2022 NAIA Cross Country Scholar-Athletes: MEN | WOMEN
SEWARD, Neb. – Both Concordia University Cross Country teams rank amongst the national leaders for number of 2022 Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes. As announced on Thursday (Nov. 17), a total of 25 Bulldog runners have been honored with Scholar-Athlete recognition. Concordia tied for the national lead for number of NAIA Scholar-Athletes on the men’s side while ranking second on the women’s side.
The 2022 list of cross country honorees includes 609 women’s student-athletes and 467 men’s student-athletes. 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, must appear on the eligibility certificate for the sport and have attended one full year at said institution.
Under Head Coach Matt Beisel, the Concordia cross country and track programs have excelled in all areas of what it means to be a Bulldog. That success has carried into the classroom and onto the running trails. As of the Scholar-Athlete announcement, Beisel and a group of Bulldogs have traveled to Tallahassee, Fla., for the 2022 NAIA Cross Country National Championships, set to take place on Friday (Nov. 18) morning. Concordia qualified the women’s team and Camden Sesna as an individual.
Concordia University ranks as the NAIA’s all-time leader in number of Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes with 2,121 entering the 2022-23 academic year. The school record for number of Scholar-Athletes in one academic year is 226 achieved in 2019-20. Concordia has been a regular national leader for both Scholar-Athletes and Scholar-Teams.
2022 Cross Country NAIA Scholar-Athletes
MEN
· Jack Ellis (Bend, Ore.)
· Thomas Gorline (St. Louis, Mo.)
· Charlie Hayden (Elkhorn, Neb.)
· Ethan Ideus (Seward, Neb.)
· Zachary Johnson (Aberdeen, S.D.)
· Nathan Pennekamp (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
· Thad Rathjen (Osceola, Neb.)
· Calvin Rohde (Reed City, Mich.)
· Camden Sesna (Kearney, Neb.)
· Logan Walgate (St. Charles, Mo.)
· Micah Willweber (Kailua, Hawaii)
WOMEN
· Lauren Ada (De Soto, Kan.)
· Lauren Dawson (Cedar Falls, Iowa)
· Kylahn Freiberg (Nampa, Idaho)
· Peyton Gissler (Malcolm, Neb.)
· Rylee Haecker (Davenport, Neb.)
· Ellie Jander (St. Louis, Mo.)
· Rhaya Kaschinske (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
· Amie Martin (Arnold, Mo.)
· Hannah Mundt (Blue Springs, Mo.)
· Katelyn Nix (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
· Grace Pennekamp (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
· Mary Pennekamp (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
· Aubrey Rathke (Fremont, Neb.)
· Jaiden Tweton (Ashland, Neb.)