Bulldog Weekly Report (May 3, 2022)

By Jacob Knabel on May. 3, 2022 in Athletic Announcements

Bulldog Athletic Association Member (BAAM) Athletes of the Week

Male: Chase Berry, Track & Field

Berry, a Seward High School alum, achieved a new personal best at the Prairie Wolf Invite with a pole vault clearance of 16’ 1 ¾.” That mark puts him at No. 1 in the GPAC and at No. 3 in the NAIA. Berry is a two-time NAIA All-American.

Female: Jordan Koepke, Track & Field

Koepke, who hails from Gulf Breeze, Fla., helped both the 4x400 and 4x800 meter relays to season best automatic national qualifying times last week at the Drake Relays. Koepke ran splits of 56.68 in the 400 and 2:18.18 in the 800. Both of those relays are ranked in the top five nationally.

Previous BAAM Athletes of the Week
April 26 – Cade Kleckner (track & field) / Alli Owings (track & field)
April 19 – Chase Berry (track & field) / Kendra Placke (golf)
April 12 – Chris Wren (track & field) / Kylahn Heritage (track & field)
April 5 – Jaidan Quinn (baseball) / Sara Huss (track & field)
March 29 – Alec Blakestad (baseball) / Eduardo Luzzi (tennis) / Jerzi Rowe (softball)
March 22 – Joey Grabanski (baseball) / Noah Schutte (basketball) / Camry Moore (softball)
March 15 – Noah Schutte (basketball) / Josie Puelz (track & field)
March 1 – Carter Kent (basketball) / Shelby Timmerman (cheer)
Feb. 22 – Gage Smith (basketball) / Josie Puelz (track & field)
Feb. 15 – Calvin Rodhe (track & field) / Kendal Brigham (basketball)
Feb. 8 – Taysha Rushton (basketball) / AJ Watson (basketball)
Feb. 1 – Calvin Rohde (track & field)
Jan. 25 – Calvin Rohde (track & field) / Gage Smith (basketball) / Rylee Haecker (track & field)
Jan. 18 – Carter Kent (basketball) / Rylee Haecker (track & field)
Jan. 11 – Carter Kent (basketball) / Mackenzie Toomey (basketball)
Dec. 14 – Carter Kent (basketball) / Sarah Lewis (track & field)
Dec. 7 – Carter Kent (basketball) / Gabi Nordaker (volleyball)
Nov. 30 – Noah Schutte (basketball) / Taysha Rushton (basketball)
Nov. 16 – Korrell Koehlmoos (football) / Bree Burtwistle (volleyball)
Nov. 9 – Camden Sesna (cross country) / Gabi Nordaker (volleyball)
Nov. 2 – Carter Kent (basketball) / Camryn Opfer (volleyball)
Oct. 26 – Peyton Mitchell (football) / Lexie Kreizel (volleyball)
Oct. 19 – Lane Napier (football) / Kalie Ward (soccer)
Oct. 12 – Caydren Cox (football) / Kalee Wiltfong (volleyball)
Oct. 5 – DJ McGarvie (football) / Sarah Schwacher (shooting sports)
Sept. 28 – Wyatt Hambly (shooting sports) / Gabi Nordaker (volleyball)
Sept. 21 – Camden Sesna (cross country) / Lina Kirst (soccer) / Grace Reiman (cross country) / Carly Rodaway (volleyball)
Sept. 14 – Caydren Cox (football) / Mikeila Martinez (soccer)
Sept. 7 – Drew D’Ercole (golf) / Ivan Yabut (golf) / Erica Heinzerling (volleyball)
Aug. 31 – Martin Herrera (soccer) / Camryn Opfer (volleyball)

BAAM Athletes of the Month
March – Noah Schutte (basketball) / Camry Moore (softball) / Josie Puelz (track & field)
February – Gage Smith (basketball) / Josie Puelz (track & field)
January – Carter Kent (basketball) / Rylee Haecker (track & field)
December – Carter Kent (basketball) / Sarah Lewis (track & field)
November – Noah Schutte (basketball) / Gabi Nordaker (volleyball)
October – Lane Napier (football) / Camryn Opfer (volleyball)
September – Caydren Cox (football) / 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.

