2004 - Cross Country schedule
SEPTEMBER | |||
| Sept. 11 | Blue-White Alumni Intrasquad | Seward, Neb | |
| Sept. 18 | Woody Greeno Invitational | Lincoln, Neb. | |
| Sept. 25 | Roy Griak Invitational | St. Paul, Minn. | |
OCTOBER | |||
| Oct. 2 | Hastings Short Course | Hastings, Neb. | |
| Oct. 9 | Concordia Invitational | Seward, Neb | |
| Oct. 16 | Mount Marty Invitational | Yankton, S.D. | |
| Oct. 30 | GPAC Conference Championship | Seward, Neb. | |
NOVEMBER | |||
| Nov. 6 | NAIA Region III Qualifier Meet | Lincoln, Neb. | |
| Nov. 20 | NAIA National Championship | Louisville, Ky. | |
All Home Meets in BOLD
2004 - Cross Country roster
Men:
Name | Year | Hometown |
| Nick Bartlett | Sr. | Waverly |
| Ryan Carlson | Jr. | Minden, Neb. |
| Jordan Duncan | Sr. | Seward, Neb. |
| Matt Haden | Sr. | Aurora, Neb. |
| Kyle Johnson | So. | O'Neill, Neb. |
| Brett Kapels | Jr. | Creston, Neb. |
| Jeremy Koch | Sr. | Cozad, Neb. |
| Jon Krenz | Sr. | Binford, N.D. |
| Matt Luevano | Jr. | Alamogordo, N.M. |
| Chris Mizel | So. | Rock Springs, Wyo. |
| Zach Ries | Fr. | Ainsworth, Neb. |
| Jon Ripke | So. | Aurora, Colo. |
| Jake Schmidt | So. | Hickman, Neb. |
| Lucas Tanney | So. | Davenport, Iowa |
| Greg Schroll | Jr. | St. Louis, Mo. |
| Tim Thurber | Jr. | Seward, Neb. |
| Heath Trampe | Sr. | Kearney, Neb. |
| Steve Valladares | Fr. | Pasadena, Texas |
| Andrew Walquist | Jr. | Albuquerque, N.M. |
| Curtis Wilson | Sr. | Gladstone, Mo. |
| Andrew Yeager | Fr. | McCook, Neb. |
Women:
| Name | Year | Hometown |
| Melanie Adamson | Fr. | O'Neill, Neb, |
| Jamie Burmeister | Jr. | St. Francis, Minn. |
| Mattie Clark | Fr. | Ord, Neb. |
| Jacquelyn Dibbern | Fr. | York, Neb. |
| Micah Dubbs | Jr. | Wood River, Neb. |
| Molly Engel | Sr. | Columbus, Neb. |
| Jamie Hansen | So. | Norfolk, Neb. |
| Jennifer Henderson | Sr. | Anaheim, Calif. |
| Tanya Kanengieter | Sr. | Renner, S.D. |
| Angela Matthews | Jr. | Westland, Mich. |
| Jennifer Nikkila | Sr. | Kearney, Neb. |
| Hilary Powell | Jr. | Columbus, Neb. |
| Michelle Quinlan | Sr. | Denver, Colo. |
| Emily Ronning | Jr. | Richmond, Va. |
| Melissa Ruegg | So. | St. Peters, Mo. |
| Kayla Thole | So. | Perryville, Mo. |
| Kelly Waterman | Sr. | St. Louis, Mo. |
| Melissa Weeder | Jr. | Lindsay, Neb. |
2004 - Cross Country coaching staff
Head coach: Kregg Einspahr
Assistant coach: Suzanne Weeder-Einspahr
Top 10 runners back from 2003 women's team
Top 10 national honors and the Great Plains Athletic Conference championship appear to be within reach for the 2004 Concordia women’s cross country team. The top 10 runners are back from the 2003 team that finished at No. 18 in the NAIA ratings and claimed the NAIA Region 4 championship. They were runners-up to Nebraska Wesleyan in GPAC competition. Concordia will be led by Molly Engel, a two-time All-American from Columbus, Neb., who also holds two GPAC individual championships. She will be joined by 2002 All-American Jennifer Nikkila (Kearney, Neb.), 2001 All-American Michelle Quinlan (Denver, Colo.), and fellow seniors Kelly Waterman (St. Louis, Mo.) and Tanya Kanengieter (Renner, S.D.). Engel placed 17th at the 2003 national with a time of 18:20. A strong group of juniors, which includes Angela Matthews (Westland, Mich.), Micah Dubbs (Wood River, Neb.) and Melissa Weeder (Lindsay, Neb.), provide outstanding depth. Freshman contributors to the Bulldog lineup this year will be former high school standouts Jackie Dibbern (York, Neb.) and Melanie Adamson (O'Neill, Neb.). “The Concordia women's cross-country team has one of the strongest traditions among all college programs in the United States,” said Dr. Kregg Einspahr, who directs the program. Bulldog women runners have recorded 10 straight Top-20 NAIA finishes over the past 10 years, including three national runner-up finishes over the last four years. No other GPAC team qualified for the national in 2003.
