Oct. 5 NAIA coaches’ polls: Men | Women
SEWARD, Neb. – A strong showing at the Roy Griak Invitational vaulted Concordia University women’s cross country up seven spots in the NAIA coaches’ top 25 poll released on Thursday (Oct. 5). The Bulldogs have cracked the national top 10 for the first time since 2012 and have achieved the program’s highest rating since also landing at No. 8 during the 2010 season. Meanwhile, the Bulldog men’s cross country team collected three points in the NAIA coaches’ poll and is listed among others receiving votes.
Head Coach Matt Beisel is preparing to take his teams into competition at the Briar Cliff Invitational this Saturday at Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve in North Sioux City, S.D. More details on the meet can be found below.
Briar Cliff Invitational – Saturday, Oct. 7
Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve | North Sioux City, S.D.
-10:30 a.m. – women’s 6k
-11:15 a.m. – men’s 8k
-Live Results
-Meet Info
This will be the fourth weekend of competition (and fifth overall meet) for Concordia Cross Country. Both the men’s and women’s programs were represented at the Griak Invite on Sept. 22 and the Dean White Invitational on Sept. 23. The Griak featured a loaded field including NCAA Division II opposition. Concordia turned in Griak Invite place finishes of 10th (out of 37) on the women’s side and 17th (out of 32) on the men’s side. Individually, fifth-year collegiate athlete Kylahn Freiberg has earned two GPAC Runner of the Week awards while Calvin Rohde picked up the weekly honor on Sept. 20. At the Griak Invite, the Bulldogs were led by freshmen in Keeli Green on the women’s side and Trey Robertson on the men’s side.
Freiberg and company made waves at the Griak Invite by beating out then ninth-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University. With the No. 8 national ranking, Concordia has surpassed a previous best of No. 11 (in 2021) during Beisel’s tenure that began with the 2016 season. The last time the women’s program was rated higher than eighth nationally occurred in 2005 when that particular GPAC championship team rose as high as No. 5. The ’05 squad was also the last Bulldog squad to finish a season in the top 10. Head Coach Kregg Einspahr led the ’05 team to a final NAIA placement of sixth.
Concordia will be back at the Briar Cliff Invite for the first time since 2021. According to the meet info supplied by the host, the meet will include 300-350 runners per race. The top 10 individual finishers will receive awards. The Bulldog women’s program won the Briar Cliff meet title back in 2019.
Following the Briar Cliff Invite, Concordia will have just one meet remaining prior to the 2023 GPAC Championships. The Bulldogs will compete at the CSM/Doane NAIA Classic in Ashland, Neb., on Oct. 21.