Game/event days on campus: Concordia Athletics continues to welcome fans to its venues for sporting events. Currently, there are no attendance limits. Before visiting road venues involving Bulldog teams, fans should be sure to check the spectator policies on those particular campuses. Other locations may require the use of face coverings. Once again, fans attending varsity sporting events at Concordia are able to purchase advance tickets online via HomeTown Ticketing. Tickets will also be sold on site on the day of events. Should any policies or protocols for fans change, updated information will be available on the athletics fan information page HERE.

GPAC Championships update: This is GPAC week for track & field while baseball and softball begin pod play in the middle of the week. Meanwhile, the golf and tennis teams have completed their GPAC postseason/tournament runs. For more specific information on the conference events taking place this week, check the links below. The official GPAC brackets for baseball and softball were released early this week. As the No. 2 seed, the Concordia Baseball team has earned the right to host one of the two four-team pods. On the other hand, the seventh-seeded softball squad will be headed to the Northwestern Bracket pod in Orange City, Iowa.
--Baseball: Official bracket pairings will be announced tonight (May 3)
--Softball: No. 7 seed in Northwestern Bracket
--Track & Field
--Men’s Golf: placed sixth in the GPAC
--Women’s Golf: placed fifth in the GPAC
--Men’s Tennis: reached GPAC semifinals
--Women’s Tennis: reached GPAC quarterfinals

Concordia Shooting Sports reflects on 2021-22 season, holds event in honor of Coach Moniot: Before scattering for the end of the semester, members of the Concordia Shooting Sports program honored the late Scott Moniot with a ‘Shooting For Scott’ event this past weekend. The event was held at the home of the Bulldogs, Oak Creek Sporting Club in Brainard, Neb., and raised funds that went to Concordia Shooting Sports. For a wrap up on this past season – and for some additional thoughts from the athletes on Coach Moniot’s impact – click HERE. The Bulldogs plan on putting together a strong season in 2022-23 as Dylan Owens takes over as head coach.

Jennings living out college career to the fullest: Jacob Jennings hasn't been afraid to reverse course and take a chance. He did so when he chose Concordia at the last minute and he did it again when he traded in basketball for track and became an All-American while living out a college career rich in rewarding experiences. Said Jennings, “I knew I was going to be working on my MBA. Why not do something? Track seemed like a good fit.” Jennings has earned two career All-America awards with hopes of another this outdoor season. For more on Jennings’ journey, click HERE.

Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is underway in its seventh 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 2021-22 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 seventh season calling Concordia volleyball.

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 in 2019-20, Concordia Athletics partnered with PrestoSports for live video and statistical streaming. For more details on this change, click HERE. Check team schedules/results pages for webcast dates. Scrimmages, exhibitions and junior varsity events are not broadcasted.

Golf

·        The 2021-22 season has concluded for Concordia Golf. The women finished up last Tuesday (April 26) with the fourth and final round of the GPAC Championships held in Norfolk, Neb. They moved up two spots on the final day and placed fifth overall. Meanwhile, the men’s season wrapped up on April 22 as the Bulldogs placed sixth in a conference tournament that wound up being cut off after 54 holes. High winds in Vermillion, S.D., wiped out the scheduled fourth round on April 23. For more information on the Concordia Golf programs, click here: MEN | WOMEN.

·        The men’s team moved up from ninth place last season and placed sixth in the GPAC in 2021-22 while shooting a three-round conference total of 298-308-313–919. Had the final round been played, it’s possible the Bulldogs could have climbed as high as fourth as they were four strokes behind Northwestern (915) and nine behind Doane (910). Individually, Ivan Yabut tied for fifth place while shooting a score of 71-74-74–219 (+3). His conference placement is the best ever for a Concordia men’s golfer during the GPAC era. Other top 10 performances during Head Coach Brett Muller’s tenure included claims of ninth by Nolan Zikas in 2015-16 and eighth by Shawn Rodehorst in 2012-13.

·        Next best for the Bulldogs on the 2021-22 GPAC leaderboard was freshman Justin Webert, who shot 81-72-78–231 and placed in a tie for 22nd (out of 44 competitors who played all three rounds). Others who qualified for the overall leaderboard were Drew D’Ercole (77-82-78–237; T-34th) and Jake Hagerbaumer (76-84-84–244; T-37th). The final spot in the lineup for round three was held down by Jacob Woodmancy, who shot an 83 on April 22. Jack Williams also competed in the two fall conference rounds and shot 74-80–154.