Strong nucleus adds promise for men’s team
A strong nucleus returning from the 2003 seventh-place NAIA cross country team adds promise for the new Concordia season that gets under way Sept. 11 with the Blue White Invite at home.
NAIA All-American and Great Plains Athletic Conference champion Andrew Walquist and All-American Jeremy Koch lead the seven returnees who competed at the NAIA national. Walquist is a junior from Albuquerque, N.M., and Koch a senior from Cozad, Neb.
"This may be both the men's and women's team that has as much or more potential than I have coached in the last 12 years,” said Dr. Kregg Einspahr, director of the school’s cross country and track programs. “Not only is this a talented group, but this is a collection of fine young men and women who enjoy each other as teammates, are very diligent students, and have been a tremendous joy to coach. I am looking forward to another season and another year with this bunch of individuals, runners, student-athletes."
Seniors including Heath Trampe (Kearney, Neb.), Matt Haden (Aurora, Neb.) and Curtis Wilson (Gladstone, Mo.) should bolster the 2004 efforts. Also returning to action, Einspahr said, will be senior Nick Bartlett, Concordia's No. 1 runner from the 2002 season who should have an immediate impact at the conference and national levels. Bartlett is from Waverly, Neb.
The Bulldogs’ chances for competitive success also may be improved, the coach added, if solid contributions arise from younger runners such as sophomores Jake Schmidt (Hickman, Neb.) and Chris Mizel (Rock Springs, Wyo.), juniors Matt Luevano (Alamogordo, N.M.) and Brett Kapels (Creston, Neb.) and freshmen Zach Ries (Ainsworth, Neb.) and Andrew Yeager (McCook, Neb.)
Einspahr foresees the capability to compete for the GPAC championship and Top 10 national honors. Nebraska Wesleyan won the GPAC title a year ago. The focus again will be on a season of excellence after sixth- and seventh-place finishes the last two years in the NAIA and three straight NAIA Region 4 championships.
NAIA pre-season shows men to finish #3, women #11
The Concordia men’s cross country team was tabbed to finish No. 3 in the nation in pre-season voting conducted by the NAIA. They finished just a few points behind Malone of Ohio and California State-San Marcos. The women’s team was selected for an 11th-place finish nationally.
Coach Kregg Einspahr’s teams open the 2004 season on Sept. 11 with the Blue-White Invite on the Seward course.
The Bulldog teams were the only representatives of the Great Plains Athletic Conference in the Top 25 of each division. The Doane men and the Sioux Falls women were among those receiving votes.
The Bulldog men were seventh and the women 18th in the 2004 NAIA national championship race.
Women's team tops field at Woody Green Invite
18 SEP 2004
The Concordia men finished fifth of 28 teams in the college division. Jeremy Koch was 11th among 253 runners at 26:51. Andrew Walquist was 16th at 26:56, Curtis Wilson 23rd at 27:11, Brett Kapels 28:02, Matt Luevano 28:10, Matt Haden 28:15, Jake Schmidt 28:36, Heath Trampe 29:44, Ryan Carlson 30:25, Chris Mizel 30:27, Zach Ries 30:39 and Nick Bartlett 31:39.
