By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Fort Hays State Athletics will welcome seven new members into the Tiger Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday, October 26, 2024. The inductees going into the Hall of Fame this year include Gary Grubb (Track and Field, 1974-75), Randy Hill (Wrestling, 1975-79), Don Carter (Track & Field, 1985-87), Chris Capettini (Football, 1988-91), Darcie Schmitz (Riordan) (Track and Field, 2009-11), Dominique Jones (Men’s Basketball, 2009-11), and Kate Lehman (Bremerman) (Women’s Basketball, 2011-2015).
The induction ceremony will take place the morning of Saturday, October 26 inside the Memorial Union on the campus of Fort Hays State University. Registration for the invitation only event begins at 8 AM and the ceremony begins at 9 AM. The new Hall of Fame class will then be recognized publicly at halftime of the Fort Hays State vs. Missouri Southern football game, which begins at 1 PM.
Gary Grubb – Track and Field (1974-75) (Posthumous)
Gary Grubb, native of Tribune, Kansas, was the NAIA national champion in the pole vault for the outdoor season as a junior in 1974. He cleared a height of 15 feet, 6 inches to win the championship. He was the national runner-up the same year at the NAIA Indoor Championships. Grubb was the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champion during the 1974 outdoor season. He qualified for the NAIA Indoor and Outdoor Championships in 1975 as well, placing eighth at the outdoor championships.
Randy Hill – Wrestling (1975-79)
Randy Hill, native of Wamego, Kansas, wrestled for three years at Fort Hays State between 1975-1979. He was an All-America performer in 1979 as a senior, finishing as the national runner-up at 167 pounds with a 13-2-1 record overall. His effort helped the team to a 7th-place finish nationally that season, which tied the program’s highest team finish at nationals at that point. During his junior year of 1976-77, Hill became the first FHSU wrestler in history to complete an undefeated regular season, going 21-0 before competing at the national championship site where he went 3-2 to finish 24-2 overall. Both of his losses at nationals that year were to two-time national champions. Hill was a four-time national qualifier overall, once at Pratt Community College in the junior college ranks before qualifying three times at FHSU. He finished with an overall record of 44-11-2 (.789) at FHSU. At the end of his career in 1979, Hill owned the FHSU career records for points, near falls, and escapes.
Don Carter – Track & Field (1985-87)
Don Carter, native of Emporia, Kansas, was a five-time NAIA All-America performer for the Tigers and set six school records in jumping events, competing from 1985 to 1987. As a sophomore in 1985, he placed second nationally in both the outdoor triple jump and high jump. He set the school triple jump record that year at 51-feet, 0.75-inches and also the high jump record at 7-feet, 0.5-inches. His triple jump record still stands today as no Tiger during the NCAA Division II era has ever gone past 50 feet. During the 1986 indoor season, Carter was District 10 champion in both the triple jump and high jump and went on to claim All-America honors at the NAIA national meet, finishing fourth in the triple jump and fifth in the high jump. Carter nabbed his final All-America honor during the indoor season of 1987 with a fourth-place finish in the high jump. Carter still owns three school records at FHSU, standing for nearly for 40 years now, which includes outdoor triple jump (51’0.75″ – 1985), indoor high jump (7’1″ – 1985), and indoor triple jump (49’9.5″ – 1986). He and Steve Broxterman (Tiger Sports Hall of Fame member) are the only Tigers to eclipse the 7-foot high jump barrier in the program’s NAIA history, and it was only eclipsed once outdoors in the NCAA Division II era by Matt Bixenman. At the end of his career, Carter owned all six FHSU records for both indoor and outdoor triple jump (I – 49’9.5″ O – 51’0.75″), long jump (I – 23’9″, O – 24’6.75″), and high jump (I – 7’1″, O – 7’1″). Carter and John Mason still own the most individual FHSU records among athletes that competed in the program’s NAIA era, both with three, as Carter still holds the standard for indoor triple jump and high jump, and outdoor triple jump.
Chris Capettini – Football (1988-91)
Chris Capettini, native of Wheat Ridge, Colorado, played football at Fort Hays State from 1988-91. Capettini was a two-time NAIA All-America selection at tight end, used often as a key blocker in the running game for FHSU his last two seasons. Capetinni was a defensive tackle the first two years of his career at FHSU before transitioning to tight end under new head coach Bob Cortese in 1990. Capetinni helped the Tigers to their only NAIA playoff appearance in 1990 when they fell to Central State (Ohio) in the first round. He was a part of a team that went from 3-6-1 his freshman year and 3-7 his sophomore year, to 8-4 his junior year and 8-3 his senior year. The 1990 and 1991 teams tied the school record for wins in a season. In 1991, he helped block for a team that set a school record for rushing yards in a season with 2,996, a record that stood for 24 years. After recording 21 tackles as a freshman and 15 tackles as a sophomore on the defensive side of the ball, Capettini produced 8 receptions for 95 yards and 2 touchdowns in 1990 and 9 receptions for 106 yards and one touchdown in 1991 to go with his strong blocking ability.
