MANHATTAN, Kan. – After posting her third top-5 finish in as many races, senior Morgan Wedekind has won her second Big 12 Runner of the Week award of the season, the conference office announced on Tuesday afternoon.

Wedekind is now the first K-State runner to win Runner of the Week two times in the same season since Laura Galvan won two during the 2013 season. The senior earned her first Runner of the Week honor on September 6 after winning the Augustana Twilight.

“Morgan continues to race well this season,” head cross country coach Ryun Godfrey said about the senior runner. “She will be the first to tell you, however, that her best races are yet to come.”

The Wichita, Kansas, native used a strong time of 18:26.8 to record her fourth place finish, following behind Tulsa’s Stacie Taylor, who crossed the finish line in 18:10.3 and just ahead of Tulsa’s Olivia Lopez, who crossed the finish line in 18:31.2.

K-State’s women finished in third place in the race with 72 points, jumping two spots after finishing in fifth place at last season’s competition. A complete recap of the 2016 Cowboy Jamboree can be found here.

The Wildcats return to action on October 14 when the team travels to Peoria, Illinois, to compete in the Bradley Invitational.

For the latest on K-State cross country, follow @kstatesports and @KStateTFXC on Twitter or Kansas State Track & Field/Cross Country on Facebook.

Game 4
 Kansas State atWest Virginia
Date: Saturday, October 1, 2016

Kickoff: 2:30 p.m. (CT)

Location: Morgantown, W.Va.

Stadium: Milan Puskar Stadium (60,000)

Series: K-State Leads, 5-1

 

 

K-STATE OPENS BIG 12 PLAY AT WEST VIRGINIA
Following a rain-shortened shutout win against Missouri State last weekend, K-State will hit the road and begin Big 12 Conference play on Saturday as the Wildcats face West Virginia at Milan Puskar Stadium. Saturday’s game, which kicks off at 2:30 p.m. (CT), will be televised nationally on ESPNU with Clay Matvik and Dusty Dvoracek calling the action. The contest can also be heard across the K-State Sports Network with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play), former K-State quarterback Stan Weber (analyst) and Matt Walters (sidelines) on the call, as well as Sirius channel 136, XM channel 199. Live stats are available at k-statesports.com, while Twitter updates via @ kstate_gameday and @KStateFB will all be a part of the coverage.
A LOOK AT K-STATE

• Guided by 2015 College Football Hall of Fame inductee Bill Snyder, who is in the midst of his 25th season at the helm of the Wildcats, K-State is looking to build upon a shutout win over Missouri State as it opens Big 12 play.
• K-State leads the nation in total defense (179.0 ypg) and has held each of its first three opponents under 275 total yards while yielding just 33 points. The last time K-State held its first three opponents under 300 total yards was in 2007, while the last time a Snyder-led team accomplished the feat was 1998.
• Twelve players on defense have recorded five or more tackles, led by Elijah Lee’s 19 and Duke Shelley’s 12.
• K-State has held each of its first three opponents to an average of 72.3 yards a game on the ground.
• K-State entered the locker room with a 35-0 lead over Missouri State, a week after leading FAU 42-0 at the break. It marked the first time since 2002 the Wildcats tallied at least 35 first-half points in consecutive weeks.
• K-State is a perfect 16-of-16 in red zone scores so far this season, and, dating back to last year, the Wildcats have been perfect on its last 41 red-zone attempts, 31 of which resulted in touchdowns.

A LOOK AT WEST VIRGINIA

• West Virginia currently boasts one of the top offenses in the Big 12.
• Justin Crawford and Rushel Shell III have combined to rush for 436 yards and four touchdowns through three games.
• Quarterback Skyler Howard has thrown for 974 yards and six TDs on 74-of-108 aim.
• On the receiving end, three players have recorded 10 or more catches led by Daikiel Shorts’ 19 grabs for 246 yards and two scores.

A LOOK AT THE SERIES

• Saturday’s contest marks the seventh meeting all-time between the Wildcats and Mountaineers with K-State holding a 5-1 advantage.
• It is the fifth Big 12 contest between the two schools as the Cats have won all four meetings, including two in Morgantown.

  CONFERENCE CALL

• K-State is 10-10 overall in Big 12 openers since the conference’s formation in 1996 and will be out to win its seventh in the last 10 seasons.
• The Cats, 9-8 in Big 12 openers under Bill Snyder, will open Big 12 play away from Bill Snyder Family Stadium for the 17th time in the league’s 21st year.
• K-State is opening up league play away from home for the fifth-straight season. The last time the Cats began Big 12 play at home was 2011, a 36-35 victory over 17th-ranked Baylor.

