Bulldog Athletic Association Member (BAAM) Athletes of the Week
Female: Kristin Vieslemeyer, Basketball
A native of Holyoke, Colo., Vieselmeyer produced a combined 24 points, 11 rebounds and five assists over two GPAC outings last week. Vieselmeyer contributed 13 points in 14 minutes as part of the 100-64 win at Midland. She is averaging 8.1 points per game on the season.
Male: Noah Schutte, Basketball
Schutte, who hails from Laurel, Neb., was named the GPAC Player of the Week after leading the Bulldogs to wins over Midland in Jamestown. In those two outings, Schutte totaled a combined 45 points, 29 rebounds and seven assists. He’s averaging 22.1 points per game.
2023-24 BAAM Athletes of the Month
October – Becca Gebhardt (volleyball) / DJ McGarvie (football)
September – Austin Jablonski (football) / Ashley Keck (volleyball)
Previous BAAM Athletes of the Week
Nov. 28 – Creighton Baughman (wrestling) / Kylahn Freiberg (cross country) / Abby Krieser (basketball)
Nov. 14 – Austin Jablonski (football) / Maddie Paulsen (volleyball)
Nov. 7 – Sara Huss (volleyball) / Kyle Sterup (football)
Oct. 31 – Kierstynn Garner (soccer) / Michael Owens (soccer)
Oct. 24 – Rebecca Gebhardt (volleyball) / Julie McIntyre (cross country) / Michael Owens (soccer)
Oct. 17 – Kierstynn Garner (soccer) / DJ McGarvie (football)
Oct. 10 – Rylee Ladd (powerlifting) / Jack Nelson (shooting sports) / Camryn Opfer (volleyball) / D’Andre Williams (soccer)
Oct. 3 – Austin Jablonski (football) / Grace Soenksen (soccer)
Sept. 26 – Ashley Keck (volleyball) / Mason Ward (shooting sports)
Sept. 19 – Savannah Andrews (soccer) / Carter Hinman (soccer)
Sept. 12 – Katie Welker (shooting sports) / Devin Zeigler (football)
Sept. 5 – Bree Burtwistle (volleyball) / Carter Hinman (soccer)
Aug. 29 – Isaiah Shaddick (soccer) / Gabi Nordaker (volleyball)
News and notes:
BAAM luncheons are held every Tuesday at 12 p.m. CT inside the Dog House Grill, located in the Janzow Campus Center. The luncheons feature reports from head coaches who are in season at the time. For information on how to join BAAM, click HERE. It is not a requirement to be a BAAM member in order to attend the weekly luncheons.
Indoor track season opens this week: While the 2023 cross country season is in the books, Head Coach Matt Beisel and his athletes now look forward to the start of indoor track and field. The first meet of the 2023-24 season will be held this Friday and Saturday (Dec. 8-9) when Concordia hosts the Bulldog Early Bird Meet. Additional home meets on the docket this winter are the Concordia Polar Dog (Jan. 19), Concordia Classic (Jan. 26-27) and Concordia Invite (Feb. 9). For coverage of Concordia Track & Field throughout the upcoming indoor and outdoor seasons, visit the program’s homepage HERE.
Fall postseason awards: A total of 37 Concordia Bulldogs athletes were named GPAC All-Conference award winners for the fall of 2023. Click the links below for listings by sport of those honorees. Special accolades went to volleyball’s Bree Burtwistle as the GPAC Setter of the Year and to women’s soccer’s Grace Soenksen as the GPAC Defensive Player of the Year. Additionally, five Concordia student-athletes were recognized recently as 2023 Academic All-District award winners by College Sports Communicators: Savannah Andrews, Hannah Kile, Niah Kirchner and Soenksen from women’s soccer and Matt Schultz from men’s soccer. Additionally, 64 Bulldogs have been named NAIA Scholar-Athletes so far this fall. Football Scholar-Athletes will be announced prior to the national championship game.
--Cross Country
--Football
--Men’s Soccer
--Women’s Soccer
--Volleyball
Wrapping up fall seasons: Fall sports have officially concluded for the year 2023. In putting a bow on those campaigns, we summarized the seasons for football, men’s soccer and women’s soccer. Those seasons-in-review are linked below. The volleyball season recap is yet to come. As a credit to Concordia’s fall sports teams, every single one placed within the top four of the final GPAC standings in 2023.
--Season recaps: Football | Men’s Soccer | Women’s Soccer.
