FHSU Athletics

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State Men’s Soccer moved up two spots in the latest NSCAA Division II National Poll, released on Tuesday (Sept. 15). After sitting at No. 14 in the previous two polls, the Tigers moved up to No. 12 after knocking off previously No. 12 ranked Colorado State-Pueblo this past Sunday.

After their first loss of the season on Friday at UC-Colorado Springs, the Tigers rebounded to defeat the No. 12 ranked team on its home field. FHSU defeated CSU-Pueblo 2-1 on Sunday, pushing both teams to 3-1 overall on the season.

The Tigers are back to being the highest ranked team in the poll from the MIAA. Lindenwood jumped all the way from unranked to No. 7 in the last poll, but went 0-1-1 last week and dropped to No. 20 in the rankings this week. Northeastern State, previously No. 24, fell twice last week and dropped to the receiving votes list. Upper Iowa is still undefeated at 4-0, but is not referenced anywhere in this week’s poll.

The Tigers have one match this week as they host Lubbock Christian in their first home match of the season on Friday night (Sept. 18) at 7 pm.

Below is the NSCAA Division II Poll for September 15, 2015.

Also receiving votes: Young Harris College (17), Upper Iowa University (15), Millersville University (7), Cal Poly Pomona (5), Northeastern State University (4), Saginaw Valley State University (3), California State University Monterey Bay (1), Wilmington University (1)

FHSU Athletics

MONKEY ISLAND, Okla. – Fort Hays State men’s golf had four newcomers and one returner open the 2015-16 season on Monday(Sept. 14) at the Missouri Southern Fall Invitational, being held in Monkey Island, Okla. The team is competing at the Shangri-La Golf Club, a par-72 layout. The Tigers sit in 11th after the first day of competition.

Junior college transfers Lane Pauls, Landon Fix and Koby Boegher led the Tigers on day one. Pauls shot rounds of 78 and 85, while Fox shot rounds of 86 and 80 and Boegher shot rounds of 90 and 77. Cash Hobson carded rounds of 91 and 86 in his first collegiate tournament, while Kade Megaffin had scores of 88 and 91.

The Tigers have a total of 670. Central Missouri has a total of 578 to lead the way, while Missouri Southern is second at 583. The teams wrap up the competition on Tuesday with the final round.

FHSU women in 15th at the NSU Classic
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Fort Hays State women’s golf sits in 15th after the first round of the NSU Classic, being held at Cherokee Springs Golf Course in Tahlequah, Okla. Hannah Karasiuk led the Tigers on the first day.

Karasiuk shot a total of 82 in the first round. She was closely followed by teammate Hannah Perkins, who shot 83. Kyle McCarthy finished with 85, while Kelsey McCarthy shot 89. Bailey Jones finished with a round of 101.

The Tigers finish the tournament on Tuesday with the final round.

WACO, Texas – Fort Hays State Football continues to receive votes in the latest edition of the AFCA Division II Poll, released on Monday (Sept. 14). The Tigers received seven votes this week, gaining five after receiving two in the first poll of the season. FHSU is receiving votes for the second straight week.

Fort Hays State is among four MIAA schools either in the top 25 or receiving votes. All four are 2-0 so far this year. After a loss by last week’s No. 2 ranked team, Colorado State-Pueblo, Northwest Missouri State and Pittsburg State moved up this week. The Bearcats are ranked No. 3 and Pittsburg State is right behind at No. 4. Emporia State is receiving nine votes, while Fort Hays State is receiving seven.

Fort Hays State heads to Lindenwood this Saturday for a 6 pm contest in St. Charles. The Tigers are looking for their first 3-0 start under head coach Chris Brown. Lindenwood enters the game at 1-1 overall with a win over Washburn and a loss to Pittsburg State.

Below is the AFCA Division II Coaches Poll for September 14, 2015.

