NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. – The majority of GPAC cross country squads descended upon Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve in North Sioux City, S.D., on Saturday (Oct. 7) morning for the annual Briar Cliff Invite. The Concordia University Cross Country men and women managed to beat out the lion’s share of GPAC opposition while previewing what could unfold in four weeks at the conference championships. Overall, the Bulldogs placed third out of 17 teams on the women’s side and sixth out of 18 squads on the men’s side at the Briar Cliff Invite. The meet featured 224 women’s athletes and 217 men’s runners.
The outing marked the fourth weekend of competition this fall for Head Coach Matt Beisel’s squads. Concordia entered the meet with a No. 8 NAIA national ranking on the women’s side while the men are receiving votes nationally.
“I always want to bring us back to our theme for the year – ‘be where your feet are,’” Beisel said. “Everybody managed our expectations for this week extremely well. I got a sense that, even though there was a little of the normal nervousness, everybody kept everything in perspective and ran great. We’re not worried about the future. We’re focusing on today, God and these great teammates. When we do that, we can get some great performances, and it certainly showed that today.”
Men’s Recap
Concordia Results (8k):
13. Calvin Rohde – 25:17.16
35. Trey Robertson – 25:51.40
55. Aaron Jendro – 26:25.32
58. Trevor Kuncl – 26:32.99
65. Charlie Hayden – 26:37.82
66. Jack Ellis – 26:40.27
68. Westley Determan – 26:43.23
In what was a GPAC meet preview of sorts, the Bulldogs placed third out of the nine conference schools on hand at Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve. Senior Calvin Rohde made a push for a top 10 individual placement while settling for 13th place with his 8k time of 25:17.16. The list of top 10 finishers was made up of five GPAC runners, four NCAA Division II competitors and one unattached athlete. NAIA sixth-ranked Dordt took home the team crown with a point total of 46.
“We ran really well – it was our best team race by far,” Beisel said. “But we still had a couple of guys who didn’t quite have their very best day. We know what we need to do going forward to correct that, and it’s going to make a difference. Calvin did a great job leading the team. I was really happy for Westley Determan and Charlie Hayden, who both have had lingering illnesses that have held them back. I think we’re finally seeing the Charlie and Westley that they want to be. They ran fantastic today. Every single guy except maybe three had personal bests. Hopefully we’ll earn some votes that will move us up in the rankings. We’re not done improving yet.”
This was the third 8k race this season for Rohde, who previously posted times of 25:54.9 at the Greeno/Dirksen Invite and 27:24.3 at the Griak Invite. The Reed City, Mich., native Rohde returned to the No. 1 spot in Concordia’s lineup after freshman Trey Robertson held that title at the Griak Invite. On a much flatter and faster course this time out, the Bulldogs had eight runners finish in under 27 minutes. Robertson placed 35th overall in a time of 25:51.40.
The next five Concordia finishers at the Briar Cliff Invite were sophomore Aaron Jendro (26:25.32; 55th), sophomore Trevor Kuncl (26:32.99; 58th), junior Charlie Hayden (26:37.82; 65th), junior Jack Ellis (26:40.27; 66th) and sophomore Westley Determan (26:43.23; 68th). Twenty-three Bulldogs completed the 8k course on Saturday morning.
Concordia and Doane have been relatively evenly matched throughout the fall. Doane placed fourth with 116 points while the Bulldogs concluded the Briar Cliff Invite with 182 points. That total put Concordia above GPAC rivals in Midland (ninth), Mount Marty (11th), Northwestern (12th), Morningside (13th), Hastings (14th) and Briar Cliff (17th).
Women’s Recap
Concordia Results (6k):
5. Kylahn Freiberg – 21:40.12
8. Keeli Green – 21:56.96
10. Julie McIntyre – 22:01.03
21. Keegan Beisel – 22:47.43
31. Alayna Vargas – 23:00.21
41. Hannah Beintema – 23:17.07
42. Rylee Haecker – 23:17.47
It was a tight race at the top of the team standings as the Bulldogs (73 points) were edged out by GPAC rival Dordt (58) and NCAA Division II University of Sioux Falls (65). Paced by fifth-year competitor Kylahn Freiberg, Concordia beat out six of the seven GPAC opponents (and NCAA Division II Minnesota State) in providing a barometer for how the conference currently lays out. Both Dordt (No. 6) and Concordia (No. 8) landed inside the top 10 of the NAIA coaches’ poll released on Thursday.
“We put together our best team race all season,” Beisel said. “I was very happy with what they were able to do. In a conference race when you take teams like Sioux Falls out of there, how does that change up the scoring? It will be interesting to see. To beat Dordt, it’s going to take our best team race. Dordt is very strong and ran great today, but it’ll be interesting to see in four weeks how that all shakes out. I was very happy with not just how our top seven performed, but the entire team. It was the first 6k for those who hadn’t run at Griak. We have targeted times that we train for, and so many of the girls blew through those times. They’re ready for a big performance jump here in a couple weeks. We saw great team togetherness and the team competed very well.”
The Nampa, Idaho, native Freiberg has emerged as the team’s top runner in three of the four larger scale meets of 2023. In recognition of their top 10 individual placements, Freiberg (21:40.12; fifth), freshman Keeli Green (21:56.96; eighth) and senior Julie McIntyre (22:01.03; 10th) collected Briar Cliff Invite awards. Freiberg finished behind only one GPAC competitor, Dordt’s sensational senior Jessica Kampman, who placed third overall in a 6k time of 21:15.50. The top two individual finishers represented NCAA Division II institutions.
The rest of Concordia’s top seven in North Sioux City were sophomore Keegan Beisel (22:47.43; 21st), freshman Alayna Vargas (23:00.21; 31st), sophomore Hannah Beintema (23:17.07; 41st) and senior Rylee Haecker (23:17.47; 42nd). There were 23 total Bulldogs who navigated the 6k course.
Following Dordt and Concordia, the next GPAC finishers at the Briar Cliff Invite were Morningside (seventh), Hastings (eighth), Doane (ninth), Northwestern (13th), College of Saint Mary (14th) and Briar Cliff (17th).
Up Next
The Bulldogs will take this coming week off from competition while gearing up for the College of Saint Mary/Doane NAIA Classic scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 21. That meet will be held at Mahoney State Park in Ashland, Neb., with the first race slated for 10 a.m. CT.