FHSU Athletics
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Fort Hays State seniors Layke Heimerman (football) and Emily Reitz (women's soccer) received the 2023 National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) All-American Athlete Award. Both receive the honor based off athletic accomplishments and dedication to strength and training, nominated for the award by Fort Hays State Strength and Conditioning Coach Doug Boucher.
Heimerman completed his fourth year playing football for the Tigers in 2022. Though he battled injury issues the last two years of his career, he collected an All-MIAA Honorable Mention selection in 2021. Heimerman finished with 105 tackles and one interception in his career over 34 games. He was a member of the Tiger football team for six years, redshirting his first year at FHSU and had one year of eligibility restored due to the season lost to COVID in 2020. He was a six-time member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll and earned the MIAA Scholar-Athlete Award in 2021. He maintained a GPA of at least 3.7 throughout his collegiate career and was a member of two teams that qualified for the NCAA Playoffs (2017 & 2018). A native of Halstead, Kan., Heimerman is working toward an MBA in Marketing at FHSU and already holds a bachelor's degree in Communications (Public Relations and Advertising).
Reitz completed her fourth year with FHSU women's soccer in 2022. She was instrumental in helping FHSU qualify for the NCAA Tournament in 2022, the team's first appearance in the national tournament since 2016. Reitz was an All-MIAA Honorable Mention selection at defender in 2022. She played the entirety of 14 matches and helped the Tiger defense to an 0.71 goals against average for the season. The Tigers matched their program record for shutouts in a season with 12. Reitz played in 52 official matches for the Tigers throughout her career, while also competing in the unofficial spring season of 2020-21. Reitz was a four-time recipient of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll and MIAA Academic Excellence awards for maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA throughout her collegiate career. She collected MIAA Scholar-Athlete honors in 2022 when she garnered All-MIAA honors for her efforts on the pitch. A native of Longmont, Colo., Reitz is a Health and Human Performance major at FHSU with an emphasis in Sport and Exercise Therapy.