By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

HAYS, Kan. -Taylor Chandler and Beth Bohuslavsky went a combined 6 for 6 from the free throw line in the final minute to help the Fort Hays State women’s basketball team hold off a fourth quarter Regis rally in a 59-55 win over the Rangers Saturday in the final game of the Tiger Classic at Gross Coliseum.

Tony Hobson Postgame Interview

 

Taylor Chandler Postgame Interview

 

Game Highlights

 

The Tigers used a 13-4 first half run to  build a 13-point second quarter lead. A Paige Lunsford three-point play with 4:08 to play in the third quarter pushed the lead to 14, but Regis responded by outscoring the Tigers 22-9 over the next 12 minutes to pull within one with 1:48 left in the fourth quarter.

A lane violation on a Ranger free throw attempt prevented them from potentially tying the game. Lunsford grabbed a key offensive rebound following a missed 3-point attempt from Jill Faxon which led to two Taylor Chandler free throws with 0:46 and push the FHSU lead to 55-52.

Following a Regis timeout, the Tigers forced a five second violation. Chandler would hit two more free throws to push the lead to five.

Bay’lee Purdy hit a 3-pointer for Regis which cut the lead to 57-55 with 0:20 to play but Bohuslavky knocked in two charity tosses to push the lead to four, two seconds later. The Rangers missed two 3-point tries in the closing seconds to push the Tigers to 4-0 on the season.

The Tigers were held to 23-percent shooting in the second half and finish 33-percent for the game including 3-for-23 from 3-point range (1-for-12 in the second half). The Tigers forced 20 turnovers and outscored the Rangers 20-0 off of turnovers and 17-4 on second chance points.

Jill Faxon led FHSU with 16 points, Chandler and Elle Stein both added nine and Bohuslavsky eighth.

Regis was led by Purdy’s 16 points.

 

FHSU Athletics

JOPLIN, Mo. – Fort Hays State’s Cory Keehn closed out his very successful collegiate career on Saturday (Nov. 21) with a 13th-place finish at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. He earned All-America honors with the performance.

Keehn reached the top 20 at nationals for the first time in his career. He covered the 10K course in a time of 30:06.8. He was one second behind Collins Kirui of New Mexico Highlands, this year’s FHSU Tiger Open champion, who finished in a time of 30:05.8.

Alfred Chelanga of Shorter won the race individually in a time of 29:24.6. Central Region Champion Vincent Kiprop of Missouri Southern finished second in a time of 29:24.

Colorado Mines won the team championship with a score of 100, knocking off three-time defending national champ Adams State. The Orediggers defeated the Grizzlies by 27 points, 100-127, to win the title.

Keehn finishes his cross country career as an All-American, a three-time all-region performer, and a three-time All-MIAA performer.

 

 

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

HAYS, Kan. – Jill Faxon recorded her first career double-double, scoring 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Fort Hays State women’s basketball team to a 52-44 win over St. Cloud State Friday night at Gross Coliseum.

Tony Hobson Postgame Interview

 

Game Highlights

 

The Tigers shot just 23-percent shooting from the floor but forced 23 turnovers to move to 3-0 on the season.

FHSU led by as many as six in the first quarter but went without a field goal for 7:33 in the second quarter and fell behind by three. Jill Faxon connected on a pair of three-pointers in the final 1:16 to give the Tigers a 25-22 halftime lead.

They pushed the lead to eight after three quarters then Faxon fifth 3-pointer of the game increased it to 11 early in the fourth quarter.

The Huskies used 7-1 fourth quarter run to pull within three with 3:35 to play but the Tigers were able to hold them off the rest of the way.

Chelsea Mason added 13 points for the Tigers who play Regis Saturday at 4 p.m. The Rangers lost 76-57.

FHSU Athletics

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State claimed the Central Region Championship for the second-straight year as it defeated No. 19 ranked Upper Iowa 4-2 on Friday (Nov. 20) at Rockhurst University. In the process, the Tigers also set a new program record for wins in a season, now at 13-5-1 overall. The Tigers will take on Rockhurst in the Super Regional Final/National Quarterfinals on Sunday at 1 pm.

The Tigers and the Peacocks split in the regular season. The Peacocks’ victory over the Tigers on November 6 in Hays clinched their first MIAA Championship and jeopardized the Tigers’ fourth straight NCAA Tournament bid momentarily. However, the Tigers had revenge on their minds Friday and claimed the region championship and the season series over the Peacocks.

The match started off with a fortunate break for the Tigers when a cross from senior forward Joe Albright deflected off the head of an Upper Iowa defender and landed in the back of the net just 4:26 in.

