GOLDEN, Colo. – The Fort Hays State wrestling team dropped its season-opening dual on Wednesday (Nov. 8) by a score of 22-16 to Colorado School of Mines.

Colorado School of Mines’ Zach Gracia put the Orediggers up 5-0 right out of the gate in the 125-pound bout with a 17-2 technical fall over Conrad Cole. In the subsequent 133-pound class, Noah Au-Yeung extended the Orediggers lead to 9-0 with a major decision, 12-0, over Dy’Juan Carney.

At 141 pounds, 2nd-ranked Brandon Ball put the Tigers on the board as he managed to defeat Lukas Erickson with a 9-0 major decision. Ball picked up where he left off last season as he begins this year 1-0.

In the 149-pound bout, Fort Hays State’s Brody Lewis battled with Colorado School of Mines’ Noah Ottum. Ottum got the better of true freshman Lewis and increased the Orediggers lead to 13-4 with an 8-0 major decision.

Efe Osaghae cut the Orediggers lead to 13-7 in the 157-pound weight class with a 3-2 decision over Ethan Ruby. Osaghae used a key takedown in the third period to start his redshirt-freshman campaign with a victory.

Halfway through the dual the Orediggers lead the Tigers 13-7.

In the 165-pound bout, Marty Verhaeghe fell behind early in his match and used a quick escape and a takedown in the third period to inch closer, however it was not enough as he fell to Keenan Willits 9-4 in his first match of the season.

Dylan Wiesner took to the mat in the 174-pound weight class against the Orediggers TJ Shelton. Wiesner took advantage of a quick lead in the bout after two takedowns and an escape but in the second period was tangled up by Shelton and was pinned. The Orediggers took a commanding 22-7 lead in the match.

For the 184-pound battle, the Tigers brought out Micah Felton to take on Andrew Hinkle of the Orediggers. Felton used a key takedown in the third period and never looked back as he defeated Hinkle by a 7-1 decision. With the Tigers not getting a fall in this match, the Orediggers clinched the dual victory as they lead 22-10 after this bout.

At 197 pounds, Rakim Dean added three more points to the Tigers total as he emerged victorious over Anthony Spallino by an 8-4 decision.

In the last bout of the evening, 7th-ranked Christian Lance went up against Ian Cheatum in the 285-pound match. Lance finished the dual on a good note for the Tigers as he battled Cheatum until the very end. Lance arose from the mat with a 7-2 decision.

The Tigers are back on the mat this weekend as they travel to Greeley, Colo. to compete in the Northern Colorado Open on Saturday (Nov. 11). The Open is set to begin at 9 a.m.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Fort Hays State men’s soccer team had nine players named to the 2017 All-MIAA Team, released on Wednesday (Nov. 8). The Tigers have six first team selections and three second team selections. Brett Parker was named Coach of the Year and Derick Gonzalez was named MIAA Player of the Year.

Earning unanimous first team selections for the Tigers are forward Abdoulaye Cisse and midfielder Derick Gonzalez. They were two of the four players selected as unanimous picks as Joe Garcia, midfielder from Northeastern State and MIAA Freshman of the Year Michele Ganz of Lindenwood also with that distinction. Joining both on the first team are goalkeeper Michael Yantz, defenders Killian Gorman and Luis Torres, and midfielder Luis Mendez.

Second team selections went to defender Caesar Jones, midfielder Tobias Patino and forward Raul Fierro.

Gonzalez, a senior, earns All-MIAA First Team honors for the second straight year, while earning MIAA Player of the Year. He leads the Tigers in points with 34, entering the NCAA Tournament with ten goals, while leading the nation in assists with 14. He ranks first in the MIAA in points and total assists. Gonzalez sits in third in total goals in the conference. Gonzalez was named to the NSCAA All-Central Region first team and the D2CCA All-Central Region first team last year.

Cisse, a junior, makes his first All-MIAA First Team list. He has put up solid numbers this year as he ranks second on the team in goals (eight) and assists (seven). He leads the team in shots on goal with 22 on the year.

Yantz, a senior, earns his second straight first-team honor at goalkeeper. Yantz ranks second in the MIAA in shutouts (five) and is third in both goals against average (1.24) and save percentage (.763). He has an overall record of 8-4-2. He is now a three-time all-conference selection after earning second team honors his sophomore campaign.

Gorman, a senior, picks up his third All-MIAA honor after a first-team selection this year. Gorman was named to the D2CCA All-Central Region First Team his sophomore season.

Torres, a junior, earns his second All-MIAA First Team honor. Torres has accumulated a goal and one assist on the year while playing the second-most minutes on the pitch for the Tigers with 1,417. Torres was the lone All-America selection a year ago. He was named to the NSCAA All-Central Region First Team and the D2CCA All-Central Region First Team as a sophomore last season.