·        The Concordia men wound up breaking the program record for lowest single-season scoring average. The 2021-22 team averaged 305.1 over 19 rounds (nine events) throughout the fall and spring. The previous program standard was 306.9 by the 2017-18 squad led by Zikas. As for Yabut, he finished the season with a team low scoring average of 74.9. Five other Bulldogs averaged scores in the 70s: D’Ercole (75.8), Webert (77.1), Williams (77.9), Hagerbaumer (78.7) and Woodmancy (79.9).

·        The women’s program has placed inside the top five of the GPAC for a third year in a row. Concordia saved its best for last. The 343 in round four was the team’s lowest 18-hole score at this season’s conference tournament. The Bulldogs shot a four-round total of 351-353-365-343–1,412. The strong closing push allowed Concordia to pass Jamestown (1,417) and Dordt (1,418) in the final standings. The Bulldogs had entered the fourth round tied for seventh with College of Saint Mary. Concordia placed third in the GPAC in 2019-20 and 2020-21.

·        Individually, the Bulldogs were paced by star Kendra Placke, who finished her career last week. The Seward High School alum shot a four-round GPAC score of 80-74-84-79–317 and placed third in the conference. It marked the best GPAC finish of her career and broke Amy Ahlers’ former school record for lowest 72-hole GPAC Championship score of 319. Placke also concluded her career with program records for lowest career scoring average (80.7) and lowest single-season scoring average (79.8 in 2021-22). Placke played in 56 career collegiate rounds and won six tournament titles during her time as a Bulldog.

·        As a team, the Concordia women slashed 22 strokes off their round three score. Four of the five Bulldogs in the lineup improved from round three to round four. Norris High School product Lauren Havlat jumped into the top 20 of the final GPAC leaderboard after shooting an 86 on Tuesday. She wound up in a tie for 17th place via a four-round score of 86-87-94-86–353. In a lineup that remained the same for all four conference rounds, Concordia was also represented by Logan Eschliman (93-90-100-90–373; T-36th), Mya Nurse (92-102-91-88–373; T-36th) and Emily Jensen (97-102-96-100–395; 43rd).

Tennis

·        The 2022 seasons have come to a conclusion for both the men and women. The men reached the GPAC semifinals last week as the conference tournaments took place indoors in Fremont and Omaha. The Concordia men got past Northwestern, 4-1, in the quarterfinals before falling in the semifinals, 4-1, at the hands of Doane. Meanwhile, the women were eliminated in the quarterfinals with a 4-0 loss to College of Saint Mary. Head Coach Cam Long’s squads finished their seasons with overall records of 9-9 on the men’s side and 6-11 on the women’s side. For more information on Concordia Tennis, click here: MEN | WOMEN.

·        The Bulldog men were hoping to reach the GPAC tournament final for the second year in a row. The 2021 team became the first in school history to ever get to that point in the GPAC tournament. That squad was the league’s No. 2 seed and beat Doane in the semifinals. While getting to the semifinals again in 2022, the program has now reached at least the semis in three-straight seasons and in four of the past five. Concordia has also placed fourth or better in the GPAC regular season standings in three-straight seasons.

·        While playing both GPAC tournament matches on April 29, the men’s team posted a combined four singles and three doubles wins. All matches were halted once a team winner was decided. Against Northwestern, the Bulldogs took the doubles point thanks to victories from Joe Bindl and Jeremiah Berryman at No. 2 (6-4) and Jack Kitson and Shawn Springer at No. 3 (6-1). Then in singles, wins came from Eduardo Luzzi at No. 1, Eduardo Rojas at No. 4 and Bindl at No. 5. Concordia picked up its one team point against Doane via Jack Kitson’s 7-5, 6-0, triumph at No. 5 singles. The Tigers got the doubles point and clinched the match by taking decisions at the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 singles spots.

·        The senior class of Berryman, Bindl, Isaac Howes and Kitson has made a considerable impact for the program. The quartet has combined for 108 career singles wins in dual matches. Howes leads the group with 35 career wins while followed by Berryman (31), Bindl (24) and Kitson (18). From a team perspective, the Bulldogs have gone a combined 35-29 overall and 12-6 in GPAC matches since the start of the 2019 season. A fifth year member of the program, Berryman has played for three head coaches: Joel Reckewey, David DeSimone and Long.

