Fort Hays State cross country coach Jason McCullough has been named the 2012 MIAA Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year. This is the first MIAA Coach of the Year honor for McCullough, now in his eighth year as head coach of the Tigers.

The Tigers have seen a vast improvement in 2012, jumping from a sixth-place finish at the MIAA Championships in 2011 all the way to winners of the conference championship this year. Several factors have created the perfect storm for FHSU to be one of the top forces in the Central Region this year.

The emergence of Cory Keehn as one of Fort Hays State’s top runners has been impressive. Just a sophomore, the Soldier, Kan. native was the individual champion at the MIAA Championships after placing 15th in that event as a freshman. Keehn became the first individual conference champion in cross country for FHSU since 1979 when Curt Shelman accomplished the feat.

Right there with Keehn in the lead packs this year has been senior Alex Hende, who continues to show steady improvement in his career at FHSU. Hendee finished sixth at the MIAA Championships this year after finishing eighth last year, giving him two straight years on the All-MIAA Team. Senior Tanner Christensen has returned as a solid force on the team this year, especially in the last few weeks, after redshirting last year with an injury.

The final pieces to the puzzle for Coach McCullough this year have been Garden City (Kan.) Community College transfers Chris Ramsgard and Michael Wolf. Both have emerged as part of the top five that has allowed FHSU to score much better in meets than it did a year ago.

The Tigers look to make nationals as a team for the first time since 2002 when they run at the Central Regional on Saturday (Nov. 3).

– FHSU Sports Information –

Fort Hays State wrestling has been tabbed third in the MIAA Preseason Wrestling Coaches Poll, released on Thursday, October 25. Nebraska-Kearney is picked to win the conference dual schedule, with Central Oklahoma close behind.

Nebraska-Kearney is the defending national champion in NCAA Division II. The Lopers make the jump with the Tigers from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference this year in wrestling. FHSU wrestling was the only sport remaining last year that was not yet affiliated with the MIAA. With the additions of Nebraska-Kearney, Central Oklahoma, and Lindenwood, the MIAA now has six schools with wrestling and will have it as a championship sport this year.

Nebraska-Kearney received four of the six first place votes by the coaches, while Central Oklahoma received the other two. UNK, UCO and FHSU have all been staples in the national rankings for wrestling for several years. UNK had three individual national champions last year to go with its team title, UCO had three wrestlers with top-five finishes at nationals last year, and FHSU had six individuals qualify for nationals last year.

– FHSU Sports Information –

Below is the preseason coaches poll…

2012-13 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Nebraska-Kearney (4) 24
2. Central Oklahoma (2) 22
3. Fort Hays State 16
4. Lindenwood 14
5. Central Missouri 9
6. Truman 5

Listen to FHSU head coach Tony Hobson’s teleconference on the MIAA Media Day. The Tigers are picked fifth in both the coaches  and media poll.

Tony Hobson MIAA Media

The Fort Hays State women’s basketball team was selected fifth in both the MIAA Preseason Coaches and Media Polls released on Wednesday, part of MIAA Women’s Basketball Virtual Media Day. Fort Hays State finished 20-9 overall and fifth in the MIAA standings at 12-8.

The top three teams in each poll mirror the finish in the standings from last year as Washburn is picked first, Pittsburg State second, and Emporia State third. Conference newcomer Northeastern State is picked to finish fourth in each poll, followed by Fort Hays State and Central Missouri.

There was nearly a 50/50 split on the first-place voting for Washburn and Pittsburg State. In the Coaches Poll, Washburn had eight first place votes compared to six for Pittsburg State and had 11 more voting points overall. Washburn and Pittsburg State each had eight first-place votes in the media poll and Washburn held the edge in total voting points by just three.

FHSU returns four starters from last year, which includes their top two scorers in Kate Edwards and Kate Lehman. Edwards, a junior this year, averaged 14.6 points game and Lehman, a sophomore this year, averaged 10.7 points per game. The other returning starters include seniors Traci Keyser and Kelsie Sorenson. Edwards and Lehman were All-MIAA selections last year, while Keyser was in the year prior. FHSU has 11 of its letterwinners from last year returning in 2012-13. The Tigers have also added five freshman and one junior transfer to the squad this year.

2012-13 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Washburn (8) 189
2. Pittsburg State (6) 178
3. Emporia State (1) 171
4. Northeastern State 154
5. Fort Hays State 139
6. Central Missouri 135
7. Truman 112
8. Central Oklahoma 110
T9. Lincoln 65
T9. Missouri Southern 65
11. Missouri Western 64
T12. Lindenwood 62
T12. Southwest Baptist 62
14. Northwest Missouri 51
15. Nebraska-Kearney 18

2012-13 MIAA Preseason Media Poll
1. Washburn (8) 257
2. Pittsburg State (8) 254
3. Emporia State (2) 235
4. Northeastern State 204
5. Fort Hays State 193
6. Central Missouri 183
7. Central Oklahoma 156
8. Truman 152
9. Lindenwood 117
10. Southwest Baptist 93
11. Lincoln 87
12. Missouri Western 69
13. Missouri Southern 65
14. Northwest Missouri 60
15. Nebraska-Kearney 35

Fort Hays State football coach Chris Brown and selected players met with the media Tuesday evening to talk about the the Tigers win over Lincoln and look ahead to their non-conference game at South Dakota Mines this Saturday.

