Bulldog Athletic Association Member (BAAM) Athletes of the Week
Male: Trey Robertson, Cross Country
A sophomore from Wallace, Neb., Robertson ran the fastest four-mile time (19:22.17) in Concordia history while outrunning all GPAC/NAIA competitors at the Augustana Twilight. Robertson placed 29th overall (out of 375 runners) and helped lead the Bulldogs to an eighth-place team finish (out of 28 teams).
Female: Hannah Beintema, Cross Country
A junior from Bettendorf, Iowa, Hannah Beintema paced the 20th-ranked Bulldogs at the Augustana Twilight by running a 5k time of 18:58.33, good for 57th overall out of 239 competitors. Her efforts helped power Concordia to a team place finish of seventh out of 20 teams (top GPAC/NAIA squad).
2024-25 BAAM Athletes of the Week
Sept. 3 – Nolan Fuelberth (soccer); Gabi Nordaker (volleyball)
Aug. 27 – Martin Herrera (soccer); Ashley Keck (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.
Arthur Ashe award winner Blough makes visit to US Open: As a national winner of the Arthur Ashe Award, Concordia University tennis senior Tessa Blough was invited to attend the US Open in New York City during the same week that the first semester began. Blough accepted her Arthur Ashe award as part of the visit to New York City. She discussed her experiences in the Big Apple as part of a feature published to the Concordia Athletics website. For more on Blough’s journey, click HERE.
Matchups announced for 2025 CIT in Ann Arbor: The matchups for the 2025 Concordia Invitational Tournament have been locked in place. On day one of the tournament (Jan. 24-25, 2025), both Bulldog Basketball teams will take on Concordia University Chicago. All CIT 2025 games will take place inside Cardinal Fieldhouse on the Concordia University Ann Arbor campus. The full schedule for CIT, including the cheer and dance competitions, can be found HERE.
GPAC launches streaming network: Back in July, the Great Plains Athletic Conference announced a streaming network designed to bring webcasts from all league members together in one place. The GPAC Network can be accessed online via: https://www.gpacnetwork.com/. The network is also available via a mobile app and smart TVs. The GPAC partnered with Hudl for the creation of the network. In addition to the events that stream on the Concordia Sports Network, 104.9 Max Country will broadcast football and volleyball varsity games this fall. The broadcast schedule can be found HERE.
Concordia Athletics Hall of Fame 2024: The Concordia Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2024 was revealed to the public on July 23. The new inductees will include Audra (Nothwehr) Anderson ’01, Elizabeth (Rhoden) Dillingham ’04, Kregg Einspahr ’82, Ceron Francisco ’17, Frank Greene, Katie (Werner) Loveless ’08 and the 2004-05 men’s basketball team. The class will be officially inducted as part of a ceremony on Sept. 27 in conjunction with homecoming weekend on campus. For more details on the Hall of Fame, click HERE.
Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is underway in its 10th 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 2024-25 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 10th 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 this 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.
Cross Country
· Last week:
o Men – placed 8th/28 at the Augustana Twilight on Sept. 6.
o Women – placed 7th/20 at the Augustana Twilight on Sept. 6.
· Links: 2024 Schedule | Roster
· Notable: The 2024 season opened in strong fashion for both the Concordia men’s and women’s teams at the 2024 Augustana Twilight in Sioux Falls, S.D. From an overall team perspective, the Bulldogs placed seventh out of 20 on the women’s side and eighth out of 28 on the men’s side. The field of competitors included runners from NAIA schools and from all levels of the NCAA. The 20th-ranked Bulldog women beat out all GPAC/NAIA competition while backing up their preseason national ranking. Only one fellow GPAC/NAIA opponent (Doane) managed to finish above the Concordia men. From an individual perspective, the top five runners for the women’s team in the 5k race were: Hannah Beintema (18:58.33), Keegan Beisel (18:59.89), Annika Staab (19:02.33), Rhaya Kaschinske (19:05.13) and Alison Stepanek (19:23.76). In the men’s four-mile run, the top five Dawgs were: Trey Robertson (19:22.17), Trevor Kuncl (19:40.95), Vaughn Hendrickson (19:41.50), Cole Yunker (20:20.62) and Charlie Hayden (20:22.62). Robertson was the top placing GPAC/NAIA runner in the meet. This marked the sixth time in seven years that Head Coach Matt Beisel’s programs have opened the season at the Augie Twilight. The Bulldogs will have this week off from competition while looking ahead to the Greeno/Dirksen Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 21.
· For additional news and notes on the Concordia Cross Country teams, click HERE.
· This week:
o Bye; will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 21 at the Greeno/Dirksen Invitational at Mahoney Golf Course in Lincoln, Neb.