·        The Concordia women ran into a tough draw in the GPAC quarterfinals. The fifth-seeded Bulldogs were upended by a College of Saint Mary squad that has been bolstered by the return of 2021 GPAC Player of the Year Renee Acena. The Flames’ top player won at No. 1 singles and as part of the No. 2 doubles group. Before doubles came to an end, Morales and Tessa Blough appeared poised to win at No. 1 doubles. They owned a 5-2 lead. In singles action, Concordia’s Megan Hakes was in a third-set battle with Kaia Chiasson at No. 4 when the match was called. The singles lineup for the Bulldogs also included Blough at No. 2, Tara Ferrel at No. 3, Brooke Hosick at No. 5 and Kylie Freudenburg at No. 6.

·        There were some growing pains this season for a women’s team that lost a big portion of its lineup from the 2021 squad that shared the GPAC regular season title (first conference championship in program history). Concordia fell short of reaching the semifinals as it did a year ago. During the GPAC era, the program has finished as the conference tournament runner up three times and has advanced to at least the GPAC semifinals 12 times. The program is still seeking its first ever GPAC postseason title. The GPAC tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the national tournament.

·        In 18 matches over the course of the 2021-22 season, the men’s team put together combined records of 54-50 in singles and 33-20 in doubles matches. Five individuals notched at least six singles wins: Bindl (8-8), Howes (8-9), Springer (7-9), Manuel Rodriguez (6-0) and Rojas (6-7). In terms of winning percentage, the most successful doubles combo was Luzzi and Juan Rabellino, which combined to go 7-4. The pair of Berryman and Bindl went 8-6. Kitson and Springer were a perfect 3-0 when playing together. Looking ahead to next season, Concordia will move on without four seniors who all were significant pieces of the lineup.

·        In 17 matches throughout the 2021-22 campaign, the women’s team went a combined 39-60 in singles and 21-29 in doubles matches. A strong candidate for All-GPAC accolades, Morales led the team with 10 overall singles wins while going 6-1 in GPAC regular season singles play. The next most singles wins on the team were captured by Hakes and Ferrel with six apiece. The winningest doubles combo was Blough and Morales at 6-5. Brooke Hosick and Julia Phillips teamed up for a 5-6 doubles record. Among those individuals, only Hakes is a senior. In other words, the Bulldogs project to be a more experienced team in 2022-23.

Baseball

·        Postseason play is up next for the Bulldogs, who finished the regular season with a four-game series at Briar Cliff (April 28-29). Concordia won games two and three (8-3 and 2-1) and lost games one and four (5-4 and 8-4) in a split that took place at Bishop Mueller Field in Sioux City, Iowa. The split was enough for the Bulldogs to lock up the No. 2 seed in this week’s GPAC tournament. As a result, Concordia has earned the right to host one of the two four-team pods. Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad closed the regular season with an overall record of 31-14-1 (20-8 GPAC). For more information on Concordia Baseball, click HERE.

·        The Bulldogs have hit the magical 30-win plateau for the fourth time in Dupic’s seven full seasons as head coach (Concordia played only 21 games during the COVID-shortened 2020 season). The first team in program history to reach 30 wins was the 2017 squad that also became the program’s first-ever GPAC regular season champion. That team went 34-22. The Bulldogs then went 33-20 in 2019, 42-12 in 2021 and are currently at 31 victories in 2022. In the seven full seasons of Dupic’s tenure, Concordia has accumulated at least 25 wins each year. Dupic carries an overall career head coaching record of 233-142-1 in the GPAC postseason.

·        The statistics indicate what a competitive series it was at Briar Cliff. Over the four games, Concordia only slightly outscored the Chargers, 18-17. That was despite the Bulldogs having a 7-2 advantage in the home run department. Six different Concordia players went deep for at least one homer last week: Jaidan Quinn (two), Alec Blakestad, Keaton Candor, Jesse Garcia, Joey Grabanski and Tanner Tompkins. The team’s leading hitter (in terms of batting average) during the series was Ben Berg, who went 5-for-10 with two doubles and three RBIs. Quinn had a fine series that saw him go 5-for-12 (.417) with a double, two walks and two hit-by-pitches in addition to the two homers.

·        From a pitching perspective, Christian Gutierrez deserves special mention for the roll he’s been on over his last three starts. Last week at Briar Cliff, Gutierrez fired 6.2 innings and allowed just one run on three hits (no walks) while striking out four. Over the past three outings, Gutierrez has covered 20.2 innings while surrendering only four runs on 10 hits and three walks. He’s notched 18 strikeouts over that time and has pushed his season record to 6-1. The freshman from La Mirada, Calif., owns an ERA of 4.53 in 47.2 innings this season.