Dibbern earns conference runner-of-the-week honors
Jacquelyn Dibbern, a freshman from York, Neb., is the Great Plains Athletic Conference women’s cross-country runner-of-the-week. Dibbern ran a time of 23:18 to place 10th at the Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational on Sept. 18 at Pioneer Park in Lincoln, Neb. Concordia had five of the Top 20 runners in the 6K race that featured 28 teams and 256 runners, capturing the championship with an average time of 23:37.2.
Women's cross country team up to #3 in NAIA ratings; men #7
The Concordia women's cross country team moved up from No. 7 to No. 3 in the NAIA ratings released on Friday. The Bulldog men's team was tabbed at No. 7, a drop from No. 6 a week ago. The Doane men's team entered the Top 25 for the first time at No. 18. No other GPAC teams were in the Top 25. The above photo shows "they're off!" at the Blue-White Invite on Sept. 11 to open the 2004 season.
Walquist 20th as men finish 10th at Griak Invitational
25 SEP 2004
Andrew Walquist placed 20th with a time of 26:08 as the Concordia men's cross country team finished 10th at the Roy Griak Invitational at St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday morning. Among 368 runners in the Division II/III race, Curtis Wilson finished in 26:29, Jeremy Koch 27:17, Matt Haden 27:25, Heath Trampe 27:32 and Zach Ries 27:50. The average Bulldog time was 26:57 in the race won by Wisconsin-LaCrosse. Hastings College finished 25th with an average runner time of 28:46.
Engel #3 as women's team takes second at Griak Division II
25 SEP 2004
Molly Engel finished 16 seconds behind the winner of the Roy Griak Invitational as the Concordia women's cross country team won second place in the Maroon Division II race. Engel finished in third place among 191 runners with a time of 22:36, followed by Jacquelyn Dibbern at 22:50, good for seventh place; Jennifer Nikkila 23:05; Micah Dubbs 23:41; Kelly Waterman 23:44, Michelle Quinlan 23:52 and Angela Matthews 25:13. Northern Michigan won over 17 other teams in the event on Saturday morning at St. Paul, Minn.
Teams prevail in triangular with Hastings, Doane
2 OCT 2004
Both the Concordia men's and women's cross country team placed first in a triangular meet on Saturday morning at Hastings College. Placing 1-2-3 on the women's side were Kelly Waterman (18:40), Micah Dubbs (19:19) and Tanya Kanengieter (19:35) and following at 5-6-7- were Jennifer Henderson, Melissa Weeder and Hillary Powell. On the men's side, Curtis Wilson was the winner in 15:47 with Matt Haden fourth (16:11), Matt Luevano fifth (16:17) and Jake Schmidt sixth (16:20). Several of the top Bulldog runners sat out the races.
Bulldogs dominate at Concordia Invitational
9 OCT 2004
Six of the top places in the women's division of the Concordia Invitational on Saturday morning were earned by Bulldog runners. Three of the top five places on the men's side went to Concordia as the Bulldogs also captured that championship.
The women's team finished ahead of No. 2 University of Nebraska at Kearney and Northwest Missouri State in the 5k race with Molly Engel first at 18:12, followed by Jennifer Nikkila 18:58, Jackie Dibbern 19:03, Kelly Waterman 19:05 and Michelle Quinlan 19:29. Tanya Kanengiester was ninth at 19:55.
Sioux Falls, Doane and Hastings also competed.
On the men's side, Andrew Walquist was third in the 8k run at 25:36 to follow Sam Malmberg of Doane (25:23) and Luke Garringer of UNK (25:33). Next were Bulldogs Curtis Wilson (26:05) and Jeremy Koch (26:06). Concordia's 43 points were better than Doane's 57 and Northwest Missouri State's 69. UNK, Hastings, Dakota Wesleyan and York also competed.
Bulldog runners greet success at Mount Marty Invite
16 OCT 2004
Both the Concordia men's and women's cross country teams won championships on Saturday at the Mount Marty Invitational in Yankton, S.D.
Molly Engel (17:31.99) took first place, Jennifer Nikkila (17:49.36) third and Kelly Waterman (17:56.87) fourth for the women in the 5k with Andrew Walquist and Jeremy Koch the top two runners among the men at 8k.
Both teams of Coach Kregg Einspahr held healthy winning margins over such teams as Jamestown, Minot State, University of Mary, Black Hills State, Dickinson State and GPAC members Northwestern and Sioux Falls.