Less than five minutes later Upper Iowa got the equalizer. Rhys Williams came flying down the right side of the field for the Peacocks and sent a cross into the middle of the box where Ryan Pinkerton was waiting to head it past the FHSU goalkeeper Michael Yantz, tying the game at 1-1 at the 9:12 mark.

Mauricio Castorino displayed why he was granted the MIAA Player of the Year award when he used some beautiful footwork in the 16th minute to get around a Peacock defender and execute a perfect give and go with Maurizio Costa and buried his 10th goal of the season, pushing the Tigers ahead 2-1.

Killian Gorman added to the lead when he entered the back side of the box on a delayed run, and got just enough of the ball to keep it inside the far post for his first goal of the season at the 43:32 mark. It was the final goal of the opening half and the Tigers went to the locker room up on the Peacocks 3-1.

The second half started with a lot of pressure from the Peacocks but the Tiger defense was up for the challenge, despite suffering 12 shots in the half. A corner kick from Kyle Markovitz was sent into the box in the 71st minute, bounced off  David Lucio and Drew Wilson elevated over a defender to head it into the net for his first goal of the season. The Tigers led 4-1 going into the last 10 minutes.

Upper Iowa showed grit and determination as they were not going down without a fight. In the 81st minute, the Peacocks cut the lead to two when Sebastian Smith rifled a shot from twenty yards out and was able to get it past Yantz for his third goal of the season.

Despite the late pressure, the Tiger lead was too much for the Peacocks to overcome and the score remained 4-2 at the sound of the final horn. Yantz, who earlier this season become the FHSU single season wins leader added to his record breaking season and pushed his record to 13-5-1 with three saves.

With the victory, the Tigers move to the National Quarterfinals for the second straight year. The Tigers will look to advance to the National Semifinals in Florida with a win on Sunday (Nov. 22) at 1 pm against Midwest Region Champion Rockhurst University.

FHSU Athletics

FLORENCE, Ala. – Fort Hays State senior linebacker Brock Long has been nominated as one of 38 players in NCAA Division II for the Harlon Hill Trophy. The trophy is awarded to the Division II College Football Player of the Year. Long is among 11 nominees in Super Region 3. Long is the only linebacker nationally nominated for the award.

Long has put together one of the most impressive defensive seasons in Fort Hays State history. Long has made huge contributions to Fort Hays State being 8-3 overall and being selected to the Mineral Water Bowl. Long has 159 tackles overall, 21.0 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, and 1 interception to his credit this season. He is the MIAA leader in tackles for loss, sacks, and forced fumbles.

Traditionally an award that is awarded to an offensive player, Long’s numbers on a national level warrant a nomination for the award. He ranks fifth nationally in tackles, eighth in tackles for loss, 14th in sacks, and sixth in forced fumbles. It is impressive that he is in the top 20 of all those categories as a linebacker, as you traditionally see the majority of tackles for loss and sack leaders being defensive linemen.

The Harlon Hill has been awarded to a defensive player just once in history, that being linebacker Ronald McKinnon from North Alabama in 1995. As a senior in 1995, McKinnon had 139 tackles, 11 tackles-for-loss, four interceptions and four sacks. To put that in perspective, Long has 20 more tackles, 10 more tackles for loss, and 5.5 more sacks. He only comes up short in interceptions by three.

Long is one of only two players on the Super Region 3 ballot that are defensive players. Joshua Gordon, defensive end from Minnesota State-Mankato is the other. Below are the nominations in Super Region 3.

Garrett Fugate, Jr., QB, Central Missouri
Ja’Quan Gardner, So., RB, Humboldt State
Blake Gimbel, So., QB, Southwest Minnesota State
Joshua Gordon, Sr., DE, Minnesota State-Mankato
Trey Heid, Jr., QB, Augustana
Brock Long, Sr., LB, Fort Hays State
Reid Miller, Jr., QB, Northwestern Oklahoma State
Luke Papilion, Jr., QB, Sioux Falls
Jameson Parsons, Jr., WR, St. Cloud State
Barrett Renner, Fr., QB, Southern Arkansas
Brent Wilson, Sr., QB, Emporia State

The list of candidates was announced Friday (Nov. 20) morning by the National Harlon Hill Award Commitee. The list includes players from each of the four Division II Super Regions.

The 38 initial candidates will be placed on regional ballots and the top two players from each of the four NCAA regions will advance to the national ballot when regional voting concludes on November 30.

The winner of the 2015 award, which is presented by the National Harlon Hill Award Committee, will be announced on Friday, December 18 via a webcast and the winner will be honored at a luncheon on the University of North Alabama campus on January 8, 2016.