Powerlifting resumes 2023-24 season with Central Collegiate Regional Championships: The 2023-24 Concordia University Powerlifting season resumed prior to Thanksgiving as Head Coach Freddie Myles’ team competed at the Central Collegiate Regional Championships in Fremont, Neb., Nov. 18-19. The yields included top-three placements for 15 individuals, highlighted by first-place claims for Mackenzie Houser (56kg), Nic Kriech (90kg), Rylee Ladd (52kg) and Taylor Meyer (60kg). The team’s list of second-place finishers included Jack Hedke (110kg), Abigail Lockingen (100kg), Pryce Ostermeier (82.5kg) and Will Peterson (140kg). Competitors from eight different institutions convened in Fremont. Out of the three full teams that participated, the Bulldogs placed as the runner up to Midland. Blue Mountain Christian College wound up in third place. For a complete recap of the event, click HERE. The powerlifting team has concluded its schedule for the first semester. Meanwhile, Concordia Weightlifting is getting set for the North America Open Finals (Dec. 7-10) in Wilmington, N.C. The homepages for Myles’ programs are linked below.
--Powerlifting
--Weightlifting
Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is underway in its ninth year of existence. The show airs live for a half hour every Thursday beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT on KTMX-FM 104.9 Max Country. The weekly feature can also be heard live via 104.9 Max Country’s website or by downloading the Max Country app. Throughout the 2023-24 season, Bulldog football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball contests will be aired live on Max Country. Parker Cyza serves as the host of the coaches’ show as well as the play-by-play voice for football and basketball. Frank Greene is in his ninth season calling Concordia volleyball. The Max Country broadcast schedule for the fall semester of 2023 can be found HERE.
Concordia Sports Network: Live webcasts for most home varsity contests can be accessed by visiting https://www.cune.edu/athletics/watch-bulldogs at game time. Beginning this 2023-24 academic year, Concordia Athletics has partnered with Hudl/BlueFrame for live video streaming. Live webcast links for away contests are publicized in sport specific releases that preview action for that particular week. Scrimmages, exhibitions and junior varsity events are not broadcasted.
Volleyball
· Current record: 25-4, 14-2 GPAC (T-1st); ranked No. 4 in the final NAIA coaches’ poll.
· Last week:
o Def. No. 21 Montana Western, 25-23, 25-21, 25-13, on Nov. 29 | NAIA National Championship Pool Play.
o Lost to No. 13 Midland, 25-23, 25-16, 25-21, on Dec. 1 | NAIA National Championship Pool Play.
· Links: 2023 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA Coaches’ Poll (Final)
· Notable: The Bulldogs had hoped to still be playing this week at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa. However, fourth-ranked Concordia saw its national tournament run end in pool play. The co-GPAC regular season champs were upset by Midland in straight sets with a spot in the national quarterfinals on the line. The Bulldogs went 2-1 at this season’s national tournament with wins over Judson University (Ill.) in the opening round and No. 21 University of Montana Western in the first pool play match. It was an emotional ending for nine Concordia players who completed their collegiate careers. That group includes All-Americans Bree Burtwistle and Camryn Opfer. Both players were recognized as First Team All-GPAC honorees in 2023. Opfer finished her career with 1,561 kills and 1,671 digs – both figures that rank No. 3 in the history of the program. This was the end of the line for not only Burtwistle and Opfer, but also active senior players in Sara Huss, Lexie Kreizel, Maddy Nagel, Carly Rodaway and Addison Smith, in addition to Ashtynne Frahm and Shelby Stark. On the other hand, All-American middle Gabi Nordaker will return in 2024 and use her ‘COVID year’ of eligibility. The 2023 trip to nationals marked the fifth-straight appearance at the NAIA final site for Head Coach Ben Boldt’s program. The Bulldogs spent multiple weeks with the No. 1 ranking attached to their name this fall.
· Keep up with the Concordia Volleyball program throughout the offseason by visiting the team’s homepage HERE.
Women’s Basketball
· Current record: 6-1, 4-1 GPAC; ranked No. 7 in the NAIA coaches’ poll.
· Last week:
o Won at Midland, 100-64, on Nov. 29.
o Lost vs. Jamestown, 71-61, on Dec. 2.
· Links: 2023-24 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA Coaches’ Poll
· Notable: There was one up and one down last week as conference play heated up post-Thanksgiving. The Bulldogs had little trouble at Midland (2-7, 0-5 GPAC) in the middle of the week as they hit the 100-point mark behind another fine outing from Taysha Rushton (game high 20 points; 4-for-8 from 3-point range). She was joined in double figures by Kristin Vieselmeyer (13) and Abby Heemstra. Concordia shot 49.3 percent from the floor and drained 15 treys in the blowout. Three days later, the Bulldogs slipped up at home against Jamestown (4-4, 2-3 GPAC). Head Coach Thad Sankey’s Jimmies won the rebound battle, 41-30, limited their turnovers to 18 and watched as Concordia struggled from the perimeter (8-for-30). The Bulldogs did manage to pull into a tie (55-55) in the fourth quarter after having trailed 50-35 late in the third quarter. The Bulldogs went cold down the stretch and were victimized by the 20-point outing from Kate Cordes. Three Concordia players posted 11 points each: Rushton, Vieselmeyer and Abby Krieser. As part of the win at Midland, Rushton became the 12th player in the program’s history to eclipse 1,500 career points. She stands at 1,516 entering this week. Rushton currently leads the team with a season scoring average of 15.4 points per game. In this week’s action, Head Coach Drew Olson’s squad will attempt to get back into the win column at Mount Marty before heading to Sioux City for a showdown with No. 9 Briar Cliff on Saturday.