·        Candor continues to pad his career totals as his college career starts to wind down. Last week, he passed Christian Meza for No. 2 on the program’s all-time hits list with 219. Candor has begun to creep up on the school record of 234 hits by Zak Goodrich. Candor is the program career record holder for games played (211), runs scored (159), home runs (42), RBIs (175) and walks (104). On the season, Candor has produced a .338 batting average with 13 home runs and 47 RBIs. He’s tied a career high for most homers in a single season and needs four more RBIs for a career high in that category.

·        The chase for the team home run lead remains tight heading into the postseason. Quinn took over the lead this past week while running his season total to 14. Hot on his heels are Candor (13), Grabanski (13) and Jay Adams (12). It’s been a fine first season in Bulldog blue for Quinn, who sports an otherworldly OPS (on-base + slugging) of 1.248. Quinn is the team leader in on-base percentage (.517) and slugging percentage (.731). A native of Bonner Springs, Kan., Quinn transferred to Concordia after one year at Wabash Valley College. After batting seventh in the order for much of this season, Quinn has recently been moved up to the No. 2 spot.

·        The pitching has made such a leap in recent weeks that the Bulldogs finished the regular season ranked third in the GPAC for team ERA at 4.58 (in GPAC games only). When Concordia puts it all together, it can be a very dangerous team. In conference games only, the Bulldog offense led the league in home runs (56), walks (142), on-base percentage (.447) and slugging percentage (.583) while ranking second in both runs scored (246) and batting average (.328). The 2022 team has even put itself in a position to potentially break the program single season home run record set by the 2021 NAIA World Series qualifier. The current squad has hit 84 home runs – six shy of last year’s record.

·        In three of the past four GPAC tournaments, Concordia has reached the championship game. The Bulldogs finished as the runner up in 2017 and 2019 before winning the title at home (over Doane) in 2021. Concordia will attempt to get back to that point as it hosts GPAC tournament pod play this Thursday through Saturday. On day one, the second-seeded Bulldogs will play the No. 7 seed (TBD) at 6 p.m. CT. Complete pairings will be unveiled tonight (May 3) by the GPAC after the final regular season games have been completed.

Softball

·        After finishing the regular season on April 26, the Bulldogs had to wait out the results of games throughout the rest of the week before finding out whether their season would extend into the postseason. When everything shook out, Concordia landed in a tie for sixth place in the GPAC standings and will be the No. 7 seed in this week’s conference tournament. In last week’s action, the Bulldogs split a doubleheader at Hastings. They fell by a 6-3 score in game one before rebounding with a 10-6, 10-inning win in game two. Head Coach Tatum Edwards’ squad stands at 22-22 overall (10-12 GPAC). For more information on Concordia Softball, click HERE.

·        The GPAC regular season title was claimed by Midland, which went 19-3 in conference play. Midland and Northwestern (15-6-1 GPAC) earned the right to host separate four-team pods of the GPAC tournament, thanks to finishing as the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds. The Bulldogs tied for sixth along with College of Saint Mary and Dordt. The Nos. 3 through 5 seeds in the GPAC tournament will be Mount Marty, Morningside and Jamestown. As the GPAC regular season champion, the Warriors have earned one of the league’s two automatic berths to nationals. The second one will go to the GPAC tournament champion – or the GPAC tournament runner up should Midland also take the postseason crown.

·        The slate gets wiped clean this week as the Bulldogs look to make a postseason run like they did last season when they reached the GPAC Championship Series. During the GPAC era (2000-present), the program has won two conference tournament titles (2007 and 2015) and has been the runner up twice (2014 and 2021). This also marks the 20th time Concordia has qualified for the GPAC postseason in the 21 years of the tournament’s existence. The only time the Bulldogs missed it was 2013. Since then, the program has won at least 10 GPAC regular season games each year.

·        Outfielder Caitlyn McGarvie stayed white hot last week, going 5-for-7 with three runs scored, two walks, a hit-by-pitch and a double at Hastings. The Lincoln North Star High School alum has collected at least one hit in 12 of the past 13 games. Since April 5, McGarvie has hit .465 (20-for-43) with 12 runs, four walks, four doubles, six stolen bases and four RBIs. That stretch has raised her season batting average to .383 (second on the team). McGarvie paces Concordia with 14 stolen bases. She also leads the team with eight successful sacrifice bunts.

