Full Results

OKLAHOMA CITY – Fort Hays State had an excellent showing on Sunday when it kicked off the season with three champions and 10 total placers at the Oklahoma City Open. All three Tigers that participated in the open division placed and Jon Inman won the 197-pound class. Brandon Ball (141 pounds) and Christian Lance (285 pounds) claimed titles in the Freshman/Sophomore Division, while five others placed.

Inman, the No. 4 ranked wrestler in the nation at 197 pounds, started the 2016-17 season the right way as he went 3-0 on his way to a first place finish in the Open Division. Inman defeated Oklahoma City’s Riley Fielder with a 12-1 major decision in the opening round. In the semifinals he ousted Greg Wilson of Central Oklahoma with a 3-1 decision to secure a spot in the championship bout. In the finals, seven minutes was not enough to determine a winner as overtime ensued after a 1-1 tie. Inman got the better of Oklahoma State’s Derek White (formerly with University of Nebraska) as he managed an escape to seal the 2-1 win in the first tiebreak session.

Ball claimed first place in the Freshman/Sophomore Division at 141 pounds for FHSU after going 3-0 on the day. After a bye in the first round, Ball claimed a victory in the in the quarterfinal by pinning Oklahoma City’s Matt Landgraff with three seconds remaining in the match. Ball advanced to the semifinals where he defeated Cy Trindle of Central Oklahoma with a 6-0 decision. In the finals Ball was in full command defeating Harrison Bamman of Ouachita Baptist by 14-3 major decision.

Lance took home the title in the Freshman/Sophomore Division heavyweight class. After a 7-3 decision in the first round, Lance went on to pin his next two opponents in 2:08 and 2:57 to advance to the semifinals. There he defeated Ouachita Baptist’s Austin Hailey with a 3-1 decision. In the championship bout Lance got the better of Oklahoma City’s Korey Walker, the No. 3 ranked heavyweight wrestler in NAIA, with another 3-1 decision.

Jacob Kay took second place at 149 pounds in the Open Division by going 2-1 on the day. After a bye in the first round, Kay earned a technical fall over Texas A&M’s Brady Pitzer by shutting him out 17-0. In the semifinal Kay claimed victory once again when he picked up the 12-8 decision over Central Oklahoma’s Will Steltzlen. In the finals, Kay ran into a Division I All-American Geordan Martinez from Oklahoma State, suffering a tech fall. Martinez was a two-time Pac-12 champ and national qualifier, and a 2015-16 All-America performer at Boise State before transferring to Oklahoma State.

Rakim Dean took fourth place in the Open Division at 184 pounds going 3-2 on the day. He started the day with a fall in 6:32 over Jacob King of Oklahoma City then cruised to a 10-3 decision over John Finn of Central Oklahoma. He dropped the semifinal match to Oklahoma State’s Andrew Marsden by fall. Dean received a forfeit in the consolation round only to drop the consolation final to Finn by an early first period fall.

The Tigers had two placers in the Freshman/Sophomore Division at 157 pounds in Efe Osaghae and Greg Tooley. Osaghae took third, going 5-1 on the day, and Tooley was fourth with a 4-1 day. Tooley bowed out of the tournament and did not wrestle Osaghae in the third-place match. Tooley’s wins were impressive, racking up four tech falls (20-1, 18-2, 16-0, and 21-3). Osaghae had two decisions, a fall, a win by injury, and a forfeit win to his collection.

Austin Brandt and Macquille Robinson tied for third place at 174 pounds of the Freshman/Sophomore Division. They did not wrestle the third-place match. Conrad Cole took fourth in the 125-pound class going 4-1 with two falls and a major decision to his credit. He opted not to wrestle the third-place match.

The Tigers are scheduled to compete at the Northern Colorado Open in Greeley, Colorado on Sunday.

FHSU Sports Infromation

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The 21st-ranked Fort Hays State men’s soccer team ended the regular season with a big 2-0 win over 12th-ranked Lindenwood on Sunday. With the victory the Tigers improve to 13-4-1 overall and 6-2 in the MIAA. Lindenwood, the MIAA regular season champion, suffered its only conference loss of the season. The Lions end the regular season with an overall record of 13-3-2 and a conference record of 7-1.

Derick Gonzalez started the scoring for FHSU as he recorded his 10th goal of the season in the 12th minute. After receiving a ball from Mauricio Castorino, Gonzalez ripped a shot from about 25 yards out that found the upper right 90. Maurizio Costa extended the Tiger lead at the 68:10 mark when he found the back of the net for the eighth time this season. Costa found himself in a one-on-one with the goalkeeper after taking a pass from Arsenio Chamorro. With the advantage Costa buried the shot easily and the Tigers cruised to the 2-0 win.

