HAYS, Kan. – Brady Werth scored 23 points and hit four 3-pointers all in the closing seconds of regulation and in overtime to lead Fort Hays State to a 101-96 double-overtime victory over Bethel College Monday at Gross Coliseum.

Werth’s fourth three of the game came with 3:13 to play in the second overtime and tied the game 91-91. Kyler Kinnamon then drove in for a layup following a Freddy Bitondo blocked shot to give the Tigers) the lead for good at 93-91. Kinnamon then hit four free throws in the final 50 seconds to seal the win.

Mark Johnson Postgame Interview

Aaron Nicholson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

The Tigers (7-3) trailed by four with 22 seconds to play in regulation but Werth hit a three with 16 seconds left closed the gap to one. After the Threshers hit one of two free throws, Marcus Cooper scored on a layup to tie the game 70-70 with six seconds left.

Bethel’s Danen Kistner missed a three at the horn to send the game to overtime.

The Threshers (7-6) led by five on three different occasions in the first overtime but threes from Werth and Trey O’Neil pulled the Tigers within two. Werth’s second three of the extra period with 40 seconds left gave FHSU an 86-84 lead.

Jaylon Scott, who scored 28 points and pulled down 15 rebounds for Bethel, hit a jumper with 16 seconds left. Kyler Kinnamon missed a contested layup then Scott missed a mid-court shot to send the game to a second overtime.

The Tigers struggled from the free throw line, missing their first eight and 11 of their first 13 attempts midway through the second half. They hit 17 of their next 21 including 11-of-14 in the overtime periods.

Werth also had a team best 7 rebounds before fouling out in the second overtime. Aaron Nicholson also hit four 3-pointers and added 19 points despite going 1-for-8 from the free throw line.

Kyler Kinnamon scored 16 and dished out nine assists with only one turnover. Marcus Cooper added 14 points and Trey O’Neil 13.

The Tigers are off until December 30th when they host McPherson College in their final non-conference game.

— Edited to correct final score

HAYS, Kan. – Lanie Page scored a career-high 23 points and the 6th-ranked Fort Hays State women used a 17-2 first quarter run to build an early double-figure lead and rolled past Rockhurst 89-55 to move to 10-0. It matches the best start in program history previously accomplished in 2015-16 and in 2012-13.

Tony Hobson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

Madison Mittie hit a deep three at the end of the first quarter to give the Tigers a 14-point lead. They increased that lead to 18 at halftime then outscored the Hawks 27-13 in the third to blow the game open.

Page finished 7-for-8 from the floor including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and hit all six of her free throws.

Belle Barbiere scored 11 and pulled down a game-high seven rebounds. Whitney Randall added 10 points off the bench.

The Tigers are now off until December 30th when they host Tabor College for their final non-conference game.

HAYS, Kan. – Tatyana Legette and Whitney Randall both scored 15 points and the Fort Hays State women closed out each of the four quarters strong for an 85-51 win over Tabor College Friday night at Gross Coliseum.

The Tigers (9-0) closed the first quarter on a 13-2 run to turn a three-point deficit into an eight point lead. They trailed by one midway through the second quarter but finished the half on a 16-5 run to go up 40-32 at halftime.

After seeing their 17-point third quarter lead trimmed to eight, the sixth-ranked Tigers scored the final eight points of the period to lead 63-47 then outscored the Bluejays (10-3) 22-4 in the fourth quarter, finishing the game on a 16-0 run.

Tony Hobson Postgame Interview

Game Highlight

Kacey Kennett hit two of the Tigers four 3-point baskets and finished with 11 points.

Randall’s 15 points is a new career high. She’s the sixth different player to lead the team in scoring through the first nine games.

Freshman Kinley Grubb added a career-best nine points, all of them in the fourth quarter.

Morgan Ediger made four 3-point baskets in the first half and led the Bluejays with 14 points, all of them in the first half.

The Tigers close out their pre-Christmas schedule Monday when they host Rockhurst at 5:30pm.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Little Rock Touchdown Club and Wright Lindsey Jennings LLP announced the finalists for the sixth annual Cliff Harris Award on Friday (Dec. 14). Fort Hays State senior linebacker Jose Delgado is a finalist for the award.