Mendez, a sophomore, picks up another All-MIAA First Team honor in his second year with the Tigers. He has scored two goals and picked up four assists on the season. Mendez was named the MIAA Freshman of the Year a season ago. He was also named to the D2CCA All-Central Region first team as a freshman.

Jones, a junior, earns second team All-MIAA honors this year. He has started in 13 matches on the year and has logged 1,045 minutes on the pitch. He has two goals and one assists to his credit this season.

Patino, a junior, receives second team honors for the second straight year. Patino has set up his teammates with four assists on the season.

Fierro, a junior, earns second team honors in his first year as a Tiger. Fierro has recorded the only hat trick on the season when he scored three goals against Southwest Baptist. He ranks third on the team in points (16) and goals (seven) on the year.

Coach Brett Parker was named the Coach of the Year in the MIAA for the first time in his tenure at Fort Hays State. He has helped the Tigers to at least 11 wins in each of his seven seasons at the helm.

Below is the 2017 All-MIAA Men’s Soccer Team

Player of the Year
Derick Gonzalez, MF, Fort Hays State

Freshman of the Year
Michele Ganz, F, Lindenwood

Coach of the Year
Brett Parker, Fort Hays State

First Team
GK: Michael Yantz, Sr., Fort Hays State
D: Killian Gorman, Sr., Fort Hays State
D: Seth Russell, So., Upper Iowa
D: Luis Torres, Jr., Fort Hays State
D: Jeremy Tutas, Sr., Lindenwood
MF: Derick Gonzalez, Sr., Fort Hays State**
MF: Joe Garcia, Jr., Northeastern State**
MF: Gabriel Jaimes, Sr., Lindenwood
MF: Luis Mendez, So., Fort Hays State
F: Abdoulaye Cisse, Jr., Fort Hays State**
F: Ruairidh Crawford, Sr., Upper Iowa
F: Michele Ganz, Fr., Lindenwood**
F: Aaron Ugbah, So., Northeastern State

Results reflect ties in the voting
**Unanimous Selection

Second Team
GK: Ryan Davis, Sr., Northeastern State
GK: Connor Rortvedt, Sr., Upper Iowa
D: James Doyle, Fr., Northeastern State
D: Caesar Jones, Jr., Fort Hays State
D: Bailey Weeks, So., Northeastern State
MF: Marko Circo, So., Upper Iowa
MF: Italo Martin-Soares, Fr., Upper Iowa
MF: Tobias Patino, Jr., Fort Hays State
MF: Ismael Serratos, Sr., Northeastern State
MF: Tyler Walker, So., Northeastern State
F: Raul Fierro, Jr., Fort Hays State
F: Justin Todd, Jr., Northeastern State

Honorable Mention
Northeastern State: Andrew Galvan, D
Southwest Baptist: Alberto Rodriguez, MF
Upper Iowa: Cameron Bosacki, D

Fort Hays State Weekly Football Press Conference
November 8, 2017

Fort Hays State head coach Chris Brown conducted his weekly press conference in advance of the Tigers regular season home finale with Nebraska-Kearney Saturday afternoon at Lewis Field.

Brown and select players met with the media inside Lewis Field on Tuesday, a session that can be heard by clicking on the links below.

Head coach Chris Brown

 

Senior RB Kenneth Iheme

Senior CB Trae Regier

Sophomore WR Layne Bieberle

 

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Fort Hays State men’s basketball team gave the Kansas Jayhawks all they could handle in the first half Tuesday evening (Nov. 7), leading as late as 29-28 before heading into the locker room down by five, 38-33. But the perennial powerhouse showed why it is the #4/#3 team in the land after the break, using a strong second-half performance to outlast the Tigers, 86-57.

Mark Johnson Post game interview

Highlights

Historic Allen Fieldhouse did not seem to faze the Tigers, as they hit 34.9 percent (22-of-63) from the floor on the night. The Jayhawks countered with an efficient 51.6 percent (32-for-62) from the floor. KU used its significant size advantage to dominate under the basket, outrebounding the Tigers 45-29 while doubling up FHSU on points in the paint, 44-22.

Hadley Gillum and Brady Werth each scored 14 points to lead the Tigers, while Jared Vitztum grabbed a team-high five rebounds. The Tigers kept Jayhawk standout Devonte’ Graham in check in the first half, limiting the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year to three field goals before halftime. Graham got things rolling out of the locker room, knocking down 4-of-5 shots from behind the arc to help him reach a game-high 27 points.

