2016 Bulldog Weekly Report (Jan. 26)

By Jacob Knabel on Jan. 26, 2016 in Baseball

Bulldog Booster Club Athletes of the Week

Male: Jr Lule, Wrestling

Lule, a native of Blythe, Calif., won by technical fall over both of his conference opponents last week as the eighth-ranked Bulldogs extended their GPAC dual win streak to 11. Lule, named GPAC wrestler of the week on Tuesday, defeated 12th-ranked Martin Phillips of Doane by a score of 19-2. Lule is now 26-7 overall this season.

Female: Kim Wood, Track & Field

Wood, who hails from Greeley, Neb., ran two times last week that currently lead all NAIA female runners nationally. She broke a 16-year-old school record in the one mile by clocking in at 4:58.38 while also running a 2:55.95 in the 1,000-meter run at the Prairie Wolf Invitational. The senior is a six-time GPAC champion.

News and notes:

Make plans for CIT: The annual Concordia Invitational Tournament is just three days away. Concordia University Chicago will play host to the 65th annual event. The Bulldog men’s and women’s basketball programs have both won 25 CIT titles all-time – most among any of the Concordias. For more on the 2016 CIT, click HERE.

Concordia’s first family of soccer: Four different Soenksen siblings have played soccer for the Bulldogs. The story of Concordia’s “first family of soccer” was featured in a piece that was originally published in the Broadcaster magazine. The web version of that feature can be read HERE.

Wood named NAIA national track athlete of the week: Kim Wood is off to a scintillating start in her senior season on the track. She’s already broken the school record in the one mile and owns two NAIA-leading times. Last week the NAIA recognized her as its national track athlete of the week.

Dance, cheer teams compete Wednesday: First-year head coach Heather Duff’s dance squad will hold a competition at halftime of Wednesday night’s women’s basketball game versus Doane (6 p.m.). In last week’s action, the Bulldog dance team lost a home dual with Hastings by a score of 90.95 – 88.15.

Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 4 p.m. CT: New this year is the Bulldog Coaches Show, which runs for a half hour every Thursday beginning at 4 p.m. CT on KAWL 1370-AM. The show can also be heard live via 104.9 Max Country’s website or by downloading the TuneIn Radio app and then searching “KAWL.” This week’s broadcast schedule for live radio coverage on Max Country will include women’s and men’s basketball versus Doane on Wednesday (6/8 p.m.). CIT games will not be carried on Max Country, however, Concordia-Chicago will provide live webcasts via its athletics site.

Concordia Sports Network: Live webcasts for most home varsity contests can be accessed by visiting http://www.cune.edu/csn at game time. Check team schedules/results pages for webcast dates. Scrimmages, exhibitions and junior varsity events are not broadcasted.