This award is presented to the nation’s top small college defensive player representing almost 500 colleges and universities from NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA colleges. A prestigious selection committee made up of former college and pro football greats will select the winner. In addition to the Cliff Harris Award overall winner, the top vote getter from each division will be announced. The Cliff Harris Award winner will be announced on December 24 and honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club’s annual awards banquet on January 10, 2019, featuring guest speaker Barry Sanders. The winner will receive the Cliff Harris Award trophy presented by Cliff Harris.

All but one of the five previous Cliff Harris Award winners were from NCAA Division II. Last year, Michael Joseph from NCAA Division III affiliate University of Dubuque won the award, snapping a four-year run of Division II players earning the honor. Nathan Shepherd of FHSU, now with the New York Jets in the NFL, tied as the top vote receiver from NCAA Division II last year. Two of the four Division II winners of the award have been players from the MIAA.

Delgado was the 2018 MIAA Defensive Player of the Year, making it three straight years a player from FHSU earned the distinction joining Shepherd (2017) and Sie Doe, Jr. (2016). He already received All-America First Team honors from the D2CCA earlier this week. Delgado helped FHSU to back-to-back MIAA titles, leading the team in tackles three consecutive seasons. He had 117 tackles this season, going past the century mark for the third straight year, while adding eight tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble.

For his career, Delgado finished with 402 tackles, 30.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, and nine pass breakups. He was a three-time All-MIAA selection overall and has earned All-America honors two straight years.

Fort Hays State has now had a finalist for the Cliff Harris Award four straight years as Delgado joins Shepherd (2017), Doe (2016), and Brock Long (2015).

WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Fort Hays State had two players named to the D2CCA All-America team for the 2018 season. Linebacker Jose Delgado and placekicker Dante Brown both earned First Team honors at their respective positions. Both have received All-America honors for two consecutive seasons.

Delgado, the D2CCA Super Region 3 Defensive Player of the Year, headlines the first-team selections at linebacker. Delgado finished the year with 117 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries and 1 forced fumble, earning MIAA Defensive Player of the Year honors as well. He reached double figures in tackles eight times in the 12 games played in 2018, reaching 14 twice. He reached double figures in a game 20 times throughout his 44-game career with the Tigers, earning All-MIAA honors three times and first-team honors the last two years. With 402 career tackles, he became the all-time tackles leader in Fort Hays State’s NCAA Division II era.

Brown now has All-America honors at two different positions after earning All-America Third Team honors as a punter last year from the Don Hansen Football Committee. Earning first team honors as a kicker, Brown was the leader in voting for kickers nationally. His numbers back the selection as he led the nation in field goals made with 28. He averaged an NCAA-best 2.33 field goals per game, breaking the MIAA record for field goals in a season by three and coming just two shy of the NCAA Division II single-season record. He converted 84.8 percent of his field goal attempts, going 28-of-33 for the season, to rank fifth in NCAA Division II. Brown also shattered the Fort Hays State single-season record for points with 123, going past the mark of 94 set last year by his predecessor at placekicker, Brandon Brown. With 123 points, Brown ranks 12th in NCAA Division II in scoring. Brown also remained the team’s punter this year with 67 punts for 2,772 yards, averaging 41.4 yards per attempt. He was an All-MIAA First Team selection at both kicker and punter this year.

Delgado and Brown are the third and fourth repeat All-America performers at Fort Hays State in the program’s NCAA Division II history. They join Keith Eck (1995 and 1996) and Nathan Shepherd (2016 and 2017) as the only players to receive postseason All-America honors multiple years. Eck was the FHSU record holder for tackles (361) in the program’s NCAA history until Delgado broke that mark this year with 41 more.

The Fort Hays State women’s basketball team has continued its climb in the national polls after a pair of conference victories, moving to No. 6 in the WBCA Division II Coaches Poll while sliding up to fourth in the D2SIDA Media Poll.

The Tigers are up three spots in the Coaches poll after earning a pair of wins as the ninth-ranked team in the country last week. Fort Hays State was one of four schools to be listed atop at least one ballot this week, picking up one first-place vote. The Tigers earned 469 points in the voting process, 15 points behind fifth-place Bentley.

Fort Hays State is the top-ranked team in the central region in both polls, with Central Missouri ranked 15th in the Coaches poll and Augustana ranked 14th in the Media poll.

The Tigers are 4-1 all-time as the sixth-ranked team in the country after sitting at that spot in the polls twice during the 2014-15 season.

It is the best ranking for the Tigers in the Coaches poll since they were ranked fifth on February 9, 2016 while it is their top spot in the Media poll since they were No. 1 on December 15, 2015.