Golf
· Since last week:
o Men – Placed 8th/16 at the Blue River Classic on Sept. 4-5; stood in 13th place/18 at the Siouxland Invite (Sept. 9-10) after day one of the tournament.
o Women – Stood in 8th place/eight at the Battle at Bayside (Sept. 9-10) after day one of the tournament.
· Men’s Links: 2024-25 Schedule | Roster | Statistics
· Women’s Links: 2024-25 Schedule | Roster | Statistics
· Notable: It’s been a busy start to the week for Head Coach Brett Muller’s squads, which were both in action on Monday. The men co-hosted the Blue River Classic last week and placed eighth out of 16 teams while navigating the home course, Highlands in Lincoln. The Bulldogs turned in respective three-round totals of respective team totals of 303-299-300–902 (‘A’) and 316-315-312–943 (‘B’) and were led by sophomore Jacob Dowd (79-72-72–223), who placed 27th in a field of 84 golfers. The men are back in action this week at the Siouxland Invitational in Northwest Iowa. They stood in 13th place (out of 18) when the tournament resumed on Tuesday (Sept. 10). Seniors Gavin Buttshaw and Jake Hagerbaumer shot identical totals (78-73–151) and are tied for 36th out of 96 competitors. On the women’s side, the Bulldogs traveled to the mountain time zone for the Battle at Bayside, which is loaded with NCAA Division II teams. Concordia shot a score of 382 and was led individually by senior Jennifer Gillotti (88). In addition, the Bulldogs sent four golfers to the Matthew Goette Classic on Monday. Once action concludes on Tuesday, the men will look forward to the Bent Tree Intercollegiate (Sept. 23-24) and the women will prep for the Siouxland Invite (Sept. 23-24).
· This week:
o Men – Siouxland Invite in Sioux Center/Orange City, Iowa, Sept. 9-10.
o Women – Battle at Bayside (Sept. 9-10) in Brule, Neb., Sept. 9-10.
Shooting Sports
· Last week:
o Placed 5th/12 at Fort Hays State Fall Intercollegiate Shoot, Sept. 7-8.
· Links: 2024-25 Schedule | Roster
· Notable: The 2024-25 season got started this past weekend with the Fort Hays State University Fall Intercollegiate Shoot. The Bulldogs placed fifth out of 12 teams, cracking 1,952 targets towards the high overall leaderboard. The team’s top five HOA shooters were Brennen Stones (396), Sam Blevins (395), Devin Harris (390), Buchannan Tietjen (387) and Breyer Meeks (384). By event, the Bulldogs placed tied for second in skeet doubles (232), third in super sporting (401), fourth in sporting (443), fifth in trap doubles (444) and sixth in trap (478). The top four in the HOA team standings were Midland (2,066), Fort Hays State (2,050), Hastings (1,992) and Iowa Western Community College (1,968). Head Coach Dylan Owens’ squad will head to central Iowa this weekend for the Simpson College Invite. There are seven events on the fall portion of the 2024-25 slate.
· This week:
o Simpson College Invite in Waukee, Iowa, Sept. 14-15.
Men’s Soccer
· Current record: 1-1-3; receiving votes in NAIA coaches’ poll.
· Last week:
o Lost vs. No. 7 Bellevue University, 2-1, on Sept. 4.
o Tied at Grand View University (Iowa), 1-1, on Sept. 7.
· Links: 2024 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA Preseason Coaches’ Poll
· Notable: Two more competitive games against strong competition resulted in a loss and a draw. It appeared that the Bulldogs were about to draw with seventh-ranked Bellevue University until the Bruins converted a penalty kick in the 90th minute and delivered heartbreak to the home team. Three days later, Concordia failed to protect a 1-0 lead at Grand View University (Iowa) and settled for the 1-1 tie. Sophomore defender Michael Wyvill emerged with the team’s lone goal in both outings. The Lincoln Pius X High School alum has earned a starting role this season after appearing in 10 games as a reserve in 2023. In goal, Nolan Fuelberth got the start versus Bellevue and Gabriel Mendoza played all 90 at Grand View. Fuelberth has twice been named the GPAC Defensive Player of the Week this fall. The loss to the Bruins ended the Bulldogs’ unbeaten streak in regular season games at 29 (21-0-8 in that stretch). This will be the final week of nonconference play as Head Coach Jason Weides’ squad preps for matchups with Benedictine College (Kan.) and in-state rival York University. The Ravens received votes in the most recent NAIA coaches’ poll.
· For a closer look at this week’s matchups, check out the game notes linked HERE.
· This week:
o Wednesday, Sept. 11 vs. Benedictine College (Kan.), 8 p.m. CT.
o Saturday, Sept. 14 at York University, 2:30 p.m. CT.
Football
· Current record: 1-1, 1-1 GPAC.
· Last week
o Lost vs. No. 10 Morningside, 51-21, on Sept. 7.
