Bulldog Athletics Association Member (BAAM) Athletes of the Week
Female: Adrianna Rodencal, Track & Field
A senior from Lincoln, Neb., Adrianna Rodencal added additional layers to her legendary career as she broke her own GPAC meet records last week in the 100 hurdles (13.14) and 400 hurdles (58.36) while also helping the 4x4 relay to a school record (3:47.14). The Biochemistry major was named NAIA National Athlete of the Week by the USTFCCCA for her performances at the conference meet.
Male: Emry Gutz, Track & Field
A junior from Salisbury, Mo., Emry Gutz defended his 2025 GPAC javelin title by winning the event again this season. His winning toss last week landed at 205’ 8” for a personal best and automatic national qualifying mark (third best in school history). Gutz is an Accounting major.
NOTE: This will be the final edition of the Bulldog Weekly Report for the 2025-26 academic year.
2025-26 BAAM Athletes of the Month
March – Nick Velders (tennis) / Katie Welker (shooting sports)
February – Jonny Jurchen (track & field) / Adrianna Rodencal (track & field)
January – Hayden Kluthe (track & field) / Adrianna Rodencal (track & field)
December – Brooks Kissinger (basketball) / Adysen McCarter (track & field)
November – Ava Greene (volleyball) / Brooks Kissinger (basketball)
October – Kierstynn Garner (soccer) / Adam Van Cleave (football)
September – Carson Fehlhafer (football) / Katie Welker (shooting sports)
2025-26 BAAM Athletes of the Week
April 28 – Taryn Ganstrom (softball); Nick Velders (tennis)
April 21 – Alex Johnson (baseball); Laycee Josoff (softball); Adrianna Rodencal (track & field)
April 14 – Taylor Hedke (lifting); Alex Johnson (baseball); Kaiden Mima (lifting)
April 7 – Kaylei Denison (softball); Vaughn Hendrickson (track & field)
March 31 – Daniel Caballeros (men’s tennis); Adrianna Rodencal (track & field)
March 24 – Nick Velders (men’s tennis); Katie Welker (shooting sports)
March 17 – Ben Chisholm (men’s tennis); Taylor Larsen (dance)
March 3 – Raelyn Kelty (women’s basketball); Brooks Kissinger (men’s basketball)
Feb. 24 – Adysen McCarter (track & field); Cal Price (wrestling)
Feb. 17 – Mary Beth Hart (softball); Jonny Jurchen (track & field)
Feb. 10 – Gabe Lujan (wrestling); Adrianna Rodencal (track & field)
Feb. 3 – JJ Jones (basketball); Hayden Kluthe (track & field)
Jan. 27 – Zac Kulus (basketball); Adrianna Rodencal (track & field)
Jan. 20 – Hayden Kluthe (track & field); Adrianna Rodencal (track & field)
Jan. 13 – Cole Price (wrestling); Ayla Roth (women’s basketball)
Dec. 16 – Jonny Jurchen (track & field); Adysen McCarter (track & field)
Dec. 9 – Ashley Keck (volleyball); Brooks Kissinger (basketball)
Dec. 2 – Brooks Kissinger (basketball); Kristin Vieselmeyer (basketball)
Nov. 18 – Oliver Benson (soccer); Braxtyn Koch (football); Kristin Vieselmeyer (basketball)
Nov. 11 – Ava Greene (volleyball); Brooks Kissinger (basketball)
Nov. 4 – Kierstynn Garner (soccer); Hugo Garrote (soccer)
Oct. 28 – Keeli Green (cross country); Vaughn Hendrickson (cross country)
Oct. 21 – Addie Kirkegaard (volleyball) / Taylor Slaymaker (soccer); Adam Van Cleave (football)
Oct. 14 – Oliver Benson (soccer); Kierstynn Garner (soccer)
Oct. 7 – Carlos Collazo (football); Katie Welker (shooting sports)
Sept. 30 – Hugo Fuentes & Nick Velders (tennis) / Peyton Atwood (football); Sadie Mares (soccer)
Sept. 23 – Oliver Balazs (soccer); Katie Welker (shooting sports)
Sept. 16 – Carson Fehlhafer (football); Ella Waters (volleyball)
Sept. 9 – Sam Blevins (shooting sports); Molli Martin (volleyball)
Sept. 2 – Emery Custer (golf); Slade Leicht (soccer)
Aug. 26 – Kierstynn Garner (soccer); Ashley Keck (volleyball); Sean Stratman (soccer)
News and notes:
BAAM luncheons are held every Tuesday (when classes are in session) 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.