Wrestling

  • It’s been 711 days since Concordia last dropped a GPAC dual. The eighth-ranked Bulldogs pushed their conference win streak to 11 by ripping through No. 20 Doane, 24-15, inside Walz Arena on Jan. 21 before taking care of Northwestern, 30-16, in Orange City, Iowa, on Jan. 23. The dual with Doane actually marked the first time during the win streak that Concordia did not triumph by a double-digit point margin. Fourth-year head coach Dana Vote’s squad is now 9-4 overall and 4-0 in conference action. For more on Concordia wrestling, click HERE.
  • The Bulldogs have been tremendously dominant during their run of 11-straight GPAC dual wins. Over that stretch, Concordia has outscored opponents by a combined total of 378-100 while winning 83 of 110 individual matches. Concordia has not dropped a GPAC dual since a 21-12 loss at Hastings on Feb. 13, 2014. Over the past three seasons, Vote has guided the program to a conference record of 16-2. The Bulldogs moved up from second in the conference in 2013-14 to first in 2014-15.
  • Andrew Schulte has been on a roll himself, winning 14-straight matches at 141 pounds. Named the NAIA national wrestler of the week on Jan. 13, Schulte has not lost since surrendering a 3-2 decision at the Battle of the Rockies Open on Dec. 5. Going back further, the native of Corona, Calif., has won 21 of his last 22 matches. Last week Schulte (28-6) moved up to the No. 1 ranking nationally at 141 pounds. He’s Concordia’s first top-ranked wrestler since Adam Joseph rose to No. 1 at 133 pounds in January of 2012.
  • No Bulldog has been more dominant in GPAC duals this season than Jr Lule, currently ranked eighth nationally at 157 pounds. A perfect 4-0 in conference duals, Lule has collected three wins by technical fall and another by major decision. In the win over Doane, Lule dismantled Doane’s 12th-ranked Martin Phillips by a count of 19-2. The native of Blythe, Calif., wrapped up last week with a 16-1 win over Carter Behler of Northwestern. Lule is 26-7 overall this season, second only to Schulte for the team wins lead.
  • Lule and Schulte were two of four Bulldogs who claimed wins in both of last week’s duals. The others were Foster Bunce (149) and Ceron Francisco (285). Like Lule and Schulte, Francisco is a perfect 4-0 in conference duals. He picked up his fourth pin of the season in the win at Northwestern. Francisco has 65 career victories as a Bulldog.
  • Vote’s roster sports 10 individuals with 10 or more wins on the season. Five Bulldogs have eclipsed the 20-win mark. The latest to do so was Francisco, who joins Schulte, Lule, Bailey and Burkhardt Jr. on the list. Matt Atwood is next closest with 18 victories.
    • Andrew Schulte (141/149) – 28-6
    • Jr Lule (157) – 26-7
    • Tommy Bailey (165) – 23-18
    • Ken Burkhardt Jr. (197) – 22-11
    • Ceron Francisco (285) – 21-13
    • Matt Atwood (184) – 18-5
    • Travian Cooke (174) – 15-11
    • Daniel Melcher (149) – 13-8
    • Dmitri Smith (125) – 14-15
    • Alexander Reimers (197) – 10-9
  • A light schedule greets the Bulldogs this week. They will aim for their 12th-straight GPAC win when they travel to Sioux City, Iowa, on Tuesday (Jan. 26) for a 7 p.m. dual at Briar Cliff (3-5, 2-2 GPAC). The Chargers, who own conference wins over Dakota Wesleyan and Hastings, have three nationally-ranked wrestlers on their roster: No. 9 Michael Andreano (133), No. 13 Sonny Gulesian (141) and No. 14 Dalton Presley (285). Two more GPAC duals will take place in February, including the GPAC finale versus Morningside, also undefeated in conference action.