·        Consider this the weekly update on Moore’s career totals. Following last week’s action, she now owns school all-time offensive rankings of third in RBIs (124), fifth in runs scored (121), sixth in batting average (.388), seventh in home runs (15), ninth in hits (170) and 10th in doubles (32). As a pitcher, Moore’s program career rankings are second in ERA (2.00), third in wins (52), sixth in strikeouts (338) and sixth in innings pitched (482). Four more RBIs would put Moore at No. 2 on the list. It’s worth noting that her 2020 season was limited to only 14 games due to the COVID-19 shutdown.

·        Moore and Kylee Nixon are the lone senior players on the roster. A York, Neb., native, Nixon has played 134 career games as a Bulldog. She’s a career .328 hitter (131-for-400) with 95 runs scored, 29 doubles, three triples, 10 home runs, 72 RBIs, 196 total bases and 18 stolen bases. Nixon needs five more runs to become the 11th player in program history to reach 100 for a career. She was chosen as an Honorable Mention All-GPAC selection last season. This season, Nixon is hitting .291 with nine doubles, a triple, two home runs and 15 RBIs.

·        Now is the time Concordia hopes it can put it all together. Splits were common during the regular season as the Bulldogs split GPAC doubleheaders with Dordt, Northwestern, College of Saint Mary, Jamestown, Dakota Wesleyan and Hastings. Concordia swept twin bills from Doane and Briar Cliff and got swept by Midland, Morningside and Mount Marty. During conference play, the Bulldogs once won four in a row but never lost more than three in a row. In GPAC games, Concordia scored 104 runs and allowed 96.

·        The seventh-seeded Bulldogs are preparing to head to Orange City, Iowa, for action at the Northwestern Bracket. Concordia will take on the host Red Raiders (36-9-1, 15-6-1 GPAC) at 12 p.m. CT on Wednesday. The Bulldogs will play a second game on Wednesday against either third-seeded Mount Marty (27-13, 15-7 GPAC) or sixth-seeded College of Saint Mary (14-26, 10-12 GPAC). Game time depends on the result of the first game. Pod play will continue on Thursday. The Midland/Northwestern Bracket winners will play in the GPAC Championship Series on Saturday. The highest remaining seed will host. The complete schedule and pairings can be found HERE.

Track & Field

·        It’s conference championship week for Bulldog Track & Field. As a precursor to the GPAC meet, Concordia athletes competed at the Prairie Wolf Invite (April 28) hosted by Nebraska Wesleyan University and at the Drake Relays (April 29-30) in Des Moines, Iowa. Some major highlights of the past weekend included improvements on existing automatic national qualifying standards by Chase Berry in the pole vault and by the women’s 4x400 and 4x800 meter relays. The Bulldogs came away from the Prairie Wolf Invite with three event championships. Head Coach Matt Beisel’s squads have been in action for six weeks of outdoor competition. For more information on Concordia Track & Field, click HERE.

·        Below is a listing of marks produced by Bulldogs that have been reported to the national leaderboard. The 2022 outdoor season tally to date includes 15 ‘A’ standards and 18 ‘B’ standards. New ‘B’ standards were turned in last week by Abby Gerber (shot put), Kamryn Pokorney (hammer), Calvin Rohde (1,500 meters) and Camden Sesna (1,500 meters).

o   Women’s 4x400m relay – A (3:49.86)

o   Women’s 4x800m relay – A (9:09.24)

o   Men’s 4x100m relay – B (41.61)

o   Women’s 4x100m relay – B (48.19)

o   Andy Amos – B, hammer (182’ 6”)

o   Jordyn Anderson – B, shot put (43’ 5 ¼”)

o   Zach Bennetts – B, pole vault (15’ 5”)

o   Chase Berry – A, pole vault (16’ 1 ¾”)

o   Olivia Buschow – B, discus (141’ 6”)

o   Morgan De Jong – A, hammer (176’ 4”)

o   Mackenzie Ferrel – B, hammer (164’ 4”)

o   Abby Gerber – B, hammer (159’ 11”); B, shot put (43’ 9 ¾”)

o   Rylee Haecker – B, 1,500 meters (4:42.36)

o   Sara Huss – A, discus (152’ 7”)