The Kansas State – Texas Tech football game in Manhattan on October 8 will kickoff at 6 p.m.

K-State Athletics made the announcement. The game will be televised by either ESPN2 or ESPNU, the Big 12 and ESPN announced Monday. The specific channel will be announced following the completion of games this weekend.

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. – For a second-consecutive week, a Kansas State returner earned Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week accolades as sophomore Byron Pringle was honored for his performance against Missouri State, the conference office announced Monday morning.

 

Pringle, a community-college transfer, earned K-State’s 22^nd special teams player-of-the-week honor since 2011. Additionally, it was the Wildcats’ 39^th Big 12 Player of the Week accolade in the last six seasons, which ranks second in the league.

 

A week after Dominique Heath returned a punt 75 yards for a score against FAU en route to his player of the week honor, Pringle recorded 108 all-purpose yards in just one half of K-State’s 35-0 weather-shortened victory over Missouri State on Saturday.

 

Pringle began his evening by returning the opening kickoff 35 yards as the Wildcats scored on their opening drive, and he later took a second-quarter punt 43 yards to the Bear 21-yard line. The return set up another K-State score three plays later to take a 21-0 lead. The sophomore also hauled in his first-career touchdown reception, a 19-yard pass in the first quarter on a tipped ball in the end zone.

 

Kansas State opens Big 12 play on the road as the Wildcats face West Virginia on Saturday in Milan Puskar Stadium. The game, which kicks off at 2:30 p.m. (CT), will be televised by ESPNU.

 

Tickets for K-State’s next home game on October 8 against Texas Tech start at just $24.75 when purchasing a Wildcat 4 Pack. Fans can purchase tickets through the K-State Athletic Ticket office online at www.k-statesports.com/tickets, by phone at 1-800-221-CATS or in person at the main ticket office inside Bramlage Coliseum.

 

– k-statesports.com –

 

Kansas State University, the nation’s first operational land-grant institution and a Carnegie Foundation Tier One university, is recognized as one of the nation’s best colleges with world-class research and academic excellence located in America’s No. 1 College Town (Manhattan, KS).

 

 

 

 

————
RYAN LACKEY
Asst. Director/Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs returned two turnovers for touchdowns, intercepted three passes in the end zone and forced eight turnovers total in a 24-3 victory over the hapless New York Jets on Sunday.

Marcus Peters had two of the picks for the Chiefs (2-1), including the first of four off the Jets’ Ryan Fitzpatrick in the fourth quarter. Daniel Sorenson had another, Derrick Johnson returned his 55 yards for a touchdown, and D.J. White snagged his in the end zone with 1:54 left in the game.

The eight turnovers were the most by the Jets (1-2) since they set a franchise record with 10 in a loss to the New England Patriots on November 21st, 1976.

Alex Smith was 25 of 33 for 237 yards and a touchdown for Kansas City, while Spencer Ware added 75 yards rushing. But it was the performance of the defense — and all those Jets turnovers — that helped the Chiefs bounced back from their first regular-season defeat in 12 games.

Eric Berry picked off a pass in the end zone late in the third quarter, and a fumbled kick return by the Jets’ Jalin Marshall was returned 27 yards by Demetrius Harris for another score.

Fitzpatrick was dismal a week after torching Buffalo, going 20 of 44 for 188 yards. His six picks were a career high, surpassing the five that he threw for St. Louis against Minnesota in 2005, and tied a franchise record.

DETROIT (AP) — Salvador Perez homered to cap a cycle by Kansas City’s first four batters of the game, and the Royals went deep three more times to beat Detroit 12-9 Sunday and drop the Tigers in the AL wild-card race.

The defending World Series champions avoided elimination from this year’s postseason race by chasing Detroit starter Matt Boyd (6-5) before he retired a hitter. Kansas City started the game with a single, a triple and a double before Perez’s two-run homer made it 4-0.

The Tigers fell 1½ games behind Baltimore for the second wild-card spot. The loss cut Cleveland’s magic number to clinch the AL Central to one — the Indians start a four-game series in Detroit on Monday night.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – A delayed start to the game didn’t slow the Kansas State offense, as the Wildcats piled on 35 points before the half to dismantle Missouri State, 35-0, Saturday night at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The game, which was delayed by 55 minutes at the start, was not resumed after another weather delay during halftime.

