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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The 2024 season is underway for the Concordia University Cross Country men’s and women’s teams. Once again, the Bulldogs got the campaign started as darkness fell upon Yankton Trail Park in Sioux Falls, S.D., site of the Augustana Twilight. In this season’s only night meet, the Bulldogs came away with overall place finishes of seventh out of 20 teams on the women’s side and eighth out of 28 teams on the men’s side. The meet featured a mixture of runners from the NAIA and all divisions of the NCAA.
Head Coach Matt Beisel is in his ninth season guiding the cross country programs. In the GPAC’s preseason polls, Concordia checked in at No. 2 on the women’s side and at No. 3 on the men’s side.
“All I can say is God is good,” Beisel said. “He said ‘yes’ to a lot of prayers tonight and it was beyond what we expected. Our entire focus tonight was on Him. That’s honestly the story of tonight. It was a good sign that we’re on the right path.”
Men’s Summary
Top Dawgs – 4-mile times
29. Trey Robertson – 19:22.17
45. Trevor Kuncl – 19:40.95
47. Vaughn Hendrickson – 19:41.50
93. Cole Yunker – 20:20.62
98. Charlie Hayden – 20:22.62
110. Thomas Gorline – 20:30.04
123. Jarrett Miles – 20:41.51
In putting a bow on the evening, the Concordia men sprung to action at 9 p.m. CT and proceeded to best all GPAC/NAIA competition with the exception of 12th-ranked Doane. The Bulldogs defeated GPAC rivals in Midland (13th), Northwestern (18th), Hastings (19th), Mount Marty (20th), Morningside (22nd) and Briar Cliff (28th). Concordia also outran NCAA Division II competition such as Concordia University St. Paul (11th) and Wayne State College (14th). The team point total for the Bulldogs settled at 249. Meanwhile, Iowa Western Community College won a close battle for the Augustana Twilight team championship.
Said Beisel, “It was a way better performance than we had last year. I don’t think we’ve ever had a guy run under 20 minutes (at the Augie Twilight), and we had three run under 20, including a freshman. They competed great and they’re all in a great mood. I’m just every thankful.”
The top three finishers for the Bulldogs ran within 20 seconds of each other. Sophomore Trey Robertson earned a 29th place finish in the field of 375 runners in Sioux Falls. Robertson clocked in at 19:22.17 in the four-miler. Sub 20-minute performances were also turned in by junior Trevor Kuncl (19:40.95) and freshman Vaughn Hendrickson (19:41.50), allowing both to place inside the top 50. The team’s top seven was rounded out by freshman Cole Yunker (20:20.62), seniors Charlie Hayden (20:22.62) and Thomas Gorline (20:30.04) and freshman Jarrett Miles (20:41.51). The freshman class proved it is ready to make an instant impact.
The top five Concordia runners averaged a four-mile time of 19:53. There were a total of 25 Bulldogs who competed in Friday’s race. Worth noting, the top time by a Bulldog at the 2023 Augie Twilight was 21:02.36 by Hayden.
Women’s Summary
Top Dawgs – 5k times
57. Hannah Beintema – 18:58.33
58. Keegan Beisel – 18:59.89
59. Annika Staab – 19:02.33
61. Rhaya Kaschinske – 19:05.13
78. Alison Stepanek – 19:23.76
79. Annaka Schlachter – 19:25.05
96. Claire Beikmann – 19:45.09
It was a solid start for the Concordia women, who outkicked every GPAC/NAIA opponent in the Augustana Twilight Field. With the seventh-place team finish, the Bulldogs beat out conference rivals in Doane (eighth), Northwestern (12th), Morningside (13th) and Hastings (19th). They also placed in front of sister school Concordia University St. Paul. The team point total for Concordia of Nebraska came in at 240. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln (33) claimed the meet title.
Said Beisel, “We had 13 under 21 minutes and had a great grouping up front. I’m super happy about all that. We had a lot of personal bests on a legit course. It was really good conditions and great competition. The training is paying off and the culture of our team and focus of our team is doing some great things. They were all good tonight – we were the top GPAC team.”
It was a tight race at the top of the Bulldog lineup as juniors Hannah Beintema (57th) and Keegan Beisel (58th) both ran 5k times under 19 minutes with freshman Annika Staab (59th) nipping at their heels. Senior Rhaya Kaschinske also ran with that pack in clocking in at 19:05.13. The rest of the team’s top seven included freshmen Alison Stepanek (19:23.76) and Annaka Schlachter (19:25.05) and sophomore Claire Beikmann (19:45.09). Three of Concordia’s top six are freshmen who experienced a college meet for the first time.
The average time for the top five for the Bulldogs was 19:05. There were a total of 239 competitors who paced the course. Sixteen of those runners represented Concordia. There were several institutions that ran only select individuals and therefore did not qualify for the team standings.
Up next
The Bulldogs will take the next weekend off from competition while looking ahead to the Greeno/Dirksen Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 21. The gun is slated to go off at 10 a.m. CT that day from Mahoney Golf Course in Lincoln, Neb. At that same meet held in 2023, Concordia turned in placements of fifth out of 20 on the women’s side and eighth out of 24 on the men’s side.