ASHLAND, Neb. – A special freshman season for Vaughn Hendrickson became even more memorable on Saturday (Nov. 9) morning as he raced to an individual GPAC championship. Hendrickson and teammate Trey Robertson finished 1-2 on the men’s side while highlighting the 2024 GPAC Cross Country Championships from the perspective of Concordia University, Nebraska Cross Country. Hendrickson and Robertson led the Bulldog men to a third-place GPAC finish while Keegan Beisel paced the women to a conference placement of fourth. The championship meet unfolded at rain-soaked Mahoney State Park in Ashland, Neb.
Head Coach Matt Beisel is hopeful that the men’s squad has done enough to earn an at-large bid to the NAIA national meet. At the very least, Concordia expects to send individual qualifiers in the form of Beisel, Hendrickson, Robertson and potentially Rhaya Kaschinske.
“I told our teams last week that I felt that this whole season has been one of the best seasons for us in so many ways, both in performance and the presence of God and the holy spirit on our team,” Beisel said. “I think the relationships are some of the best I’ve seen. We’re going to losing some seniors who have been huge impact players, and we’ll miss them. We have a lot coming back next year too. Whatever happened today was just icing on the cake. There was just a great energy. We were a witness for Christ, and I couldn’t have asked for more.”
Men’s Summary
Hendrickson became the men’s program’s first GPAC champion since Colin Morrissey celebrated a title in McCook Lake, S.D., in 2012. Though the times were slower across the board than two weeks earlier at the same site (due to muddy conditions), Hendrickson (Fort Wayne, Ind.) outkicked his teammate Robertson (Wallace, Neb.) and star runners from the likes of Dordt and Doane. Hendrickson clocked in at 25:44.09 in the 8k race with Robertson hot on his heels at 25:51.70.
Not since Dana Schmidt and Morrissey went 1-2 at the 2010 GPAC Championships had the Concordia men emerged with the top two individual finishes. From a team standpoint, Hendrickson and company finished with 67 points, putting them behind only Dordt (41) and Doane (45) atop the GPAC standings. Under Beisel, the men’s program has placed in the top three of the GPAC in three-straight years (second place in 2022). The current team is receiving votes in the NAIA national poll.
“I am just elated to have us go 1-2 in the conference,” Beisel said. “I think they both have the potential to be All-Americans at nationals. Being third place, 22 points off of Doane, was a very good team race. Both the guys and the girls ran very well and gave everything they had. You saw it in their eyes the entire time. We have that power at the top with the guys. We had some guys step up and get the job done. Will third place get us to nationals? We’ll find out Monday. I feel like we’ve got a shot. Big shoutout to Vaughn and Trey and to Aidan Limback. He came through super strong.”
Concordia Results – 8k
1. Vaughn Hendrickson: 25:44.09
2. Trey Robertson: 25:51.70
16. Aidan Limback: 26:51.91
25. Thomas Gorline: 27:25.02
29. Trevor Kuncl: 27:40.87
31. Jarrett Miles: 27:51.82
38. Jack Ellis: 28:10.25
39. Nathan Pennekamp: 28:10.31
40. Ethan Sholey: 28:10.48
61. Cole Yunker: 30.25.21
West Des Moines, Iowa, native Aidan Limback emerged as the team’s No. 3 runner and just missed a top 15 placement required for GPAC All-Conference recognition. Limback reached the finish line in 26:51.91 (16th place). The team’s top five also featured Thomas Gorline (27:25.02) and Trevor Kuncl (27:40.87). The team’s six through 10 runners are listed above. Concordia had an especially tight pack in its seven through nine spots as each of those runners placed consecutively in the GPAC pecking order. Nine of the 10 Bulldogs placed in the top 40 in a field that numbered 90 competitors strong.
The teams Concordia defeated in the GPAC race were Mount Marty (fourth), Northwestern (fifth), Midland (sixth), Hastings (seventh), Morningside (eighth), Briar Cliff (ninth), Dakota Wesleyan (10th) and Waldorf (11th). As part of his remarkable freshman campaign, Hendrickson has led the way for the Bulldogs at five of six meets and was the winner of the Briar Cliff Invite. His best 8k time of the season was the 24:49.52 he posted at the Blazing Tiger Classic. Both Hendrickson and Robertson earned their first career all-conference awards. Like Hendrickson, Robertson ran under 25 minutes at the Blazing Tiger meet.
Women’s Summary
The Concordia women have placed fourth or better for the for the sixth time in Beisel’s tenure. The Bulldogs had realistic hopes of finishing as high as second this time around but came up shy of runner up College of Saint Mary by 23 points and third place Doane by 12 points. Dordt ran away with the title while holding down five of the top six spots on the individual leaderboard. All three teams that placed above Concordia entered the meet either ranked or receiving votes nationally.
The Seward High School product Beisel claimed a top 10 finish while moving up from past conference placements of 37th as a freshman and 17th as a sophomore. In crossing the finish line after 23:47.44 had elapsed on Saturday, Beisel ran her fourth-straight sub-24-minute 6k race of the season. Beisel has been the team’s top runner at three meets in a row with her season best 6k (23:10) coming at the Dordt Classic.
“We wanted to put together a complete team race and have a shot at beating Doane and/or College of Saint Mary, and we came really close to doing that,” Beisel said. “A couple didn’t have their best day, but we also had some people step up and we ended up a close fourth. We’ve had a lot of team success in cross country on the women’s side the last few years. Congratulations to CSM and Doane. They ran really well. I think this gives us something to shoot for next year. It was nice to see Keegan get ninth and get all-conference honors and is a presumptive individual national qualifier. We also had Rhaya Kaschinske right there in our top 20.”
Concordia Results – 6k
9. Keegan Beisel: 23:47.44 (All-GPAC)
18. Rhaya Kaschinske: 24:29.45
22. Annika Staab: 24:40.97
24. Annaka Schlachter: 24:50.08
36. Ellie Jander: 25:31.55
37. Kelsie Heins: 25:35.71
38. Hannah Beintema: 25:39.01
44. Christina Martinson: 25:53.30
45. Alison Stepanek: 25:53.74
64. Claire Beikman: 26:33.66
A senior out of Fort Wayne, Kaschinske narrowly missed out on all-conference accolades and has a shot at earning an individual bid to the national meet. She placed 18th in a 6k time of 24:29.45. The team’s three through five runners were Annika Staab (24:40.97), Annaka Schlachter (24:50.08) and Ellie Jander (25:31.55). The remainder of the 10-athlete lineup is listed above. A past GPAC All-Conference award winner, junior Hannah Beintema clocked in at 25:39.01.
Concordia placed above the following GPAC rivals: Morningside (fifth), Northwestern (sixth), Hastings (seventh), Midland (eighth), Mount Marty (ninth), Waldorf (10th), Briar Cliff (11th) and Dakota Wesleyan (12th).
Up Next
Official qualifiers for the 2024 NAIA Cross Country National Championships will be announced next week. The 2024 national meet is slated to take place at Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Mo., on Friday, Nov. 22.