Also making strong finishes as the Bulldog women grabbed six of the top 10 places were Jackie Dibbern (seventh at 18:12.22), Michelle Quinlan (eighth at 18:13.95) and Micah Dubbs (10th at 18:18.76).
Curtis Wilson was in eighth place in the men’s run with a time of 25:45.54. Other Concordia times included Matt Haden, 25:59.82; Heath Trampe, 26:09.51; Matt Luevano, 26:13.30; Zach Ries, 26:45.61; Ryan Carlson, 26:58.26; Chris Mizel, 27:07.99; Jake Schmidt, 27:20.01; Tim Thurber, 28:02.81; Andrew Yeager, 28:11.10; Greg Schroll, 28:49.98; Jon Ripke, 28:52.88; and Lucas Tanney, 31:23.21.
Other times for the Concordia women included Tanya Kanengieter, 19:00.07; Jennifer Henderson, 19:22.77; Melanie Adamson, 19:36.07; Hillary Powell, 19:37.89; Melissa Weeder, 19:49.20; Mattie Clark, 26:06.37; Emily Ronning, 21:13.05; Kayla Thole, 21:26.38; Megan Homan, 22:19.59; and Jamie Burmeister, 22:43.09.
Concordia sweeps GPAC cross country championships
30 OCT 2004
Concordia runners join in prayer after the women's cross country team swept the first six places to set a Great Plains Athletic Conference record and claim the conference championship with 15 points on Saturday at Seward. The men also won with 39 points with Nebraska Wesleyan second in both divisions. Molly Engel won the women's individual championship at 18:21, followed by Jennifer Nikkila, Kelly Waterman, Jacquelyn Dibbern, Michelle Quinlan and Micah Dubbs. Andrew Walquist at 25:13 claimed the men's individual title for the Bulldogs. Curtis Wilson finished sixth and Jeremy Koch seventh. Concordia's women's team continued to hold its #2 spot in the NAIA ratings while the Bulldog men's team continued to be rated at #5.
Twelve Concordia runners earn All-GPAC honors
The list of Great Plains Athletic Conference post-season honors includes 12 Concordia cross country runners. Molly Engel and Andrew Walquist earned runner-of-the-year honors. The women's all-conference selections also included Concordia runners Jennifer Nikkila, Kelly Waterman, Jacquelyn Dibbern, Michelle Quinlan, Micah Dubbs and Hillary Powell. All-conference selections for the men's team in addition to Walquist were Curtis Wilson, Jeremy Koch, Matt Haden and Heath Trampe. The women's team swept the first six places to set a GPAC record and claim the conference championship with 15 points on Saturday at Seward. The men also won with 39 points. Concordia's women's team this week continued to hold its #2 spot in the NAIA ratings while the Bulldog men's team continued to be rated at #5.
Women's cross country #1 in final NAIA ratings
The Bulldog women's cross country team claimed the lead by one point over Simon Fraser in the final NAIA ratings as they prepare to enter Region 4 competition Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at Pioneers Park in Lincoln. The men's team, No. 5 in the final NAIA ratings, runs at 11:15 a.m.
NAIA Region 4 titles go the both men's, women's teams
6 NOV 2004
Both the Concordia men's and women's teams handily won the NAIA Region 4 championships on Saturday at Pioneers Park in Lincoln. Five of the top six places in the women's division were earned by Concordia runners with Molly Engel the champion in 18:26.75. Jennifer Nikkila was third, Jacquelyn Dibbern fourth, Micah Dubbs fifth, Kelly Waterman sixth while Michelle Quinlan was 10th. Andrew Walquist earned the men's championship in 25:48.41 with Jeremy Koch sixth, Curtis Wilson seventh and Matt Haden 10th.
The teams now advance to the NAIA national championships on Nov. 20 at Louisville, Ky. The women start at 10:30 a.m. and the men at 11:30 a.m. at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park.
The women's team was No. 1 in the NAIA ratings released Nov. 5. The men's team also was steady at No. 5. Concordia Coach Kregg Einspahr was named the Region 4 men's and women's coach of the year.