Fort Hays State went toe-to-toe with the Jayhawks for the entirety of the first half, never trailing by more than six and taking the lead five different times. The sides traded buckets for the first five minutes of the game before KU went on an 8-3 run to go in front 16-10, the largest lead of the half.

The Tigers bounced back in a big way, holding KU scoreless over the next four minutes while scoring seven-straight points to creep back in front, 17-16. Gillum knocked down a turnaround hook shot before Grant Holmes dropped in a layup on the next possession. After a two-minute scoring draught for both teams, Gillum drilled a three from the right wing to give the Tigers the lead.

The Jayhawks rallied to take a five-point lead before the under-four timeout, but Trey O’Neil drilled back-to-back triples in a 25 second span to singlehandedly take back the lead, 29-28. The junior knocked one down from the left wing before sinking a long ball from the top of the key while being knocked down on the next possession.

Gillum drilled his second three-pointer late in the half to tie things up at 33, burying one from the left wing off a pass from Aaron Nicholson. The Jayhawks finished the half on a 5-0 run to take a 38-33 lead into the locker room.

Gillum led all scorers in the first half, picking up 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting including both of his three-point attempts. O’Neil added eight points in the half while Nicholson dished out to assists to go along with four points. The Tigers drilled 40.6 percent (13-of-32) of their shots over the first 20 minutes of action.

After Werth dropped in put-back layup after grabbing an offensive rebound to trim the deficit to three, the Jayhawks started to pull away. KU went on a 16-5 run over the next six minutes before scoring 15-straight to go in front by 27 with six minutes to play, 71-44. The Jayhawks led by as many as 32 late in the half, but Isaiah Nunnery drilled a pair of three-pointers down the stretch to help break up the KU rhythm.

The Tigers are set to open the regular season this weekend when they head to Emporia, Kan. for a pair of neutral site contests. FHSU will open the season on Friday (Nov. 10) against No. 15 Southwest Minnesota State before facing off with Sioux Falls on Saturday (Nov. 11). Both contests begin at 5:30 p.m.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Fort Hays State women’s basketball team wrapped up its preseason schedule against Kansas State Monday inside Bramlage Coliseum. The Tigers held serve for much of the first half, leading for more than seven minutes and trailing by just nine after the first 20 minutes of play. The Wildcats used a 19-8 advantage in the third quarter to take control, ultimately winning the exhibition contest 61-46.

Tony Hobson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

The Tigers knocked down 28.3 percent (17-of-60) of their shots from the floor, but managed to sink 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from behind the arc. Fort Hays State held its own in the rebound department against a much taller Wildcat team with each side grabbing 41 boards. The Tigers grabbed 13 rebounds off the offensive glass, turning those boards into nine second-chance points. K-State used its size advantage to control the game under the basket on their offensive end, outscoring FHSU 34-12 in the paint. The Tiger defense crashed around the perimeter well all night, limiting K-State to 21.7 percent (5-of-23) shooting from behind the arc.

Kacey Kennett and Taylor Rolfs both reached double figures in scoring, leading the Tigers with 10 points each. Tatyana Legette had a strong outing, grabbing 14 rebounds while adding nine points and two assists on the offensive end. Much of the K-State offense ran through Peyton Williams, who dropped in a game-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting.

The Tigers hung around with K-State for the duration of the first quarter, leading by as many as five early in the frame. Legette won the opening tip and the Tigers took advantage of the first possession with Carly Heim knocking down a three from the top of the key as the shot clock expired. The Tigers extended the advantage to 7-2 when Legette drove to the basket to draw in the defense, finding an open Emma Stroyan for an open 10-foot jumper. K-State scored the next nine points to go in front 11-7, but a deep three-pointer from the top of the key from Rolfs quickly closed the gap to one.

K-State found its rhythm in the second quarter, knocking down 41.2 percent of its shots and extending its lead as far as 12. Heim dropped in a rainbow jumper from the baseline to interrupt a Wildcat run in the heart of the quarter. Belle Barbieri closed the scoring in the opening half with a layup while being fouled, sinking the ensuing free throw to make the score 30-21 as the teams left for the locker room. Barbieri nearly closed the gap to seven at the break, but the basket was waved off as the ball left her hand just after the shot clock went off.

Lindsay Shupe was all over the court on the offensive end in the first half, grabbing three offensive rebounds to go along with two points and one assist. Heim led the Tigers with five points and two assists in the opening frame, while Legette grabbed a team-high seven rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.

The teams went back and forth to open the third quarter, with the Wildcat lead hovering around 10 for the first five minutes before K-State started to pull away. Kennett knocked down a triple early in the quarter, her first bucket of the game. She added a pair of free throws two possessions later before Heim drilled a three from the right wing, keeping FHSU within three. The Wildcats clamped down on defense over the final six minutes of the period, holding the Tigers 0-for-11 from the floor and forcing three turnovers. K-State made 4-of-6 from the floor during that span, stretching its lead to 49-29 after three quarters of play.

