With one year of eligibility left, Fort Lewis College men’s basketball star Akuel Kot has entered the transfer portal.
“Keeping all my options open!” Kot tweeted on Monday.
The 6-foot-2 guard finished fourth nationally in Division II scoring, averaging 24.3 points per game this season, including a program-record 45 in one game. Kot was also named an All-American by both the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the Division II Conference Commissioners Association.
The Fort Lewis College softball team’s series against Metropolitan State University of Denver was pushed back from a Friday/Saturday slate to a pair of doubleheaders on Sunday and Monday. Snow and freezing temperatures, however, still caused two of the games, on Monday, to get canceled.
On Sunday, the teams split their doubleheader. Throwing her eighth complete game of the season, Amiee Shanks held down the Metro down en route to a 4-1 victory, leading FLC to its first victory over the Roadrunners in Denver since 1985.
Metro, however, took the second game, 9-7.
Alex Tenorio led all Skyhawks at the plate with three hits and four runs batted in on the day. Cara Daugherty, Alyssa Gutierrez, Catheryn Rodman and Sabrina Carrillo each tallied two hits as well.
After Gutierrez drew a leadoff walk to start Game 1, Shotton homered to center field to put FLC ahead early 2-0.
On the mound, Shanks allowed just two runners to reach base through the first four innings of play with a walk – her only of the game – and an error.
Tenorio, meanwhile, hit a two-run home run in the top of the sixth to provide FLC some insurance.
FLC led most of Game 2, but Metro exploded for six runs in the sixth, on a pair of home runs, to take a 9-4 lead. FLC answered with three runs on four hits in the top of the seventh, but was unable to complete the comeback.
FLC is now 11-18 overall and 9-13 in the Rocky mountain Athletic Conference while Metro moved to 24-9, 20-2.
The Skyhawks are next scheduled to host Black Hills State (4-20 overall) for a pair of doubleheaders beginning at noon Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday.
In just the second week of the outdoor season, the FLC men's and women's track teams took major strides forward, establishing an onslaught of personal bests at the Willie Williams Classic in Tucson, Arizona, en route to notable finishes in the loaded field.
The men's team was guided by four athletes who established personal bests, including junior Conner Dosmann's fourth-place finish in the 1,500 meters in 3:54.31. Dosmann's time stands as the second-fastest 1,500 time in program history and the fastest non-converted time in history. Junior Aaron Busche crossed the line in 10th place with the third-fastest time in program history (3:57.92).
Freshman Bean Minor backed up his impressive result last week in the 5K, running to a sixth-place finish in 14:42.56. His time now stands as the fastest in program history in both the converted and non-converted standards. Following Minor was freshman Elijah Smith (eighth, 14:52.51) and senior Max Robinson (ninth, 14:53.57) who now rank third and fourth on the all-time 5K list.
For the women, junior Katie Fankhouser continued her dominance, this time in the 800 and 1,500. Her fourth-place 800 finish in the loaded field at 2:12.24 stands as the second-best time in program history and ranks 12th in NCAA DII. The Lyons native also now ranks sixth in NCAA DII in the 1,500 after a sixth-place finish in 4:32.83.
Angel Curley finished 19th in the 1,500 (4:46.17) and 14th in the 800 (2:20.78).
Senior Carmella Wright led the charge in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a second-place finish (11:39.64).
In the 5K, junior Brandy Ray missed the school record by less than one second, placing sixth in 17:50.47.
The Fort Lewis College men's golf team captured a sixth-place finish at the Southern Colorado Masters, hosted by Colorado State University-Pueblo at the Pueblo Country Club last Tuesday. Henry Poston tied for 18th as an individual in an all-RMAC field of competition.
Poston shot rounds of 71, 73 and 73 to finish just four strokes above par with a 217.
Ronald Kildall III finished in a tie for 25th with a 218.
Colorado Christian won the team title with an 871, led by individual champ Adam Duncan (198).
Now underway through its first full off season under the direction of head coach Johnny Cox and his staff, the Fort Lewis College football program is back on the field and announced some key dates for both spring football and summer camps this week.
The Skyhawks are back on the field, despite the snow, and held a practice that was open to the public Tuesday. The team will also have practices that are open to the public April 3, 4, 6, 11, 13, 18 and 20.
The team will also hold open scrimmagesApril 1 and April 13 with a game capping off the spring April 22.
Fort Lewis will host junior days April 15 and 22 with a high school coaches' clinic as well April 1.