· Links: 2024 Schedule | Roster | Statistics
· Notable: The Bulldogs had hopes of pulling an upset of 10th-ranked Morningside, but the Mustangs built a 44-6 advantage and cruised to the 51-21 win last week inside Bulldog Stadium. Morningside quarterback threw for 481 yards and five touchdowns and the Mustangs returned two interceptions for touchdowns. Concordia finally found some success in the third quarter when it put together touchdown drives of 65 yards on 13 plays and 72 yards on nine plays. Bulldog quarterback DJ McGarvie threw two touchdown passes to Austin Jablonski and eclipsed 7,000 passing yards for his career. Carlos Collazo also ran for a nine-yard touchdown in the third quarter. There were a combined 159 plays from scrimmage in a game heavy on passing attempts. Linebacker Michael Grindey paced the Concordia defense with 13 tackles (2.5 for loss) and a sack. Daylan Henson intercepted a pass. Punter Braxtyn Koch averaged 38.0 yards per attempt on nine punts with a long of 55. Jablonski finished with nine catches for 78 yards and two scores. Morningside (22-1 all-time versus the Bulldogs) got back in the win column one week after a nail-biting loss to No. 19 Benedictine College (Kan.). Head Coach Patrick Daberkow’s squad now faces its first road game of 2024. Kickoff at Dakota Wesleyan on Saturday is slated for 2:30 p.m. CT in Mitchell, S.D. Concordia fell at home to the Tigers, 16-12, in 2023.
· For details on this week’s matchup, check out the game notes linked HERE.
· This week:
o Saturday, Sept. 14 at Dakota Wesleyan (0-2, 0-1 GPAC), 2:30 p.m. CT.
Women’s Soccer
· Current record: 1-1-1.
· Last week:
o Tied vs. Bellevue University, 1-1, on Sept. 4.
· Links: 2024 Schedule | Roster | Statistics
· Notable: The Bulldogs hosted Bellevue University in the middle of last week before taking the weekend off from competition. Concordia played to a 1-1 draw with the in-state foe Bruins. The two sides had not met since 2021 when Lina Kirst emerged with the game winner in double overtime. In the latest meeting, the Bulldogs found themselves in a 1-0 hole before eventually knotting the score thanks to Kierstynn Garner’s goal in the 72nd minute (assisted by Savannah Andrews). Bellevue (4-0-1) finished with a 10-5 advantage in shots. The Kearney, Neb., native notched her fifth goal of the season a day after being named the GPAC Offensive Player of the Week. Garner is the lone Bulldog to find the back of the net through the season’s first three games. Garner is one of seven Concordia players to have started each of the first three contests, joining Angela Banks, Rosie Gyllenswan, Hannah Kile, Niah Kirchner, Elena Ruiz and Taylor Slaymaker. After a break in the schedule, Head Coach Nick Smith’s squad will return to Bulldog Stadium on Wednesday to host No. 25 Benedictine College (Kan.) before a short Saturday road trip to York University.
· For additional news and notes, check out the program’s homepage HERE.
· This week:
o Wednesday, Sept. 11 vs. No. 25 Benedictine College (Kan.), 5:30 p.m. CT.
o Saturday, Sept. 14 at York University, 12 p.m. CT.
Volleyball
· Current record: 8-1; ranked No. 3 in the NAIA coaches’ poll.
· Last week:
o Won at Mount Marty, 25-20, 25-16, 21-25, 15-15, on Sept. 4.
· Links: 2024 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA Preseason Coaches’ Poll
· Notable: In the only outing of last week, the third-ranked Bulldogs opened GPAC play and earned a four-set win over an improved Mount Marty opponent. The Lancers managed to win the third set before Concordia slammed the door shut by hitting .324 in the fourth set. For the match, the Bulldogs outhit Mount Marty (7-1 entering the match), .300 to .145, behind four attackers with 10+ kills: Ashley Keck (14), Gabi Nordaker (11), Ella Waters (11) and Molli Martin (10). Other statistical leaders included Addie Kirkegaard in blocks (four), Savannah Shelburne in assists (30), Becca Gebhardt in digs (10) and Shandy Fa’ali’I in aces (three). With three blocks, Nordaker pushed her career total to 494 as she creeps up on 500. The same day of the Mount Marty match, the Bulldogs moved up one spot to No. 3 in the regular season’s first NAIA coaches’ poll. Other GPAC teams in the poll are No. 1 Northwestern, No. 15 Morningside and No. 20 Midland. Action will pick back up this week as Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad welcomes College of Saint Mary and Midland to Friedrich Arena. It will be parents day on Saturday.
· For additional news and notes on Concordia Volleyball, check out the team’s homepage HERE.
· This week:
o Wednesday, Sept. 11 vs. College of Saint Mary (7-4, 0-1 GPAC), 7:30 p.m. CT.
o Saturday, Sept. 14 vs. No. 20 Midland (5-6, 1-0 GPAC), 3 p.m. CT.