Fort Hays State started to get shots to fall in the fourth quarter, knocking down 7-of-19 from the field over the final 10 minutes while outscoring the Wildcats 17-12. The Tigers opened the period with the ball with Whitney Clampitt feeding a pass to Barbieri at the top of the paint to draw in the defense, allowing Legette to slip under the basket unguarded. Barbieri’s pass found Legette in a perfect position, allowing the junior to make a routine layup. Late in the period, Kennett knocked down a step-back jumper from 15 feet before drilling her second three-pointer of the evening two possessions later. Rolfs put a bow on the evening with a triple from the top of the key to make the final score 61-46.

The Tigers are set to open the regular season this weekend when they travel to Fayette, Iowa for a pair of contests. FHSU will open the year on Friday (Nov. 10) against Upper Iowa at 8 p.m.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State senior kicker Brandon Brown has been named MIAA Special Teams Athlete of the Week once again, announced Monday (Nov. 6) by the league office. It is the fourth time Brown has earned the honor.

Brown was an integral part of Saturday’s 13-12 road win over Northwest Missouri State, helping the Tigers clinch their first MIAA crown. The San Ramon, Calif. native provided two field goals and one crucial extra point in a defensive battle against the Bearcats. His 48-yard field goal midway through the second quarter tied the game at 3-3, before he gave FHSU its first lead early in the third quarter with the 36-yard field goal. He tacked on the extra point following Fort Hays State’s only touchdown in the fourth quarter, which proved to be the game-winning point after NWMSU rallied to close within one over the final three minutes, 19 seconds.  He did not miss a kick on the day while averaging 55.2 yards on five kickoffs, producing two touchbacks.

The Tigers have now had honorees in nine of ten weeks this season, including Jacob Mezera (Week 1 Offensive Athlete of the Week), Brown (Weeks 1, 4, 7 and 10 Special Teams Athlete of the Week), Nathan Shepherd (Week 2 Defensive Athlete of the Week), Monterio Burchfield (Week 3 Offensive Athlete of the Week), Jose Delgado (Week 5 Defensive Athlete of the Week), and Kenneth Iheme (Weeks 6 and 9 Offensive Athlete of the Week).

Brown and the rest of the Tigers will wrap up the regular season Saturday (Nov. 11) when the 5th-ranked Tigers host Nebraska-Kearney for Senior Day. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. from Lewis Field Stadium.

Fort Hays State remained No. 1 in the third release of the NCAA Super Region 3 Rankings, released on Monday (Nov. 6). The Tigers are No. 1 in the Super Region for the second straight week. FHSU is coming off a big win at Northwest Missouri State this past Saturday to remain undefeated, now at 10-0.

The Tigers are looking to make their first appearance in the NCAA Playoffs since 1995. FHSU has been in the NCAA Playoffs only twice in the program’s history, the other time being 1993.

The top four spots in the Super Region 3 rankings stayed the same from last week, with Indianapolis, Ashland and Ferris State holding steady at Nos. 2-4, respectively. Ouachita Baptist took advantage of losses from Northwest Missouri State and Grand Valley State by moving up two positions to the fifth spot in the ranking. NWMSU fell one spot to No. 6, with Arkansas Tech rounding out the top seven. Harding (No. 8), Grand Valley State (No. 9) and Central Missouri (No. 10) are currently on the outside looking into the playoff picture.

With FHSU currently holding the No. 1 ranking in the region, the Tigers are in position to potentially receive a bye past the first round of the playoffs. The No. 1 seeds in all four super regions receive first-round byes and await an opponent in the round of 16.

The playoffs begin with the first round on Saturday, November 18 and continue each week until the National Championship game is played on Saturday, December 16 in Kansas City, Kan. Should the Tigers obtain the No. 1 seed in Super Region 3, they would host their first playoff game on Saturday, November 25 and would host again on December 2 with a victory.

Below are the Super Region 3 Rankings for October 30, 2017. CLICK HERE for all Super Region Rankings.

Rank	Team	In-Region Record	Overall D2 Record
1	Fort Hays State	10-0	10-0
2	Indianapolis	10-0	10-0
3	Ashland	9-1	9-1
4	Ferris State	8-1	8-1
5	Ouachita Baptist	8-2	8-2
6	Northwest Missouri State	8-2	8-2
7	Arkansas Tech	8-2	8-2
8	Harding	7-3	7-3
9	Grand Valley State	7-3	7-3
10	Central Missouri	7-3	7-3