o   Cade Kleckner – A, 200 meters (21.30)

o   Jordan Koepke – A, 400 hurdles (1:02.82); B, 100 hurdles (14.63)

o   Sarah Lewis – A, 400 hurdles (1:02.70); A, 100 hurdles (14.53)

o   Erin Mapson – A, pole vault (11’ 11 ¾”)

o   Alli Owings – A, discus (156’ 8”); B, shot put (43’ 1 ¾”); B, hammer (163’ 10”)

o   Erin Painter – A, discus (150’ 3”); B, hammer (161’ 2”)

o   Kamryn Pokorney – B, shot put (43’ 1 ¾”); B, hammer (163’ 4”)

o   Josie Puelz – A, pole vault (13’ 5 ¼”)

o   Sarah Ragland – A, hammer (175’ 5”)

o   Amy Richert – No. 17 nationally in the heptathlon (4,163)

o   Calvin Rohde – B, 1,500 meters (3:55.89)

o   Camden Sesna – B, 1,500 meters (3:55.51)

o   Chris Wren – A, hammer (194’ 5”)

·        The women’s relays emerged as the major story of the Drake Relays for Concordia. The Bulldogs women’s 4x8 vaulted all the way up to No. 2 on the NAIA national list with a season best time of 9:09.24 that put Concordia in third place out of 12 relay groups in the College Division. The Bulldog 4x8 featured Rylee Haecker, Jordan Koepke, Jenna Esch and Keri Bauer. That crew now boasts the fourth fastest time in program history. As for the 4x4, it reached the Drake Relays finals (first time in school history). The 4x4 clocked times of 3:49.86 in the prelims and 3:53.91 in the finals and placed eighth overall. That crew included Sarah Lewis, Koepke, Jacee Pfeifer and Rachel Battershell.

·        A complete summary of results from the Drake Relays can be found HERE. Outside of the relays, another highlight was Josie Puelz clearing 12’ 8 ¼” in the pole vault. She placed ninth out of 25 in a competition that included almost exclusively NCAA Division I athletes. Puelz continues to lead the nation in the pole vault with a season best clearance of 13’ 5 ¼.” Erin Mapson, who is qualified for nationals (11’ 11 ¾”), had the weekend off.

·        Confidence is on the rise for the Seward High School alum Berry. He has leapt to No. 3 on the NAIA’s pole vault national list after he cleared 16’ 1 ¾” at the Prairie Wolf Invite. Two weeks earlier, Berry rose above 15’ 9” at the Loper Invitational. The personal best for Chase moved him to No. 11 on the program’s all-time outdoor pole vault list. He leapfrogged his father Jason (15’ 11”), Concordia’s pole vault coach. Chase is a two-time NAIA All-American.

·        At the Prairie Wolf Invite, Sesna won the 1,500 meter race with a personal best ‘B’ standard of 3:55.51. Right on his heels was teammate Rohde, who also hit the ‘B’ standard in a time of 3:55.89. Heading into the conference meet, Sesna and Rohde rank Nos. 1 and 2 on the GPAC 1,500 performance list. In the 5,000 meters, Sesna ranks fourth in the GPAC while Rohde sits No. 5. In other words, both have the potential to score significant points at this week’s conference championship meet. Other first-place finishers at the Prairie Wolf Invite were Sara Huss (discus) and Trinity Tuls (400 meters).

·        The run for the women’s program has been an impressive one. Beisel has led the program to GPAC titles in each of the past six conference championship meets. This past indoor season, the Bulldogs raised another banner while piling up 194.5 points. GPAC event titles were won by Morgan De Jong (weight throw), Haecker (mile and 1,000 meters), Koepke (600 meters) and Puelz (pole vault). Counting relays, Battershell has won eight career GPAC event titles. On the men’s side, Zach Bennetts was the 2022 GPAC indoor pole vault titlist. The men last won a GPAC title at the 2015 conference outdoor meet.

·        The 2022 GPAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships are up next. The conference meet will play out Friday and Saturday (May 6-7) on the Doane campus in Crete, Neb. The meet schedule will be posted to the GPAC website. The Bulldogs also have the Concordia Twilight (May 13) and UNK Loper Twilight (May 14) coming up on the schedule. Those meets will be a last opportunity for athletes to post national qualifying marks. The NAIA national outdoor meet will take place in Gulf Shores, Ala., May 25-27.