The list of candidates for the 2015 Hill Trophy includes 2014 winner Jason Vander Laan of Ferris State and third place finisher Anthony Bilal of Lake Erie.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State shot nearly 70-percent from the floor in the first half and 59-percent for the game as they roll past Central Christian 96-64 Wednesday at Gross Coliseum. The Tigers scored 27 points from the free throw line and outscore the Tigers from McPherson 38-5 off of turnovers as they improve to 3-0.

FHSU used an early 7-0 run to go up nine and led 50-30 at the half. They quickly pushed the lead to 26 after halftime and led by as many as 35 in the second half.

Mark Johnson Postgame Interiew

Dom Samac Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

 

Dom Samac and Jake Stoppel both scored 18 points and Craig Nicholson added 15. Samac added nine rebounds and hit 10 of 12 free throw attempts. Nicholson went 3-of-6 from the floor and 8-of-11 from the free throw line while dishing out five assist.

Central Christian was led by Michael Gholston who scored 16.

FHSU Athletics

GOLDEN, Colo. – The Fort Hays State wrestling team dropped its first dual of the season at Colorado Mines by the score 26-19. The Tigers actually won five of nine matches contested, but bonus points for the Orediggers were a huge factor in the Oredigger win.

Anthony Calderon got a victory for the Tigers at 133 pounds by decision (3-2). Calderon was taken down by opponent Caleb Micho in the first period but managed an escape before the period ended. After no points were scored in the second period, Calderon was able to earn an escape in the third to bring the score even at 2-2 and was given a riding time point to pull off the 3-2 decision.

At 149 pounds, Noah Killip defeated Jacob Gerken by decision (8-5) earning three more points for the Tigers. Just like Calderon, Killip was taken down in the first period but was able to earn an escape point. In the second period, Killip earned two points but suffered another takedown and went into the third trailing 4-3. In the third, Killip started on top and was able to get a four-point near fall. That was the difference maker as Killip also added a riding time point.

Bradley Little earned four points for the Tigers when he defeated Ethan Ruby at 157 pounds by major decision (13-2). Despite getting taken down first, Little was able to get an escape and a take down before the first period ended. In the second period, Little could not get a pin, but earned two separate four-point near falls pushing his lead to 11-2. Not much happened in the third, but a penalty point and riding time point secured the major decision.

Jon Inman gave the Tigers six points when he pinned Karl Breidenbach at 1:58 in the first period at 184 pounds. Inman only needed one take down and once he had his opponent on the mat, he took care of the rest. Ranked No. 6 in the country, Inman moved to 5-0 for the season.

Justin Scott added three points for FHSU at 285 pounds. Scott was on the wrong end of a takedown, but righted the ship with a reversal before his opponent earned an escape point. He got a takedown before the first period ended to take a 4-3 lead. Scott earned two more points in the second period and added a riding time point at the end of the match for a 7-3 decision.

Bonus points were key for Colorado Mines. The Tigers were open at 125 pounds, which gave away six points. Jacob Schoenfield suffered a major decision loss at 141 pounds. Kregg Clarke and Nathan Shipley each got pinned at 165 and 174 pounds, ballooning the CSM point count to 22. Ethan Dale lost by major decision at 197 pounds.

Next up for the Tigers will be the Nebraska-Kearney Holiday Inn Open this Saturday.

FHSU Athletics

KEARNEY, Neb. – Fort Hays State fell in the opening round of the MIAA Tournament on Tuesday night by a score of 3-1 to Nebraska-Kearney. FHSU evened the match with a 26-24 second-set win, but the 10th-ranked Lopers were too much on their home floor.

UNK ran away with the first set, but in the second set, FHSU trailed 24-22 before rallying with four straight points to even the match with a 26-24 set victory. The third set went much like the first with UNK cruising to an easy win as it regained control of the match. FHSU remained close in the fourth set all the way to a 19-19 tie before UNK reeled off six of the final seven points in the set. The Lopers outhit the Tigers .272 to .135 in the match.

Mallory Flagor led FHSU with 14 kills, hitting .216 in her final collegiate match. She added 10 digs for her 12th double-double of the season. Crystal Whitten posted her 20th double-double of the year with 13 kills and 15 digs. Ari Jocobson led the Tigers in digs with 17 and Hannah Wagy had 45 assists. Rebekah Spainhour, Megan Anderson and Flagor all had a team-high five blocks.

Kendall Schroer led UNK in kills with 16, followed by Kaitlynn Thomas with 13 and Tara Ziegelbein with 11.

Fort Hays State finished its season at 21-13 overall. The Tigers went 10-8 in MIAA play, setting a new program-best mark for wins in MIAA play for a season. FHSU finished sixth in the conference standings.

Nebraska-Kearney, the No. 3 seed in the MIAA Tournament, moves on to the semifinals. The remainder of the tournament will be held at Central Oklahoma, the No. 1 seed in the tournament.