· For additional statistics and details, check out the Concordia Women’s Basketball homepage HERE.
· This week:
o Wednesday, Dec. 6 at Mount Marty (3-6, 1-4 GPAC), 6 p.m.
o Saturday, Dec. 9 at No. 9 Briar Cliff (9-0, 5-0 GPAC), 2 p.m.
Men’s Basketball
· Current record: 5-2, 2-2 GPAC.
· Last week:
o Won at Midland, 104-86, on Nov. 29.
o Won vs. Jamestown, 99-78, on Dec. 2.
· Links: 2023-24 Schedule | Roster | Statistics
· Notable: Head Coach Ben Limback’s crew took care of business as it got back to action after being idle for the entire Thanksgiving week. Concordia piled up more than 200 combined points in its wins over Midland (3-6, 1-4 GPAC) and Jamestown (2-7, 1-4 GPAC). In the victory in Fremont, the Bulldogs shot 58.2 percent (39-for-67) from the floor and got a monster stat line from star Noah Schutte, who posted 26 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists. Four other Concordia players reached double figures: Tristan Smith (19), Lukas Helms (17), Hayden Frank 12) and Brad Bennett (11). In the final home game of the calendar year 2023, the Bulldogs stayed hot in shooting 48.6 percent (34-for-70) while running away from Jamestown. Schutte enjoyed another big day in totaling 19 points and 14 rebounds. Off the bench, Joel Baker sparked a 21-0 run in the first half with a scoring binge (11 points in just over two minutes). Smith (17 points and 10 rebounds) chipped in a double-double of his own and Frank added nine points. Concordia enjoyed a 48-33 rebound advantage over the Jimmies, who have gone through some unique circumstances with a coaching change taking place after the start of the season. Schutte continues to state his case as one of the best players in all of the NAIA. So far this season, the Laurel, Neb., native is averaging 22.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game while shooting 56.4 percent from the floor. On the docket this week will be two GPAC road trips: at Mount Marty on Wednesday and at Briar Cliff on Saturday. The Chargers are currently receiving votes in the NAIA coaches’ poll.
· For additional statistics and details, check out the Concordia Men’s Basketball homepage HERE.
· This week:
o Wednesday, Dec. 6 at Mount Marty (2-6, 0-4 GPAC), 7:45 p.m.
o Saturday, Dec. 9 at Briar Cliff (9-2, 3-1 GPAC), 3:45 p.m.
Wrestling
· Current dual record: 3-2, 2-2 GPAC.
· Last week:
o Won vs. Bethany, 55-0, on Dec. 1.
o 13 wrestlers competed at the Conner/Oppenheim Open on Dec. 2.
· Links: 2023-24 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA Coaches’ Rankings
· Notable: Concordia rebounded from the two GPAC dual losses it suffered on Nov. 21 and took out its frustrations on Bethany College (Kan.). While hosting the Swedes on Dec. 1, the Bulldogs won nine matches with bonus points and rolled to a 55-0 stomping. The 55 team points put on the board were the most for the program since it defeated Dakota Wesleyan, 58-0, in November of 2018. Pins were delivered by Creighton Baughman (141) in 1:38, TJ Allen (149) in 4:11, Barret Brandt (165) in 1:29, Stephen Duffy (174) in 1:40 and Teegan Tschampel (197) in 0:35. From a ratings perspective, Porterville, Calif., native Hunter Weimer (184) and Arroyo Grande, Calif., native Mason Garcia (285) picked up notable victories. Weimer erased Triston Vande Velde (preseason NAIA No. 25 at 184) by technical fall, 15-0, in 3:34. Normally a 197-pounder, Garcia moved to heavyweight on Friday and took a 7-1 decision over Rocky Whitehead, who was ranked 21st nationally at 285 to begin this season. The very next day, Head Coach Chase Clasen’s squad competed 13 wrestlers at the Conner/Oppenheim Open hosted by Doane. The Bulldogs combined for 15 wins and got fourth-place finishes from both Baughman (141) and Weimer (184). Baughman went 3-2 at the tournament and pushed his overall season record to 13-4. Ranked 10th nationally at 141, Baughman defeated No. 11 Jackson Wenberg of Graceland University (Iowa) for the second time this season. Two other Bulldogs have hit double digits in wins this season: Barret Brandt (16-6) and Grant Wells (13-5). Brandt has racked up 15 pins on the on the year. Concordia will have this week off from competition while looking ahead to the Avila University Duals on Dec. 16.
· For additional statistics and details, check out the Concordia Wrestling homepage HERE.
· This week:
o Idle; next up will be the Avila University Duals on Saturday, Dec. 16.