Cross country teams enter NAIA national Nov. 20 at Louisville
Eyes will be on the E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park at Louisville, Ky., on Nov. 20 as the Concordia cross country teams compete for the NAIA national championships. The women start at 10:30 a.m. and the men at 11:30 a.m.
The women's team was No. 1 in the final NAIA ratings released Nov. 5, but Coach Kregg Einspahr labels Simon Fraser as the probable favorite. The British Columbia team led the ratings most of the season. Any of four or five teams on the right day can win the team championships, he added.
The men's team was at No. 5 in the final NAIA poll, behind Virginia Intermont, Simon Fraser, Aquinas (Mich.) and Azusa Pacific.
Competing for the Bulldogs will be the top seven finishers in the regional.
For the men, it will be Andrew Walquist, Jeremy Koch, Curtis Wilson, Matt Haden, Matt Luevano, Heath Trampe and Brett Kapels.
For the women, it will be Molly Engel, Jennifer Nikkila, Kelly Waterman, Jacquelyn Dibbern, Micah Dubbs, Michelle Quinlan and Tanya Kanengieter.
“We have had an outstanding season for both the men and women,” Einspahr said. “This will be a fun and exciting trip. We have seen that anything can happen at nationals. Our teams are prepared and ready. Now we will see what happens on race day.”
Five of the top six places in the women's division at Region 4 on Nov. 6 were earned by Concordia runners with Engel the champion in 18:26.75. The runners also dominated the GPAC championships a week earlier. Walquist earned the regional men's championship in 25:48.41 as well as the GPAC top spot. The men run 8k and the women 5k.
Concordia women 2nd, men 9th at national championships
20 NOV 2004
The Concordia women's cross country team was runner-up at the NAIA national championship meet on the morning of Nov. 20 at Louisville, Ky. It was the fourth time in five years they have attained the position. The meet was won by Simon Fraser. The 5k race was run on a sloppy and soggy course after rain on the previous day. Earning All-American status were Molly Engel (photo at right), who in 18:08.20 took ninth place to in the individual results among 258 runners, with Jacquelyn Dibbern 22nd in 18:29. Other finishes included Micah Dubbs 34th at 18:37.60, Jennifer Nikkila 43rd, 18:50.75; Michelle Quinlan 53rd, 19:00.10; Kelly Waterman 58th, 19:10.15; and Tanya Kanengeiter, 160th, 20:08.40. Andrew Walquist also earned All-American status by finishing 19th in the men's championship in a meet that found the Bulldogs finishing ninth and Doane 10th. Walquist's time over 8k among 259 runners was 25:25.35. Curtis Wilson was 59th at 26:13.90 with Jeremy Koch 74th, 26:25.35; Heath Trampe 139th, 27:07.90; Brett Kapels 160th, 27:23.40; Matt Haden 165th, 27:29.25; and Matt Luevano 173rd, 27:34.50. The honors extended beyond the running course to scholar-team honors with the men's team at No. 2 in the nation with an average GPA of 3.69 and the women's team at No. 3 with a GPA of 3.73. Coach Kregg Einspahr also received honors at the NAIA Regions 3 and 4 men's and women's coach of the year.
Individuals honored as Daktronics-NAIA All-America scholar-athletes were Jennifer Henderson, who majors in middle-level education; Jennifer Nikkila, graphic design; Kelly Waterman, secondary education and Michelle Quinlan, business administration/math. All are seniors except Henderson, a junior. Shown in the photo is the women’s scholar honors team, which included (from left) Tanya Kanengieter, Micah Dubbs, Quinlan, Nikkila and Waterman.
Individual men earning recognition as Daktronics-NAIA All-America scholar-athletes included Curtis Wilson, who is majoring in management information systems; Matt Haden, secondary education; Heath Trampe, communications; and Walquist, biology. All are seniors except Walquist, a junior. Pictured are members of the men’s scholar honor team, which included (from left) Jeremy Koch, Haden, Trampe, Walquist and Wilson.
The cross country runners listen to a pep talk by Coach Kregg Einspahr. Einspahr was recognized as the coach of the year for both the men's and women's divisions of NAIA Regions 3 and 4.
There was time for a little fun, too, as demonstrated by "chinning" on a tree branch at the Louisville course.