Alex Rodela picked up his second shutout of the season and remains unbeaten this year, now 5-0. He kept the Tigers in front by making five saves on the day.

The Tigers await postseason news on Monday night during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show. Lindenwood and FHSU have separated from the rest of the Central Region field and are likely to be the two representatives from the region chosen for the NCAA Tournament. Now it’s just a matter of where they will play as the NCAA will choose which team gets the top seed. Both teams finished with 13 wins and went 1-1 against each other in head-to-head play.

To watch the tournament selection show Monday night at 5:30 pm, CLICK HERE.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

Hays, Kan. – Fort Hays State held No. 1 Northwest Missouri State 205 yards and 24 points below their season average, but were held to a season low 197 yards and lost 28-7 Saturday afternoon at Lewis Field. It’s the fewest points and yards for Northwest (10-0) this season, but the Bearcats clinch at least a share of the MIAA title with their 25-straight win, the longest streak in all of college football. It’s also their 13th-straight win over the Tigers dating back to 1978.

Chris Brown Postgame Press Conference

Postgame Player Interviews (Alex Schmidtberber, Layne Bieberle, Mason Dickey)

Game Highlights

The Tigers (6-4) were 0-for-14 on third down and held to 74 rushing yards.

Northwest Missouri state scored on a pick-six on the Tigers first possession of the game. They added another touchdown following a short FHSU punt which gave them the ball as the Tigers 35. The Bearcats also blocked two field goal attempts and led 14-0 at the half.

The Tigers played most of the game without starting quarterback Jacob Mezera who injured his shoulder on the second possession of the game and never returned. Backup Brad Schencker completed 10-of-27 passes for 150 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

He engineered a five-play, 75-yard drive in the fourth quarter after Northwest had built a 21-0 lead. Schencker hit Bilal Salat on a 65-yard strike then found freshman Layne Bieberle in the corner of the end zone to pull the Tigers within 14 points.

Northwest quarterback Kyle Zimmerman, who came into the game with 31 touchdown passes and no interceptions, threw two picks, one by Raheeme Dumas and the other by Jose Delgado. Zimmerman threw one TD pass but never had a completion longer than 24 yards the entire game.

Alex Schmidtberger led the Tigers with 16 tackles to move into third place in the Division II era.

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Behind an efficient .340 attack percentage on the day, the Fort Hays State volleyball team upset 21st-ranked Northwest Missouri Saturday afternoon in four sets. The Tigers secured a spot in the MIAA Tournament with the win, moving to 23-8 overall and 9-7 in the league. The Bearcats are now 21-6 on the year and 9-6 in conference action.

Senior Crystal Whitten led the Tigers with 22 kills, the ninth 20-kill match of her career. The outside hitter posted a hitting percentage of .381, adding 14 digs and a career-high three solo blocks. Sydney Dixon added 14 kills (.324) and four digs, with Megan Anderson chipping in 13 kills and two blocks (one solo). Rebekah Spainhour reached double-digit kills for the 19th time this season, recording 10 kills and two blocks (one solo). Senior setter Hannah Wagy tossed up 58 assists and added four kills, while libero Ari Jacobsen posted a game-high 26 digs.

Both sides had their chances in the first set, with 12 ties and five lead changes taking place. The Bearcats jumped out to a 5-1 lead early in the match, but the Tigers battled back to take their first lead at 10-9. Northwest answered by scoring the next four points, maintaining the lead until a Whitten kill tied things up at 16. The teams traded points for the remainder of the frame, with neither side leading by more than one until a Bearcat error handed FHSU a 26-24 victory.

Multiple kills from Callie Christensen and Whitten helped the Tigers extend a 9-5 lead to open the first set, who held the lead until a Northwest block gave the home team a 19-18 edge. After the Tigers tied things up at 19, the Bearcats used a 5-1 run to reach set point, 24-20. A kill from Dixon followed by a NWMSU attack error extended the set, but Northwest bounced back on the next point to win, 25-22.

The teams went back-and-forth out of the locker room before the Tigers used a 7-4 run to open up a 17-14 lead. Kills from Wagy and Anderson helped the Black and Gold build a five-point edge, 22-17, but the Bearcats came crawling back after scoring the next two, forcing a Tiger timeout. Anderson found a seam to record a kill out of the huddle before Christensen and Spainhour combined for a block to reach set point, 24-19. A strong kill from Spainhour ended the set two points later, 25-20.

