grand Valley State	13-1	386	10		9	Florida Southern	12-1	279	15
10	Bentley	13-1	331	11		10	Union	13-1	237	1
11	University of the Sciences	12-1	327	7		11	USciences	12-1	221	7
12	Thomas Jefferson Univ.	14-0	312	18		12	Grand Valley	13-1	209	14
12	Virginia Union	11-1	312	13		13	California	11-1	190	11
14	Alaska Anchorage	11-1	291	14		14	Anderson (S.C.)	12-2	185	22
15	Florida Southern	12-1	247	17		15	Alaska Anchorage	11-1	184	17
16	California (Pa.)	11-1	207	12		16	Angelo State	9-1	153	19
17	Lewis	11-1	201	20		17	Bentley	13-1	152	12
18	Angelo State	9-1	178	21		18	Southwestern Okla.	11-1	151	21
19	Central Missouri	9-3	144	15		19	Virginia Union	10-1	125	18
20	Southwestern Oklahoma St.	11-1	103	NR		20	Ashland	13-1	106	20
21	Saint Mary’s (Texas)	10-2	97	25		21	North Georgia	8-2	79	10
22	Black Hills State	9-2	72	19		22	St. Mary’s (Texas)	10-2	64	24
23	North Georgia	8-2	52	16		23	MSU Moorehead	12-2	42	NR
24	Anderson (S.C.)	12-2	51	NR		24	Lee	11-3	37	NR
25	Charleston (W.V.)	11-1	49	NR		25	Newberry	10-1	27	RV