Fall sports recap: A semester to remember

As the fall semester comes to a close, Kansas State athletics has seen multiple titles, new beginnings and remarkable individual performances. 

Volleyball: 15-14

• Sep. 26: Junior Mackenzie Morris recorded her 1,000th career dig, becoming the fastest in school history to reach this milestone.
• Oct. 4:  Freshman Shaylee Myers recognized as Big 12 Rookie of the Week.
• Nov. 27: K-State announced Suzie Fritz, the Wildcats’ most successful volleyball coach, will not return after 22 years of head coaching.
• Nov. 29: Morris named the final Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week.
• Nov. 29: Senior Sydney Bolding named to the All-Big 12 Second Team and Myers to the All-Big 12 Rookie Team.

Football: 10-3

• Sep. 24: Adrian Martinez led Wildcats (3-1) over No. 6 Oklahoma with five total touchdowns, marking the third time in four meetings that K-State defeated Oklahoma. 
• Oct. 29: Will Howard tied the K-State single-game record with four touchdown passes in a 48-0 win over No. 9 Oklahoma State — the first time the Wildcats have taken down multiple AP top 10 teams in one season.
• Dec. 2: Wildcats defeated TCU (12-1) in first Big 12 Championship game since 2003.
• Dec. 31: K-State to take on Alabama (10-2) in the Wildcats’ first Sugar Bowl appearance.
• Under first-year offensive coordinator Collin Klein, the Wildcats totaled over 375 yards in every Big 12 game — a program first.  

Men’s Golf

• Sep. 13: Wildcats opened fall season with a victory at the Wildcat Invitational.
• Sep. 27: For the first time in program history, all five players in the scoring lineup scored under par en route to the second title at the Old Town Collegiate tournament.
• Oct. 11: K-State won a record-third consecutive championship at the Oregon State Invitational.
• Oct. 17: In Big 12 Match Play, K-State defeated Texas, the reigning national champions, and tied No. 1 Texas Tech.
• K-State will pick up in the spring on pace for the lowest stroke average in team history (279.93).

Women’s Golf

• Sep. 13: Senior Manon Donche-Gay, senior Haley Vargas and junior Gabriela McNelly all placed in the top 50 in the season opener at the Dick McGuire Invitational.
• Sep. 21: Vargas tied for 29th at Texas A&M’s Mo’Morial — her third time leading the Wildcats in scoring. 
• Oct. 11: Vargas continued her rise at the Dale McNamara Invitational, placing third overall (out of 75) with a career-low 54-hole score at 1-under-par.
• Oct. 30: Wildcats finished the fall season at San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico. Vargas’ 1-over-par final round marked 100% of her fall rounds counting towards the team score.

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Soccer: 6-10-3

• Sep. 1: Senior Marisa Weichel scored the 100th goal in team history.
• Junior Kyler Goins became the third player in program history to score five or more goals in a season on a career-high 12 points (five goals, two assists).
• Junior goalkeeper Alaina Werremeyer set records of career starts in goal (41), career saves (207) and career shutouts (10). 
• K-State (6-10-3, 2-5-2 Big 12) tied the school record for wins in a season. 
• Wildcats placed eighth in the Big 12, qualifying for the first Big 12 Soccer Championship in the program’s short history.

Cross Country

• Sep. 3: Wildcats opened the season with the Bob Timmons Classic at Rim Rock Farm with the women finishing first and men second.
• Sep. 3: Junior Hannah Stewart placed second with a personal-best time of 18:07.8, the best 5K time ever by a Wildcat at Rim Rock Farm.
• Sep. 17: Both men and women’s teams finished first at the Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational.
• Oct. 28: K-State finished in the top four at the Big 12 Championship. Women finished 7th.
• Nov. 11: Wildcats concluded the season at the NCAA Midwest Regionals with an 11th place finish for the men and 18th for the women. Senior Stephen Kielhofner earned All-Region honors.