The Tigers proved they wanted nothing to do with another five-set match, dominating in the final frame, 25-13. FHSU held the effective Bearcat offense to a -.028 attack percentage in the final frame while recording just four errors of its own. With the score knotted up at five, the Tigers scored five-straight to go up 10-5. The Bearcats closed within two, 13-11, before FHSU went on an 11-2 run to bring the match to a close. Whitten recorded four kills in a row down the stretch, sparking a 7-0 run for the Tigers.

Fort Hays State will wrap up the regular season next weekend with a pair of road contests. First up for the Tigers will be a date with Missouri Southern at 6 p.m. Friday evening (Nov. 11) in Joplin, Mo.

FHSU Sports Information 

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Behind a trio of All-Region performances, the Fort Hays State women’s cross country earned a spot in the 2016 NCAA Division II Championships with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Central Region Championships Saturday morning (Nov. 5). The Tigers finished with 143 points, 33 clear of fifth place Pittsburg State. 32 teams and 211 individuals participated in the festivities, hosted by Augustana University at Yankton Trail Park.

Shea Bonine led the Tigers to the line, earning All-Region honors completing the six-kilometer course in 20:56.48, good for eighth place. Sophie Dalmasso (15th, 21:25.89) and Micki Krzesinski (24th, 21:32.81) also picked up All-Region accolades. Chelsea Jackson crossed the line in 22:05.9 to finish 45th with Yessenia Gonzales rounding out the scoring for FHSU in 55th (22:18.39).

The University of Mary captured the team title with just 60 points, placing all five runners in the top 26. Alexis Zeis of the Mauraders was the first runner to cross the line in 19:43.84.

The team will now travel to St. Leo, Fla. for the National Championships in two weeks, Saturday, November 19. The six-kilometer race is scheduled to begin at 9:45 a.m. ET (8:45 a.m. CT). More information on the event can be found HERE.

The Fort Hays State men’s cross country team wrapped up its season Saturday (Nov. 5) with an eighth-place finish at the Central Region Championships, hosted by Augustana University at Yankton Trail Park. Senior Troy Wineinger earned All-Region honors for the first time in his career, finishing 21st in 31:50.25.

Jacob Thomas earned a 44th-place finish, completing the 10-kilometer course in 32:34.53. Israel Barco crossed the line in 32:47.39, good for 58th. Oscar Carmona (70th, 33:04.37) and Layton Werth (71st, 33:06.66) finished back-to-back to round out the Tiger scoring.

The five Tiger runners combined for 228 team points. Host Augustana won its second-straight Central Region title with 65 points, three in front of Missouri Southern. The Lions’ Vincent Kiprop once again won the individual title with a time of 29:33.61, more than one minute faster than the second place runner.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – After rallying from behind for the majority of the evening, the Fort Hays State volleyball team came up one rally short Friday, falling to Missouri Western in five sets. Four of the five sets went into the tiebreak, with a total of 38 ties and 11 lead changes in the match.

The Tigers fall to 22-8 on the year and 8-7 in MIAA play, tied for fifth in the conference standings. The Griffons are now 15-12 overall and 7-8 in the league with three matches to play.

Fort Hays State recorded 214 attack attempts on the night, the most in a match since 2013 (214 attempts, five-set loss, at Pittsburg State, 11/2). The Tigers held a 9-7 edge in the blocking category while recording a season-high 105 digs. FHSU was undefeated in five-set matches before tonight, now with a 4-1 record in matches that go the distance this season.

Sophomore Sydney Dixon recorded a pair of career-highs with 16 kills and 55 attack attempts. Crystal Whitten led the Tigers with 17 kills, adding 16 digs and one block. Rebekah Spainhour, Megan Anderson (two solo) and Callie Christensen (one solo) all recorded four total blocks on the night. Spainhour dropped in 13 kills and one service ace while Anderson reached double-digit kills for the 12th time this season at 10.

It was evident that this match would come down to the wire in the first set. Neither team could build any momentum, with the scoring margin hovering between one and three for the majority of the frame. The Tigers scored three-straight points for the first time in the match late in the first set to level the score at 23 after a Spainhour kill and multiple Griffon errors. An ace from Spainhour handed the Tigers their first lead of more than one point when it mattered most, securing the 26-24 victory.