 

Similar to last week, K-State (2-1) took little time to exert its power, scoring 14 points in the first 10 minutes of play. In the two quarters of action, K-State accumulated 270 yards of offense, with 165 coming on the ground through seven different rushers. The Wildcat defense limited Missouri State to just 54 yards and forced two fumbles on 29 snaps from scrimmage.

 

Junior quarterback Jesse Ertz led the offensive surge again, completing 7-of-8 passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Ertz also topped all K-State rushers Saturday, carrying the ball three times for 85 yards, including separate runs of 35 and 40-yards.

 

Alongside Ertz, the Wildcats continued with their running back by committee strategy. Senior Charles Jones ran in the game’s first touchdown as he gained 23 yards on five carries and also caught a ball for another 16 yards. Sophomore Winston Dimel, fresh off his four touchdowns last week, bouldered in for two more scores on his seven rushes for 19 yards, while fellow sophomore Justin Silmon ran it three times for 19 yards. K-State averaged 7.5 yards per rush with Alex Delton, Alex Barnes and Dalvin Warmack all contributing to the ground game, as well.

 

Through the air, nine different Wildcats hauled in 10 completions for 105 yards and two scores. Sophomore Byron Pringle caught his first career touchdown pass as a Wildcat, a 19-yarder, and added another grab for 30 receiving yards. Dimel claimed two balls for 19 yards, while senior Deante Burton caught one pass for 20 yards. Sophomore Dominique Heath pulled down K-State’s other touchdown reception from 9-yards out.

 

On the defensive side of the ball, K-State surrendered only four first downs in holding Missouri State to 54 yards of offense. The Wildcats’ front seven suffocated the Bears’ rushing attack, allowing just 30 yards on 17 attempts – 1.8 yards per carry. The secondary didn’t budge much either as Missouri State quarterback Brodie Lambert completed just 3-of-12 passes for 24 yards.

 

Senior linebacker Charmeachalle Moore totaled five tackles, including one for loss, while senior safety Dante Barnett recorded four tackles, all of which were solo. The defense also snatched two turnovers – a fumble recovery by senior defensive end Jordan Willis and an interception by junior defensive tackle Matt Siewert.

 

Special team duties were again limited this week, as junior Matthew McCrane booted through all five extra point attempts, but was unable to connect on the game’s lone field goal attempt from 42 yards out. The special teams highlight came through Jayd Kirby, who recorded K-State’s first blocked punt of the season midway through the second quarter.

 

After the 55-minute long delay, kickoff took place at 7:05 and K-State opted to receive. The Wildcats wasted no time offensively, using 11 plays to march 63 yards in 5:58 for the game’s first score. Jones ran it in from one-yard out on fourth down, capping off a drive where he rushed for 23 yards on five carries and also hauled in a 16-yard pass.

 

After forcing a three-and-out, K-State quickly found pay dirt again. Ertz busted loose for a 35-yard run on a draw play and followed it with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Pringle, who played Johnny-on-the-spot as the ball was tipped away from sophomore tight end Dayton Valentine. The Wildcats led 14-0 with 5:22 to play in the first quarter.

 

Pringle would set up another score, when he looped around Missouri State defenders on a 43-yard punt return early in the second quarter. Ertz and company set up shop from the Bears’ 21-yard line and 1:14 later, he found Heath for a 9-yard touchdown pass on a corner fade route for the 21-0 lead.

 

Five minutes later, the Wildcats made it 28-0. The seven play, 90-yard drive featured a 40-yard run from Ertz – the longest of his career – and was finished off by a 1-yard touchdown run from Dimel with 7:01 to play in the half.

 

K-State’s final score was also ignited by a special teams play, but this time a blocked punt. Kirby’s effort deep in Missouri State territory allowed for a short field opportunity. Two consecutive Dimel runs provided the score from 7-yards out to make it 35-0 before the break.

 

Despite some wait and continued severe weather, the game was not continued out of the halftime break. The game, with stats remaining official, was called at 35-0.

 

The Wildcats begin their Big 12 Conference slate on the road next week at West Virginia, with kickoff against the Mountaineers set for 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU.

– www.k-statesports.com —

————
TOM GILBERT
Associate Director for Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics

Inclement weather delayed the kickoff of the Kansas State – Missouri State football game at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Officials were hopeful the game could begin at 7:05 p.m.