Track and Field

  • The second week of the indoor season saw Concordia pile up six event titles, three school records and five fresh automatic national qualifying marks as 24th-year head coach Kregg Einspahr’s squads competed at the Prairie Wolf Invite hosted by Nebraska Wesleyan on Jan. 22. New school indoor standards were set by Cody Boellstorff (weight throw), Zach Lurz (shot put) and Kim Wood (one mile) – each of whom placed first in their respective events at the Devaney Sports Center. For more on Bulldog track and field, click HERE.
  • Concordia athletes currently lead the nation in five events: women’s 1,000 meters (Wood, 2:55.95), women’s one mile (Wood, 4:58.38), men’s shot put (Lurz, 59’ 6 ¼”), women’s shot put (Stephanie Coley, 47’ 4 ½”) and the men’s weight throw (Boellstorff, 64’ 1”). In the women’s shot put, Bulldogs take up the first (Coley), third (Kali Robb, 46’ 1 ¼”) and fourth spots (Samantha Liermann, 46’) on the national list. Concordia owns a total of 13 marks that rank in the top five nationally. The national leaderboards can be viewed HERE.
  • Wood became the first female runner in program history to leg out a sub five-minute mile last week when she broke Rachael Geidel’s former school record that had stood for 16 years. Wood outran Geidel’s time by more than a second-and-a-half, clocking in at 4:58.38 for a first-place finish at the Prairie Wolf Invitational. Wood’s name is all over the Concordia record books. She also owns school indoor standards in the 800 meters (2:12.25), 1,000 meters (2:53.46) and as part of the 4x800 meter relay (9:12.94). In addition, the native of Greeley, Neb., is the program record holder in the outdoor 800 meters.
  • Lurz already owned school records for both the indoor and outdoor shot put prior to his personal best toss in the event last week. The native of Torrington, Wyo., is an eight-time All-American and was the 2015 indoor shot put national champion. His record shot put marks are 59’ 6 ¼” for indoor and 57’ 9 ¾” for outdoor. Lurz also qualified for nationals last week in the weight throw with a measurement of 59’ 9 ½” – third best in the NAIA.
  • Boellstorff continues to push the limit in the weight throw. A 2015 NAIA national champion in the hammer throw, the native of Waverly, Neb., is the school record holder in both the weight throw and the hammer. Boellstorff’s weight throw of 64’ 1” leads the nation by more than two-and-a-half feet.
  • New automatic qualifiers in the throws last week were junior Trey Barnes and senior Kattie Cleveland. Barnes threw the shot put a distance of 51’ 6 ¼” while Cleveland tossed the weight throw 55’ 11.” They pushed the total number of automatic marks by Bulldog throwers to 12. Three Bulldogs have qualified for nationals in both indoor throwing events.
  • Here’s a look at the 18 automatic national qualifying marks and six ‘B’ standard marks produced this season by Concordia athletes.
    • Women’s 4x800 – B, 9:49.85
    • Trey Barnes – shot put (A, 51’ 6 ¼”)
    • Cody Boellstorff – weight throw (A, 64’ 1”)
    • Kattie Cleveland – weight throw (A, 55’ 11”)
    • Stephanie Coley – shot put (A, 47’ 4 ½”); weight throw (B, 54’ 3 ¾”)
    • McKenzie Gravo – pole vault (A, 11’ 9”)
    • Liz King – weight throw (B, 52’ 1 ¼”)
    • Philip Kreutzer – weight throw (A, 55’ 8 ½”)
    • Samantha Liermann – shot put (A, 46’)
    • Zach Lurz – shot put (A, 59’ 6 ¼”); weight throw (A, 59’ 9 ½”)
    • Cynthia Mick – pole vault (B, 11’ 2 ½”)
    • CJ Muller – 600 meter run (A, 1:20.71)
    • Kali Robb – shot put (A, 46’ 1 ¼”); weight throw (A, 55’ 11 ¼”)
    • Jose Rojas – shot put (A, 52’ 2”); weight throw (A, 56’ 11 ¼”)
    • Benjamin Schulteis – weight throw (B, 53’ 8 ½”)
    • Lucas Wiechman – pole vault (A, 16’ ¾”); 60 meter hurdles (B, 8.38)
    • Kim Wood – 600 meter run (A, 1:35.80); 1,000 meter run (A, 2:55.95); one mile run (A, 4:58.38)
  • For the first time this season, the Bulldogs will serve as host when the annual Concordia Classic gets underway on Friday inside the Walz Fieldhouse. To view the event schedule for the two-day meet, click HERE. The Bulldogs will host one additional meet during the indoor season – the Concordia Invitational on Feb. 12.