Spring GPAC Tournaments/Championships in the books: GPAC Championship season is in the books for spring sports. The slate over the past two weeks has included conference championships for men’s golf, women’s tennis, men’s tennis, women’s golf, baseball, softball and men’s and women’s outdoor track & field (in that order). A summary of Concordia’s results is included below.
--Men’s Golf: April 20-21 (Dakota Dunes, S.D.) | Concordia placed 11th.
--Women’s Tennis: April 23, 25 (Omaha, Neb.) | Concordia placed as the runner up.
--Men’s Tennis: April 24-25 (Omaha, Neb.) | Concordia placed as the runner up.
--Women’s Golf: April 27-28 (Dakota Dunes, S.D.) | Concordia placed fourth.
--Baseball: April 29-May 1, May 4 (top two seeds host pods) | Concordia placed as the runner up.
--Softball: April 29-30, May 2 (top two seeds host pods) | Concordia went 1-2 and was eliminated.
--Outdoor Track & Field: May 1-2 (Fremont, Neb.) | Concordia placed third (women) and fifth (men).
Upcoming NAIA National Championships: Concordia Athletics will be represented at NAIA National Championships this month in the sports of baseball and men’s and women’s outdoor track & field. The NAIA baseball selection show is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT on Wednesday (live on the NAIA YouTube channel). The NAIA Opening Round for baseball will then run from May 11-14 (at campus sites) with the NAIA World Series to follow from May 22-30 in Lewiston, Idaho. Track & field national qualifiers will be headed to Asheville, N.C., for the NAIA Outdoor Championships on May 20-22.
Spring sport postseason awards begin to roll out: Postseason awards have begun to roll out for spring sports. This past week, 95 Bulldog student-athletes were honored as 2025-26 Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes. That total ranked Concordia amongst the nation’s leaders. Additionally, GPAC All-Conference awards will continue to be unveiled this week. The league office announced GPAC tennis all-conference honors last week and has now unveiled baseball and softball conference awards. Check those team specific sport pages for details.
Profiling standout Concordia student-athletes: Concordia Athletic Communications frequently highlights student-athletes and their unique stories. In the most recent features, the journeys of Taylor Hedke (lifting sports) and Nick Velders (tennis) were detailed in feature pieces. Check out the links below for feature articles.
--Taylor Hedke
--Nick Velders
--Gideon Stark
--WBB: ‘Press’
--Ashley Keck
--Taylor Larsen
--Mariana Molano
--Men’s Tennis Seniors
Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show has returned for an 11th year. 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 2025-26 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, basketball and volleyball. In addition, Eric Allgood will call select volleyball matches in place of Cyza.
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 with the 2023-24 academic year, Concordia Athletics began a partnership with Hudl 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 via the Hudl account. For select JV streams, check out that specific sport’s Facebook page.
Baseball
· Current record: 37-16, 22-6 GPAC; receiving votes in the NAIA coaches’ poll.
· Since last week (GPAC Tournament):
o Won vs. Mount Marty, 4-1, on April 29.
o Won vs. Dakota Wesleyan, 12-1 (7 inn.), on April 30.
o Won vs. Dakota Wesleyan, 14-5, on May 1.
o Lost at No. 10 Doane, 17-16 (10 inn.), on May 4 | GPAC Championship.