Chris Brown Press Conference (Part 1)
Chris Brown Presser 1 10-23-12

Chris Brown Press Conference (Part 2)
Chris Brown Presser 2 10-23-12

Keke Paul
Keke Paul 10-23-12

Seth Klausmeyer
Seth Klausmeyer 10-23-12

Shaquille Cooper
Shaquille Cooper 10-23-12

Anthony Sheppard
Anthony Sheppard 10-23-12

The Fort Hays State volleyball team saw a four-match win streak snapped at the hands of No. 4 ranked Nebraska-Kearney on Tuesday evening in Kearney, Neb. The Tigers had the early momentum in the first set, but the Lopers rallied back to take the opening set and rolled from that point. FHSU is now 22-9 overall and 6-6 in the MIAA.

Fort Hays State jumped out to an early 12-6 advantage in the first set. The lead dwindled to four at 16-12 and then the Lopers made a couple of bursts at the Tigers to eventually tie the first set at 17-17. The teams fought a close battle to 22-22, but the Lopers rallied for the final three points with a block and a pair of kills by reigning MIAA Player of the Week Katie Sokolowski.

Nebraska-Kearney (24-2, 10-1 MIAA) did not look back from that point on, hitting over .300 in the final two sets, while holding FHSU under .050 in all three sets for the evening. The Lopers finished the match at .255 overall, while the Tigers hit just .028 for the match.

Madison Schwartz led FHSU in kills with seven, followed by Sara Hewson with six. Kayla Zoglman had 23 assists and she tied Makenzie Weinman for the team lead in digs, each with 10.

Sokolowski led UNK in kills with 15, followed by Ariel Krolikowski with 12. Jenna Rouzee had 33 assists and Liz McGowan had a team-high 14 digs.

Fort Hays State returns home for a pair of matches this coming weekend against Central Oklahoma and Pittsburg State. FHSU faces Central Oklahoma at 6 pm on Saturday and Pittsburg State at 2 pm on Sunday.

– FHSU Sports Information –

Listen to FHSU head coach Mark Johnson’s teleconference on the MIAA Media Day. The Tigers are picked in a tie for fourth in the coaches poll and tie for sixth in the media rankings.

Mark Johnson MIAA Media

Fort Hays State men’s basketball has been selected fourth and sixth in the MIAA Preseason Polls, released as part of MIAA Virtual Men’s Basketball Media Day on Tuesday, October 23. The Tigers tied for fourth in voting in the coaches poll and tied for sixth in voting in the media poll. Fort Hays State finished 19-9 overall last year and fifth in the MIAA standings at 12-8.

There was a three-way tie for the regular season championship in the MIAA last year and those teams top each preseason poll this year, which includes Washburn, Central Missouri and Northwest Missouri State picked in that order in both polls. Washburn was the conference tournament champion.

In the coaches poll, the Tigers tied for fourth in voting with Pittsburg State, each with 137 voting points. Behind them in sixth is Missouri Southern, which finished fourth in the conference last year. Pittsburg State was seventh in the MIAA last year, but came on strong at the end of the year finishing as the conference tournament runner-up.

In the media poll, the top four teams hold form from last year’s regular season standings, while Pittsburg State is picked alone in fifth, just two voting points ahead of Fort Hays State and Lindenwood, which are tied for sixth. Lindenwood is in transition to NCAA Division II but has been highly successful at the NAIA level.

Central Oklahoma, also a conference newcomer this year, is picked seventh in the coaches poll and ninth in the media poll. The Bronchos played host to the Division II South Central Regional a couple of years ago as the region’s top seed in 2010-11. They knocked FHSU from the NCAA Tournament that year in the regional semifinals, so the Bronchos are not a stranger to success in recent years.

Fort Hays State has finished fifth or higher in the MIAA regular season standings in each of the last four years. The Tigers do not have any returning starters from last year’s team back. Lance Russell is the top scorer and rebounder back from last year’s squad and Ben Conguista returns in 2012-13 after sitting out last year with an injury. Congiusta was a strong contributor to the team that finished second in the MIAA in 2010-11 and won the conference tournament championship. FHSU has 10 newcomers to the team this year and just four returners.

Below are the complete preseason polls…

2012-13 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Washburn (11) 188
2. Central Missouri (3) 180
3. Northwest Missouri (1) 170
T4. Fort Hays State 137
T4. Pittsburg State 137
6. Missouri Southern 131
7. Central Oklahoma 119
8. Lindenwood 107
9. Southwest Baptist 89
10. Emporia State 73
11. Nebraska-Kearney 70
12. Missouri Western 65
13. Truman 54
14. Northeastern State 39
15. Lincoln 16

2012-13 MIAA Preseason Media Poll
1. Washburn (17) 267
2. Central Missouri 243
3. Northwest Missouri 236
4. Missouri Southern (1) 204
5. Pittsburg State 173
T6. Fort Hays State 171
T6. Lindenwood 171
8. Southwest Baptist 146
9. Central Oklahoma 132
10. Emporia State 96
11. Nebraska-Kearney 94
12. Truman 89
13. Missouri Western 74
14. Northeastern State 43
15. Lincoln 21