Women’s Basketball

  • Slotted fifth in last week’s national coaches’ poll, the Bulldogs split a pair of GPAC contests. Concordia continued its home dominance with a 75-72 nailbiting win over No. 10 Hastings on Jan. 23. Three days later 10th-year head coach Drew Olson’s squad ran into a buzz saw in Yankton, S.D., where it fell, 81-60, at the hands of Mount Marty. The Lancers completed an impressive week in which they also won at No. 1 Morningside. The Bulldogs now sit at 15-5 overall and 10-5 in league play (second place). For more on Concordia women’s basketball, click HERE.
  • Last week unveiled another new starting lineup due to the absence of 2014-15 GPAC freshman of the year Mary Janovich. With the star guard sidelined, Olson used a backcourt of Shelby Quinn, Jade Gottier and Brenleigh Daum and a frontcourt of Quinn Wragge and Erin Vieselmeyer. A 6-foot junior from Holyoke, Colo., Vieselmeyer made her third and fourth-straight starts and responded with a combined 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting last week. Gottier appeared in the starting lineup in each of the first seven games and now has nine starts on the season.
  • Each of Concordia’s past three home games have resulted in wins over teams ranked inside the top 10. The Bulldogs own five victories over opponents that were ranked at the time of the game: No. 4 Briar Cliff, No. 6 Dakota Wesleyan, No. 6 University of Jamestown (N.D.), No. 10 Hastings and No. 24 Mayville State University (N.D.). Overall, Concordia is 5-2 versus top 25 teams with the two losses coming against No. 1 Morningside and at No. 16 Dakota Wesleyan.
  • Olson has entrusted Wragge, a freshman from Crofton, Neb., with more playing time (26.0 minutes per game) than any other Bulldog. She’s responded by going on a tear of late. She had a career high 21 points in last week’s win over Hastings. Over the past four games she’s averaged 18.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. She’s played at least 30 minutes in seven-straight contests. With a season average of 12.6 points per game, Wragge ranks 15th among GPAC players.
  • In both of last week’s outings, six different Bulldogs made at least one 3-point field goal. A high volume 3-point shooting team, Concordia has put up 39.0 percent of its points on triples. Comparatively, its opponents have notched 26.6 percent of its points on shots from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs rank third nationally in successful 3-point field goals per game (10.3). Four different players have made at least 25 3-point field goals: Daum (46), Sydney Feller (35), Becky Mueller (31) and Quinn (26).
  • Janovich started 35 of Concordia’s 38 games last season and had started each of the first 18 games of her sophomore year prior to last week. Quinn, a native of Bellevue, Neb., is the Cal Ripken of the team, having played in each of the last 78 Bulldog women’s basketball games dating back to her freshman season. Quinn has played in 86 career games since the start of the 2013-14 season.
  • Not only has Concordia won 66 of its last 74 home games, 21 of those victories have come over ranked opponents. The Bulldogs have not lost more than three home contests in a single season since 2010-11. Their 9-1 record at Walz in 2015-16 is the best home mark among GPAC teams.
  • Last week Feller played a total of 47 minutes without committing a single turnover. The native of Papillion, Neb., ranks fifth among GPAC players and 15th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.24). Feller has gone four-straight games (86 minutes) without giving the ball away. She’s played the most minutes per game (17.1) among Concordia’s reserves.
  • This week brings a three-games-in-four-days stretch that begins on Wednesday when the Bulldogs host Doane (12-10, 5-9 GPAC) for a 6 p.m. tipoff. Then on Friday the 65th annual Concordia Invitational Tournament gets underway from Concordia University-Chicago. The Bulldogs will take on Concordia-Ann Arbor (10-10) at 1 p.m. on Friday. They will play either Concordia-Chicago (6-10) or Concordia-Wisconsin (13-3) on Saturday. The Bulldogs have won 25 CIT titles all-time, which tops all other Concordias.

Men’s Basketball

  • After suffering its third-straight defeat (all by seven points or less) in an 84-77 home loss to Hastings on Jan. 20, Concordia responded by thrashing Mount Marty, 87-48, in Yankton, S.D., on Jan. 23. It was by far the Bulldogs’ largest margin of victory in a conference game this season and fell just short of the 40-point win margin achieved in the 89-49 rout of Johnson & Wales University (Colo.) in the season opener. Third-year head coach Ben Limback’s squad is now 12-9 overall and 6-8 in conference play (eighth place) with six GPAC games left on the slate. For more on Concordia men’s basketball, click HERE.
  • The Bulldogs have won two-consecutive GPAC road games after beginning the conference schedule with losses in four its first five contests away from Walz Arena. Concordia was a solid 6-4 last season in GPAC regular-season road contests. Since the start of the 2014-15 campaign, Limback has guided his teams to a respectable 16-12 record in road/neutral tilts.
  • In the loss to Hastings, Chandler “The Chanimal” Folkerts extended his streak of consecutive double-doubles to six. During that prolific six-game burst, Folkerst averaged 23.8 points and 11.2 rebounds. His streak was snapped at Mount Marty when he recorded 15 points (7-for-10 from the field) and four rebounds in only 20 minutes of action. His nine double-doubles lead all GPAC players. Folkerts has climbed to No. 2 on the national leaderboard in field goal percentage (.646).
  • Folkerts is also leaping up Concordia’s all-time lists. Among all players in program history, the Milford native ranks in a tie for 17th in points (1,210) and 12th in rebounds (536). This season Folkerts has career best rates in scoring (19.1 ppg), rebounding (8.2 rpg) and in field goal percentage. He’s tallied at least 20 points in nearly half (10 of 21) of Concordia’s games.
  • Senior Robby Thomas (ninth in school history in rebounding, 14th in assists and 26th in scoring) is closing in on a school record. The native of Shawnee, Kan., swatted seven more shots last week, running his career total to 187 blocks – one off the program’s all-time record held by Glen Snodgrass. Thomas has rejected at least 50 shots in three-consecutive seasons. As a junior he broke the school single-season blocks record with 71.
  • Few teams nationally have been as efficient offensively as Concordia, which ranks 10th among all NAIA Division II teams in field goal percentage (.491). The Bulldogs shot 55.0 percent (33-for-60) from floor in the win at Mount Marty, a team they carved up in their regular-season sweep. Concordia shot a season high 63.5 percent (33-for-52) in the 94-79 victory over Mount Marty on Dec. 12. The Bulldogs have posted field goal percentages of 50 percent or better in 10 of 21 games this season.
  • The loss to Hastings was another in a line of close calls this season for the Bulldogs. Of their nine defeats, seven have been decided by margins of seven points or less and two were decided right at the buzzer. Concordia has also won three contests that went to overtime (all at home).
  • Mount Marty’s field goal percentage of 32.0 was a season low for GPAC opponents against Concordia. The Bulldogs continue to lead the conference in field goal percentage defense (.427) in a high-powered league with eight teams averaging more than 80 points per game. On the flip side, Concordia is ninth among GPAC squads in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.378). The Bulldogs improved in that area last week, limiting Hastings and Mount Marty to a combined 13-for-42 (.310) on shots from beyond the arc.
  • Up next is a visit from rival Doane (8-14, 4-9 GPAC) for an 8 p.m. tipoff inside Walz Arena on Wednesday. The Bulldogs will then shift focus to the 65th annual Concordia Invitational Tournament, set for Friday and Saturday at Concordia University-Chicago. The Bulldogs draw Concordia-Ann Arbor (10-11) at 3 p.m. on Friday and either Concordia-Chicago (4-12) or Concordia-Wisconsin (9-8) on Saturday. The Bulldogs’ 25 all-time CIT titles are the most in the event’s history.