Two other MIAA programs join the Tigers and Jennies in the Coaches poll, with Central Oklahoma and Emporia State clinging to last week’s rankings of No. 23 and No. 24, respectively.

The Tigers will take a brief hiatus from conference play over the holiday season before returning to league play against Central Missouri in January. Tabor College opens the non-conference stretch when the Bluejays come to Gross Memorial Coliseum for a 7 p.m. tip Friday (Dec. 14).

Below are the complete national polls for December 11, 2018.

WBCA Coaches Poll – Week 4						D2SIDA Media Poll – Week 4
Rk	Team (1st)	Rcd	Pts	Prev		Rk	Team (1st)	Rcd	Pts	Prev
1	Union (Tenn.) (18)	9-0	594	2		1	Union (14)	9-0	392	1
2	Indiana (Pa.) (3)	8-0	563	3		2	Bentley (1)	10-0	380	3
3	West Texas A&M	8-0	538	4		3	West Texas A&M	8-0	371	4
4	Drury	9-0	504	6		4	Fort Hays State	8-0	345	6
5	Bentley	10-0	484	5		5	Northwest Nazarene (1)	9-0	338	7
6	Fort Hays State (1)	8-0	469	9		6	Lewis	6-1	313	9
7	Northwest Nazarene	9-0	432	10		7	IUP	8-0	294	11
8	Ashland (2)	8-1	428	1		8	USciences	8-0	278	10
9	University of the Sciences	8-0	392	11		9	UC San Diego	8-0	269	12
10	UC San Diego	8-0	369	12		10	Drury	9-0	256	14
11	Grand Valley State	8-1	330	15		11	North Georgia	6-1	253	13
12	Virginia Union	8-1	321	8		12	California	8-0	218	17
13	Alaska Anchorage	7-1	293	13		13	Florida Southern	6-1	164	20
14	California (Pa.)	8-0	278	17		14	Augustana	10-1	163	24
15	Central Missouri	7-2	249	7		T15	Grand Valley	8-1	159	RV
16	North Georgia	6-1	233	16		T15	Alaska Anchorage	7-1	159	18
17	Florida Southern	6-1	202	18		17	Jefferson	9-0	155	19
18	Black Hills State	6-1	182	14		18	St. Mary’s (Texas)	8-1	138	NR
19	Thomas Jefferson Univ.	9-0	165	25		19	Virginia Union	8-1	109	5
20	Lewis	6-1	163	22		20	Wingate	6-2	103	22
21	Saint Mary’s (Texas)	8-1	144	NR		21	Ashland	8-1	96	2
22	Angelo State	5-1	85	21		22	Southwestern Okla.	8-1	88	RV
23	Central Oklahoma	8-1	68	23		23	Angelo State	5-1	37	16
24	Emporia State	7-2	53	24		24	Central Missouri	6-2	30	8
25	Stonehill	8-2	51	19		25	Central Washington	6-1	25	R

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After recording a pair of double-doubles against conference rivals, senior Tatyana Legette has been named MIAA Women’s Basketball Athlete of the Week, announced by the league office Monday (Dec. 10).

Legette posted a strong start to the conference season, averaging 19.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and two assists over two league wins last week at home. The Topeka, Kan. native dropped in 23 points alongside 13 rebounds against Nebraska-Kearney Tuesday (Dec. 4) before compiling 15 points and 10 rebounds in a victory over No. 24 Emporia State. It was Legette’s third-career double-double against the Lady Hornets.

The forward took advantage at the charity stripe all week, knocking down 20-of-22 from the free throw line (90.9 percent).

It is the third time in her career Legette has earned this distinction after picking up the award twice last season (11/20/17 and 2/26/18). She is the first Tiger to earn multiple conference player of the week honors since Kate Lehman picked up the accolade 15 times.

Legette and the ninth-ranked women’s basketball team will take a break from conference play when they host Tabor Friday (Dec. 14) at 7 p.m.

Dante Brown of Fort Hays State football was honored as one of 10 finalists for the 2018 Fred Mitchell Outstanding Placekicker Award. The award is given annually to a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division II, Division III, NAIA or NJCAA placekicker that excels on the football field and in the community.