Darcie Schmitz – Track and Field (2009-2011)
Darcie Schmitz, native of Baileyville, Kansas, was a seven-time All-America (4 outdoor, 3 indoor) performer in track and field in just two years of eligibility at Fort Hays State. She competed outdoors in 2009 and 2011, while competing indoors in 2010 and 2011. She was the 2010 NCAA Division II Indoor National Champion in the long jump and was national runner-up in the triple jump that same season. Schmitz owns both the indoor and outdoor records in long jump and triple jump at FHSU. Her indoor long jump record of 19 feet, 9.5 inches won her the indoor national title in 2010. Her best outdoor long jump mark was 19 feet, 11 inches set at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships when she finished 4th. She set the FHSU triple jump record for both outdoor and indoor at 41 feet, 1 inch and the outdoor record set a new MIAA Outdoor Championship meet record in 2011. She was the MIAA Outdoor Champion in both the long jump and triple jump in 2011 and was a 7-time All-MIAA performer overall (top-3 finisher). Schmitz was also a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team selection, earning the honors in 2010 and 2011. She transferred to FHSU from Cloud County Community College, where she was an NJCAA All-America performer and junior college Academic All-America selection.
Dominique Jones – Men’s Basketball (2009-11)
Dominique Jones, native of Harlem, N.Y., played two seasons at Fort Hays State from 2009-2011, serving at the team’s point guard. Jones was a State Farm/NABC All-America First Team and Division II Bulletin All-America selection in 2011, leading a nationally ranked Tiger team at 17.9 points and 6.3 assists per game. That season, he scored 592 points and dished out 207 assists, helping the Tigers to a record of 26-7 overall, while also earning All-MIAA First Team honors and the MIAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Award when he helped the Tigers to an MIAA Tournament Championship. Jones helped the Tigers to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in both 2010 and 2011 as the Tigers posted an overall record of 49-14 over the two years. A two-time All-MIAA First Team selection, Jones nearly scored 1,000 points in his two years at FHSU with 983, leading the Tigers in scoring each year. His 5.1 assists per game average ranks fifth in program history and his 324 assists overall ranks seventh in program history. Following his time at Fort Hays State, Jones eventually became a superstar professionally on the FIBA 3-on-3 World Tour for several years and in 2019 was named the FIBA 3×3 World Tour MVP. For a good length of time Jones was the No. 1 ranked 3×3 World Tour player in the United States. Jones also enjoyed a brief stint with the Harlem Globetrotters in the summer of 2015. As one of the top 3×3 players in the United States, Jones earned his way to being a member of Team USA and helped lead the United States to a gold medal in the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. Jones was also a member of the U.S. Olympic Qualifying Team in 2020.
Kate Lehman – Women’s Basketball (2011-15)
Kate Lehman, native of Newton, Kansas, played four seasons at Fort Hays State from 2011-2015. Lehman was the MIAA Player of the Year in her senior year of 2014-15, while also earning BennettRank.com National Player of the Year honors. She was an All-America selection in both 2014 and 2015, earning the distinction both years from the WBCA and Division II Bulletin, while also earning the honor once from Dakronics and BennettRank.com. Lehman was a four-time All-MIAA selection, earning first-team honors each of her last three seasons, and was twice an MIAA All-Tournament Team selection (2013, 2015). She was a Daktronics All-Central Region selection in each of her final three seasons at FHSU (2013, 2014, 2015). Lehman was named to the MIAA All-Defensive Team all four years as a Tiger and was the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Lehman was also tremendous in the classroom as she earned CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team honors in 2015. Lehman put together the most decorated career by a Tiger in the program’s NCAA Division II history as far as awards are concerned. She is FHSU’s all-time leading rebounder at 1,109 for her career, and ranks second on the career scoring list with 1,917 points. She is the only player in program history to reach the 1,000 mark in both points and rebounds. Lehman shattered the program’s all-time blocked shots record with 515, which is 349 more than the next player on the list. She also owns the school record for free-throws made (523). Lehman’s blocked shot average of 5.3 per game in 2013-14 stands as an NCAA Division II record for players in their junior year, while it also set an MIAA single-season record. Lehman’s 515 career blocked shots ranks second-most in NCAA Division II history, bested only by LaKisha Phifer of St. Paul’s, and her 4.3 blocks per game career average ranks fourth-best in NCAA Division II history. Her 55 career double-doubles ranks 17th in NCAA Division II history and her three triple-doubles ranks fourth in NCAA Division II history. She led NCAA Division II in blocked shots per game as both a sophomore at 4.2 per game and as a junior at 5.3 per game