Tennis

  • Both Concordia tennis teams began their 2016 schedules by hosting Grand View University on Jan. 23. The men debuted three freshmen in a new-look lineup and earned a 6-3 victory inside the Walz Fieldhouse. Meanwhile, the Bulldog women fell by an identical 6-3 score to the visiting Vikings. The women, now 0-2 overall, also used three freshmen in their singles lineup. For more on second-year head coach Joel Reckewey’s programs, click the following links: men | women.
  • Freshmen Willy Pardos (No. 1), Thomas Greeff (No. 3) and Gabriel Poling (No. 5) each collected their first career singles wins versus Grand View. Pardos defeated Jordan Feige, 6-0, 6-2, Greeff upended Zach Martin, 6-0, 6-0, and Poling dominated Diego Novoa, 6-0, 6-1. The group of freshman come from completely different backgrounds. Pardos hails from Pamplona, Spain. Greeff calls Pretoria, South Africa, home and Poling is a native of Chillicothe, Mo.
  • The headlining returners on the men’s side are juniors Javier Moreno and Patricio Esquivel of Morelia, Mexico. Esquivel won his season-opening singles match, 8-0, over Ryan Gilbert. Meanwhile, Moreno fell at No. 2, 6-1, 6-4. In doubles, Moreno combined with Pardos for an 8-2 victory over their counterparts in the No. 1 slot. At No. 2 doubles, Greeff and Polling won, 8-4.
  • The three freshmen women who competed versus Grand View were Katelinn Wurm (No. 2), Anna Kenney (No. 5) and Kayla Smock (No. 6). Smock did her part with an 8-3 victory over Alyssa Stanczak at the No. 6 position. Each of them are from the United States: Wurm (Bradenton, Fla.), Kenney (Sterling, Colo.) and Smock (Denver, Colo.).
  • Reckewey has overseen a roster overhaul for the tennis programs in 2015-16. Of the 10 players on the men’s roster, seven are freshmen. Similarly, six of the 12 women’s student-athletes are new to the program. Neither team has a single senior. The youthful women’s roster is made up of six freshmen and six sophomores.
  • This will be a light week of action for Bulldog tennis. The women do not have any competitions scheduled while the men will be in action once – Friday at the University of Nebraska Omaha (2-1). The Mavericks will host Concordia in a match set for 5 p.m. The next home matches will be held Feb. 13 when Bethany College makes a visit to the Walz Fieldhouse.