On Monday (Dec. 10), Roldan Alcobendas of Eastern Washington University was named the 2018 Fred Mitchell Award winner, one of the top kickers in FCS this year. Eastern Washington is one of the top programs in FCS, currently in the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs. Alcobendas is a perfect 15-of-15 on field goal attempts so far this year, while knocking through 62 PAT tries this year as well. Alcobendas participated in numerous community service projects at EWU and holds a 3.23 GPA as a business administration marketing major with a minor in communications. Like Brown of FHSU, Alcobendas also serves as EWU’s punter and averages an impressive 45.3 yards per punt this season. Also like Brown, Alcobendas was an all-conference first team selection at both kicker and punter.

Brown was one of four kickers from NCAA Division II that made the finalist list, along with three from FCS and three from NCAA Division III.

Brown had one of the most successful kicking seasons in NCAA Division II history, converting 28 field goals out of his 33 attempts. His 28 field goals are second most for a season in Division II history, only two shy of the record 30 set by Jeff Glas from the University of North Dakota in 2005. Three players were tied for second on the single-season list with 27 until Brown went past that mark this year, including 2017 Fred Mitchell Award recipient Cole Tracy (Assumption College) who moved on to kick for Division I Louisiana State University this year. Brown broke the MIAA record of 25 made by Simon Mathieson in 2015, but Mathieson set that record in 15 games played compared to just 12 for Brown. Brown also broke Matieson’s MIAA record for attempts in a season.

With the Division II national championship game between Ferris State and Valdosta State as the only remaining game on the 2018 calendar, Brown leads Division II in field goals made by seven. Kristov Martinez of Texas A&M-Commerce made 21 field goals this year in 13 games before his team was eliminated from the NCAA Playoffs. Brown is tied for the national lead for all collegiate levels with Andre Szmyt of Syracuse, who also has 28 field goals through 12 games. Syracuse has one more game remaining when it faces West Virginia in the Camping World Bowl in Orlando, Florida on December 28. The aforementioned Cole Tracy of LSU is still in the hunt for the national lead at all levels, currently with 25. LSU faces Central Florida in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona on January 1.

Brown finished with a new FHSU single-season scoring record of 123 points in 2018, adding 39 PAT conversions to his 28 field goals. It passed the old scoring record of 112 points set by Clint Bedore in 1995 with 18 touchdowns and 2 two-point conversions. Brown shattered the FHSU single-season field goals made record of 16 set by his predecessor Brandon Brown in 2016. He also broke the kicking points record of 94 set by Brandon Brown in 2017.

Brown earned MIAA Special Teams Player of the Year, while also earning All-MIAA First Team selections at both kicker and punter this season. He also received D2CCA All-Super Region 3 First Team honors at kicker.

The award is named for Fred Mitchell, who enjoyed a distinguished career as one of the nation’s first prominent small-college placekicking specialists at Wittenberg University in Ohio. He is a Wittenberg University Athletic Hall of Famer, author, philanthropist and former Chicago Tribune sports columnist. The recipient of the Fred Mitchell Award is chosen based on both excellence on the football field and the community.

Below is the list of finalists for the 2018 Fred Mitchell Award.

ROLDAN ALCOBENDAS – 2018 FRED MITCHELL AWARD WINNER
Eastern Washington University – Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)

JON ALBERTS
Central College (Iowa) – Division III

DANTE BROWN
Fort Hays State University (Kan.) – Division II

MITCHELL CARTER
Colorado State University-Pueblo – Division II

AUSTIN ERRTHUM
University of Northern Iowa – FCS

WOJCIECH GASIENICA
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater – Division III

JJ JERMAN
East Tennessee State University – FCS

KRISTOV MARTINEZ
Texas A&M-Commerce – Division II

JONAS SCHENDERLEIN
Concordia University, St. Paul (Minn.) – Division II

JAKE TANNER
DePauw University (Ind.) – Division III

WICHITA, Kan. – The No. 16 ranked Fort Hays State wrestling team captured a runner-up finish as a team after recording 43 team points in the Reece Wright-Conklin Jet Invitational on Sunday (Dec. 9). The Tigers left the tournament with six placers and three individual champions. Sophomore Marty Verhaeghe (174 pounds), Micquille Robinson (184 pounds) and A.J. Cooper (285 pounds) all claimed individual titles. Junior Wyatt Alvis (149 pounds) earned a runner-up finish, while freshman Broderick Green (125 pounds) and redshirt-freshman Conrad Vajnar (157 pounds) captured third-place finishes.