· Links: 2026 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA Coaches’ Polls
· Notable: For the seventh time under the direction of Head Coach Ryan Dupic, the Bulldogs advanced to the GPAC Championship Game. Concordia dominated its own bracket pod, defeating Mount Marty, 4-1, and Dakota Wesleyan by scores of 12-1 and 14-5. In an epic conference tournament title slugfest, rival Doane rallied to win in walk-off fashion, 17-16, in 10 innings on Monday afternoon. The Tigers managed to overcome a pair of home runs from Bronx Lewis and one from Andrew Fetty. It was an otherworldly conference tournament for Lewis, who went 6-for-10 with a double, four home runs (23 for the season) and 10 walks, equating to an .810 on-base percentage and a 1.900 slugging percentage. In the victory over Mount Marty, Lewis threw out two base runners from his spot in right field. From a pitching perspective, the most impressive outing was turned in by sophomore Micah Sweeton, who mesmerized Dakota Wesleyan in a seven-inning complete game shutout that included 14 strikeouts. Other winning pitchers were Harrison Hoiekvam and Devin Gonor. It was also a fine tournament for catcher Jake Watson, who drove in six runs in the bracket clinching win over Dakota Wesleyan and then added four RBIs in the championship game at Doane. The victory over Mount Marty marked win No. 400 for Dupic in his 12-year tenure. He is now set to lead the program into the national tournament for the eighth time. The NAIA will announce all opening round assignments on Wednesday.
· For additional news and notes on the baseball program, click HERE.
· This week:
o Wednesday, May 6 – NAIA Selection Show, 4 p.m.; the NAIA National Championship Opening Round will be played May 11-14.
Outdoor Track & Field
· Weekends of outdoor competition: 6.
· Last week:
o Placed third (139 points) for women and fifth (103.5 points) for men at the GPAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships on May 1-2.
· Links: 2025-26 Schedule | Roster | TFRRS Performance Lists
· Notable: The GPAC Outdoor Championships in Fremont, Neb., yielded team place finishes of third (women) and fifth (men) for Concordia Track & Field. GPAC championships were won by the following Bulldogs: the women’s 4x400-meter relay, Emry Gutz (javelin), Jonny Jurchen (5,000-meter race walk), Trey Robertson (3,000-meter steeplechase) and Adrianna Rodencal (100-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles). The 4x4 was made up of Adysen McCarter, Rodencal, Tayden Kirchner and Kayla Kirchner. The accomplished Rodencal earned GPAC Athlete of the Meet honors (fifth time in her career) on the women’s side with her total of 24.5 points scored. She broke GPAC meet records in the 100 hurdles (13.14) and 400 hurdles (58.36) while also helping the 4x4 to a school record time of 3:47.14 that represented a fresh automatic national qualifying standard. Another GPAC meet record was set by Jurchen, who completed the race walk in 21:34.19. His race walk teammates Jack Habegger (22:25.20) and Luke Hammang (23:25.07) turned in personal bests of their own and will be headed to the national meet. Gutz also secured his spot at nationals thanks to his javelin PR of 205’ 8.” The Concordia list of GPAC runners up included the women’s 4x1, Nathan Baldwin (hammer), Habegger, Hayden Kluthe (110 hurdles), McCarter (400 meters) and Kiki Nyanok (long jump). The women’s 4x1 tied a school record of 46.80. Head Coach Matt Beisel’s programs are now preparing to host Friday’s Concordia Twilight. Select Bulldogs will also head to Kearney on graduation Saturday for the Loper Twilight.
· For additional news and notes on the track & field programs, click HERE.
· This week:
o Friday, May 8: Concordia Twilight, 12 p.m.
o Saturday, May 9: Loper Twilight at University of Nebraska-Kearney, 2 p.m.
Golf
· 2026 GPAC Championships:
o Men – Placed 11th/11 (325-324-322–971) at the 2026 GPAC Championships on April 20-21.
o Women – Placed 4th/12 (353-344-335–1,032) at the 2026 GPAC Championships on April 27-28.