The Griffons scored four of the first five points to take an early lead in the second set, maintaining that lead until a kill from Anderson put the Tigers up one, 17-16. The teams traded the lead five more times down the stretch, with neither side leading by more than two. A Griffon attack error handed the Tigers set point at 24-23, but a Tiger error kept the game alive. Dixon fought off a MWSU set point two points later with a kill, but the Griffons answered with two-straight kills to take set 27-25.

Missouri Western went on a big run out of the locker room to take a commanding five-point lead in the third set, scoring eight of the first 11 points to prompt a Kurt Kohler timeout. The Tigers were unable to mount a comeback in this frame, with the Griffons eventually building a nine-point lead (17-8), the largest of the match for either team. Although FHSU outscored the hosts 9-4 down the stretch, the deficit proved to be insurmountable, with the Griffons taking a 25-21 win on a Tiger error.

The never-say-die Tigers returned in the fourth set, fighting off three match point opportunities before stealing the 28-26 victory. MWSU once again built an early four-point lead, but the Tigers continued to chip away to soon take a 12-10 lead of their own. The Griffons answered with five-straight to regain the lead, one they would hold until the waning moments of the set. FHSU used a 6-1 run late in the game to tie the score at 23 behind three kills from Whitten. After the Tigers fought off the third Griffon match point with a kill from Christensen, back-to-back blocks from Christensen and Spainhour and then a solo from Christensen sent the match to a deciding fifth set.

The reoccurring theme of the match continued in the final frame, with the Griffons jumping out to an early lead before the Tigers clawed back into the thick of things. MWSU held an 8-4 lead when the teams traded sides and seemed to have the victory in the crosshairs, but a 5-1 Tiger run later in the frame closed the gap to one, 10-9. Consecutive blocks from Anderson and then Christensen and Anderson tied the score at 13, forcing a Griffon timeout. After the Tigers again fought off three match point opportunities, the Griffons came through on their fourth chance of the set (and seventh of the match) with a block to put the win on ice.

The Tigers will return to the floor at 3 p.m. Saturday when they face off with No. 21 Northwest Missouri State in Maryville, Mo.

FHSU Sports Information

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The 21at-ranked Fort Hays State women’s soccer team dropped its MIAA Tournament Semifinal match to Central Oklahoma by the score of 4-2 on Friday (Nov. 4). The Tigers dropped to 14-4-2 overall, while the Bronchos improved to 14-5-1 on the season.

It was the first match of the season in which Fort Hays State allowed more than one goal. The Tigers entered the match with only seven goals allowed all season before the rash of four surrendered on Friday night.

Central Oklahoma struck first in the 28th-minute when Katie Killion scored her 10th goal of the season. She took the ball on the right side of the box and placed a perfect shot inside the bottom left post.

UCO was in full command in the first half as it outshot the FHSU 10-1 overall and 4-1 in shots on net.

Killion struck again early in the second half. At 48 minutes, Mikayla Lowery sent a ball from the far right corner to Killion in the box. Killion found the bottom left corner of the net once again.

Jasmine Beaulieu cut the Broncho lead in half when she tallied her third goal of the season. After the Tigers got the ball over midfield a Broncho foul gave the Tigers a free kick about 30 yards out. Beaulieu took the kick and then sent the ball into the top left corner.

Dani Harris evened the score with her fourth goal of the season in the 78th minute. She rifled a shot from the left side of the box to the near post to give FHSU new life.

But in a blink of an eye, the Tigers found themselves trailing once more 49 seconds later when Lowery found the back of the net. Killion sent a through ball behind the Tiger defense that Lowery sprinted to on a breakaway for her sixth goal of the season. The Bronchos put the match away when Killion completed a hat trick. In a role reversal play, Lowery sent a through ball to Killion on the right side and she got behind the Tiger defense and buried her 12^th goal of the season.

Abbie Flax did all she could in between the pipes for the Tigers making five saves on the night. She is now 12-4-2 on the season. UCO outshot FHSU 18-7 for the match.

Even in the loss, the Tigers did receive help on Friday as the NSIC Tournament top seed and No. 3 region ranked team, Minot State, also fell on Friday. Augustana knocked off Minot State in the NSIC Tournament semifinals. Fort Hays State jumped Minot State for the No. 2 ranking in the region earlier this week. The two teams advanced the same amount of distance in conference tournaments, but FHSU fell to a region ranked team (UCO is No. 5 in the region) while Augustana is not regionally ranked. The Tigers await to see if they will possibly be hosting NCAA Tournament first and second round matches next weekend.

Find out the NCAA Tournament fate of Fort Hays State on Monday (Nov. 7) at 5 pm with the tournament selection show. To watch the show, CLICK HERE.

FHSU Sports Information