Four Concordia runners land Scholar-Athlete honors

By Jacob Knabel on Nov. 18, 2016 in Cross Country

M Cross Country Scholar-Athletes | W Cross Country Scholar-Athletes

SEWARD, Neb. – A quartet of Concordia University cross country runners earned 2016 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete recognition, as announced by the NAIA on Friday (Nov. 18). Representing head coach Matt Beisel’s Bulldogs on the list of honorees are repeat award winners in seniors Christian Egger, Angie Steinbacher and Marti Vlasin. Junior Emily Sievert is a Scholar-Athlete for the first time.

In order to be nominated by an institution’s head coach or sports information director, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and must have achieved a junior academic status. A total of 335 women’s cross country and 222 men’s cross country student-athletes across the nation were named 2016 scholar-athletes by the NAIA.

Concordia University ranks as the NAIA’s all-time leader in number of Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes with 1,210 and counting. The 2015-16 season produced a GPAC best 92 Bulldog scholar-athletes and a national best 20 NAIA Scholar-Teams. The 2014-15 season culminated with GPAC-leading totals of 94 Bulldog scholar-athletes and 17 NAIA Scholar-Teams. During the 2013-14 academic year, Concordia garnered 101 Scholar-Athlete honorees (most in the NAIA) and 17 NAIA Scholar-Teams (tied for fourth nationally).