· Men’s Links: 2025-26 Schedule | Roster | Statistics
· Women’s Links: 2025-26 Schedule | Roster | Statistics
· Notable: The 2025-26 seasons have concluded for both of Head Coach Brett Muller’s squads. The women wrapped things up early last week while placing fourth at the GPAC Championships at Dakota Dunes Country Club in Dakota Dunes, S.D. The Bulldogs shot 353-344-335–1,032 (+156) over the three-round event. Concordia was paced by the trio of sophomore Savannah McFalls (87-86-82–255; 13th) and seniors Emery Custer (85-86-85–256; T-14th) and Maddie Lewis (89-85-82–256; T-14th) – each of whom placed in the top 15 individually. The event marked the end of the collegiate career of Custer, who led the team with a season scoring average of 80.9. As a team, the 2025-26 Bulldogs broke records for lowest 18-hole team score (320), lowest 36-hole tournament team score (336-322–658) and lowest single season average (335.9). Meanwhile, the men finished their season on April 20-21 and placed 11th at the GPAC Championships. The Bulldogs shot 325-324-322–971 for the tournament, which was also held at Dakota Dunes Country Club. Four Concordia competitors played all three rounds and qualified for the individual leaderboard: freshman Calvin Zabloudil (78-79-77–234; T-25th), senior Jake Richmond (81-82-77–240; T-36th), junior Jude Elgert (83-79-83–245) and freshman Logan Krabbenhoft (83-84-85–252; 48th). The GPAC Championships marked the end of the collegiate careers of Richmond and Brock Rogers. Richmond paced the team this season with an 18-hole scoring average of 77.4. The team’s scoring average settled at 314.6. Muller expects to add Custer to his coaching staff as a graduate assistant for 2026-27.
Softball
· Final record: 23-20, 11-10 GPAC.
· Last week (GPAC Tournament):
o Lost vs. Morningside, 5-4, on April 29.
o Won vs. Briar Cliff, 10-7, on April 29.
o Lost at Dordt, 6-4, on April 30.
· Links: 2026 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA Coaches’ Polls
· Notable: The 2026 campaign concluded on day two of the GPAC Tournament in Sioux Center, Iowa, site of the Dordt bracket. The sixth-seeded Bulldogs went 1-2 in postseason play with tight defeats coming at the hands of higher seeds: No. 3 Morningside (5-4 loss) and No. 2 Dordt (6-4 loss). Sandwiched in between, Head Coach Brock Culler’s squad earned a 10-7 victory over seventh-seeded Briar Cliff, giving the program its first postseason win since 2022. In the victory, Concordia pounded out 17 hits with three apiece coming from Keira Farritor, Aubriana Krieser and Tobi Topp (two doubles). At the bottom of the order, Bailey Merritt went 2-for-2 with three RBIs. The pitching win went to Kaylei Denison, who covered 4.1 innings with two earned runs allowed. For the tournament, Krieser went 6-for-10 with a pair of RBIs. Other top hitters in the postseason included Avery O’Boyle (5-for-12 with a home run), Taryn Ganstrom (4-for-10) and Mary Beth Hart (4-for-12). The Bulldogs finished the season at 23-20 overall on the strength of a .341 team batting average. The individual leaders in that category were Hart (.399), Farritor (.381), Kreiser (.368), Ganstrom (.357), Grace Zaugg (.354), Topp (.333) and O’Boyle (.323). It was a breakout sophomore year for Farritor, who led the team with six home runs and a .619 slugging percentage. As a freshman, Hart started every game in left field and atop the lineup. Culler’s program will say goodbye to seven seniors but will welcome back a strong nucleus of players. A focus for 2027 has been adding to the team’s pitching depth. As the ace of the 2026 pitching staff, Denison went 14-12 with a 3.56 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 155.1 innings.
· For additional news and notes on the softball program, click HERE.