Marty Verhaeghe wrestled in the 174-pound weight class in the round-robin format. Verhaeghe defeated Trenton Clines (Drury) due to injury default. He then defeated Nate Panagakis (Newman) by 3-0 decision.

Micquille Robinson wrestled in the 184-pound weight class. Robinson began his day by pinning Brayden Collins (Neosho County CC) in 2:58. In the semifinals, Robinson defeated Dylan Ballew (Drury) with a 14-2 major decision. The Wichita, Kan. native recorded another major decision (14-1) to defeat Ivan Balavage (Newman) in the title bout.

A.J. Cooper wrestled in the 285-pound weight class. Cooper received a bye in the first round. He then defeated Cody Cornutt (Drury) with a 5-2 decision, using a nifty back flip move to stay ahead in the match and advance to the title bout. The Cimarron, Kan. native used a 4-1 decision to defeat Thor Balavage (Newman) for his first individual title of the season.

Wyatt Alvis wrestled in the 149-pound weight class. He only had one match on the day and fell to Seth Otis (Drury) by decision (7-2).

Broderick Green wrestled in the 125-pound weight class. Green also wrestled in a round-robin format. In his first match of the day, Green fell to Blayne Harris of Cloud County CC by decision (9-8). Green then faced off with Bryan Balderrama (Pratt CC) in his second match of the day and fell to him by a 15-13 sudden victory.

Conrad Vajnar wrestled in the 157-pound weight class. In the first round, Vajnar defeated Isaiah Frederick (Kansas Wesleyan) with a commanding 17-0 technical fall. Vajnar fell to Quentin Jiner (Cloud County CC) by decision (8-7). In the consolation semifinals, Vajnar defeated Colin Harper (Drury) with a 10-1 major decision. The Hays, Kan. native then captured a third-place finish with a 13-6 decision over Luke Culbertson (Pratt CC).

The Tigers will have some time off for the holidays before getting back into the swing of things with the National Duals (Jan. 4-5) in Louisville, Ky. The duals are set to begin at 10 a.m. each day.

HAYS, Kan. – Marcus Cooper scored a game-high 23 points and combined with Kyler Kinnamon to hit 10 of 11 free throws in the final 4:10 to lead Fort Hays State to an 86-78 win over Emporia State in front of 2,781 at Gross Coliseum.

Mark Johnson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

Kinnamon went 8-for-8 from the foul line and scored 14 points. Six of the free throws came in the final 42 seconds to help seal the win. His driving layup with 8:13 to play tied the game 62-62 and keyed a 7-0 run that gave Fort Hays State (6-3, 2-0 MIAA) the lead for good.

Aaron Nicholson’s corner 3-pointer with 4:49 left pushed the lead to four. Nicholson went 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and finished with 14 points.

Devin Davis added 13 points as the Tigers win their fourth straight.

Julius Jackson came off the bench to score 21 to lead Emporia State (5-3, 1-1 MIAA) who had their three-game win streak snapped. Malik Hluchoweckyj added 20 points and seven rebounds.

The Tigers shot 54.7-percent to match their best shooting game of the season and connected on 8-of-16 from beyond the arc. The Hornets shot 41.5-percent and were 7-of-16 from beyond the arc.

HAYS, Kan. – Tatyana Legette and Belle Barbiera both had double-doubles and No. 9 Fort Hays State used a late 13-0 run to break open a tight game and beat No. 24 Emporia State 84-74 in front of 2,617 at Gross Coliseum.

Tony Hobson Postgame Interview

Game Highlight

The Tigers (8-0, 2-0 MIAA) used a 13-0 run in the final 3:44 to turn a one-point deficit into a 12 point lead.

Whitney Randall came off the bench to spark a 17-6 third quarter run to build a nine-point lead. The Hornets (7-2, 1-1 MIAA) closed the gap to three at the end of the quarter and tied the the game 64-64 early in the fourth.

Emporia State hit nine of their 10 threes in the first half as they built an early seven point lead. They connected on just 1-of-8 from beyond the arc in the second half.

Carly Heim led four Tigers in double-figures with 19 points in 38 minutes. Tatyana Legette added 15 points and 10 rebounds. Belle Barbiere recorded her first double-double with 11 points and 10 boards. Whitney Randall added 12 off the bench.

Emporia State was led by Tyra Jones and Jessica Wayne who both scored 20. Wayne added 10 rebounds.