Others Receiving Votes: Michigan Tech, 71; Midwestern St. (Texas), 60; West Texas A&M, 56; Carson-Newman (Tenn.), 48; North Carolina-Pembroke, 38; Bloomsburg (Pa.), 28; Findlay (Ohio), 13; Azusa Pacific (Calif.), 10; Emporia St. (Kan.), 9; Virginia Union, 9; Fort Hays State (Kan.), 7; Henderson St. (Ark.), 6; LIU-Post (N.Y.), 5; East Central (Okla.), 4; Indianapolis (Ind.), 4; Newberry (S.C.), 3; North Greenville (S.C.), 3; Augustana (S.D.), 2; Bowie St. (Md.), 2; Stonehill (Mass.), 2; Arkansas Tech, 1; Gannon (Pa.), 1; Tiffin (Ohio), 1.

MIAA Media Relations

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – With huge weekends Emporia State’s Brent Wilson and Fort Hays State’s Shaquille Cooper have been named Co-MIAA/AstroTurf Football Offensive Athletes of the Week. Missouri Western’s Michael Jordan earned the Defensive Athlete of the Week award with Pittsburg State Levi Copelin earning MIAA Special Teams Athlete of the Week.

MIAA/AstroTurf Co-Offensive Athlete of the Week
Shaquille Cooper, RB, Fort Hays State
Cooper rushed for 263 yards in the 27-13 win over Northeastern State on Thursday night in Hays. His 93-yard touchdown run with 2:19 remaining in the game broke a 13-13 tie. It was a new career-high for Cooper, who has now rushed for over 100 yards in five of his six career games at running back. The 263 rushing yards were fourth-most in a single game in FHSU history. He averaged 9.1 yards per carry. He also added 22 receiving yards to finish with 285 all-purpose yards on the night. He has 426 rushing yards over the first two games of the season, averaging 8.5 yards per carry. The 5-10 senior running back is a native of Coral Gables, Fla. where he competed at Coral Gables High School.

MIAA/AstroTurf Co-Offensive Athlete of the Week
Brent Wilson, QB, Emporia State
Wilson threw for 446 yards and five touchdowns to lead Emporia State to a 45-34 come from behind win over Central Missouri. The Hornets trailed 14-3 at the end of the first quarter and 21-10 midway through the second quarter. He tossed touchdown passes of 37 and 45 yards in the second quarter to tie the score at 24 before the game was suspended 41 hours until Saturday. UCM had possession to start the second half and scored to go up 31-24. Wilson answered with a 48-yard TD pass and gave the Hornets their first lead of the game with a 14 yard strike to open the fourth quarter. After the Mules hit a field goal to cut the lead to 38-34, Wilson led the Hornets on a seven play, 66-yard drive and capped it with a two-yard touchdown pass. He became the fourth Hornet quarterback with at least 5,000 yards passing and now has 5,093 yards. He passed Pete Jelovic to move into fourth place on the Emporia State career total offense chart and now has 5,767 yards. His 52 touchdown passes are second all-time to Tyler Eckenrode’s 60 TDs from 2009-12. Through the first two games of 2015 Wilson is completing 73.2% of his passes (60 of 82) for 776 yards and eight touchdowns for an efficiency rating of 180.0. The 6-0 senior quarterback is a native of Ponca City, Okla. where he competed at Ponca City High School.

MIAA/AstroTurf Defensive Athlete of the Week
Michael Jordan, DB, Missouri Western
Jordan had two interceptions and four pass break ups as the Griffon’s defeated Central Oklahoma 26-16. He also finished with four tackles, three solo. Both of Jordan’s interceptions ended UCO scoring threats. The first came in the second quarter at the MWSU 1-yard line with the Griffons leading 16-0. The second sealed the MWSU victory on a late fourth quarter UCO drive in Griffon territory. The 6-0 senior defensive back is a native of Hazelwood, Mo. where he competed at Hazelwood Central High School.

MIAA/AstroTurf Special Teams Athlete of the Week
Levi Copelin, WR, Pittsburg State
Copelin blocked and recovered a pair of second quarter Lindenwood punts, helping No. 5 ranked Pitt State explode for 35 points in the stanza en route to a 56-28 victory over the visiting Lions Saturday (Sept. 12). He blocked the first LWU punt and recovered it at the Lions 2 yard line to help the Gorillas break a 14-14 tie. Later in the period, he blocked another attempt and ran the ball in from 16 yards out for a 35-14 lead with 1:53 to play in the first half. The 6-2 wide receiver is native of Broke Arrow, Okla. where he competed at Broken Arrow High School, and he transferred to Pitt State from the University of Missouri.