2007 - Cross Country schedule
SEPTEMBER | ||
Sept. 8 | Blue - White Intrasquad/Alumni | Seward, Neb. |
Sept.15 | Woody Greeno Invitational | Lincoln, Neb. |
Sept. 22 | Dean White Invite | Crete, Neb. |
Sept. 29 | Griak Invitational | St. Paul, Minn. |
OCTOBER | ||
Oct. 6 | Concordia Invitational | Seward, Neb. |
Oct. 13 | Mount Marty Invitational | Yankton, S.D |
Oct. 27 | GPAC Conference Championship | Crete, Neb. |
NOVEMBER | ||
Nov. 3 | NAIA Region III Championship | Sioux Falls, S.D. |
Nov. 17 | NAIA National Championship | Kenosha, Wis. |
All Home Meets in BOLD
2007 - Cross Country roster
Men:
Name | Yr. | Hometown | High School |
Zach Baedke | So. | Fremont, Neb. | Fremont |
Tyson Billings | Fr. | Valentine, Neb. | Valentine |
Keegan Bloomfield | So. | Blair, Neb. | Blair |
Chris Dehning | Jr. | McAllen, Texas | Memorial High |
Nathan Dreher | Jr. | Brighton, Colo. | Fort Lupton High |
Andrew Eberhard | Fr. | Greeley, Colo. | University High |
Caleb Egger | Fr. | Galva, Iowa | Galva-Holstein |
Bryan Felker | Jr. | O'Neill, Neb. | O'Neill |
David Goeglein | So. | Kansas City, Mo. | KC Lutheran |
Zane Grabau | So. | Waterville, Minn. | Waterville-Elysian-Morris |
Ricky Gross | Fr. | Riverside, Calif. | John North High |
Jon Grotefendt | So. | Marine, Ill. | Metro East Lutheran |
Kyle Johnson | Sr. | O'Neill, Neb. | O'Neill |
Kurt Jostes | Sr. | Norfolk, Neb. | Lutheran High Northeast |
Aaron Kortze | Fr. | Rockford, Ill. | Lutheran High |
Zach Meineke | So. | Denver, Colo. | Denver Lutheran |
Joshua Meyer | So. | Seward, Neb. | Seward |
David Mommens | Fr. | Portage, Wis. | Portage High |
Kameron Mueller | Fr. | Denver, Colo. | Denver Lutheran |
Steven Schultz | Fr. | Fremont, Neb. | Lincoln High |
Scott Schwallenberg | So. | Columbus, Neb. | Columbus High |
Thomas Stollee | Jr. | Perham, Minn. | Perham High |
Lucas Tanney | Sr. | Davenport, Iowa | Christ Lutheran |
Chris Tegtmeier | So. | Fairbury, Neb. | Fairbury |
Luka Thor | Jr. | Lincoln, Neb. | Lincoln Northeast |
Jordan Tucker | Jr. | Omaha, Neb. | Millard West |
Ben Walnofer | Fr. | Chambers, Neb. | Chambers |
Tanner White | Fr. | Waverly, Neb. | Waverly |
Andrew Yeager | Jr. | McCook, Neb. | McCook |
Women:
Name | Yr. | Hometown | High School |
MaryLou Andrews | So. | Aurora, Neb. | Aurora |
Emilie Bourret | Fr. | Potter, Neb. | Potter-Dix |
Kayla Engel | Jr. | Columbus, Neb. | Scotus |
Taylor Felix | So. | Seward, Neb. | Seward |
Hannah Ferry | So. | Milwaukee, Wis. | Milwaukee Lutheran |
Emly Hartmann | Sr. | Seward, Neb. | Seward |
Ann Hershberger | So. | Superior, Neb. | Superior |
Katie Klein | Fr. | Giltner, Neb. | Harvard |
Katie Lutmer | Fr. | Omaha, Neb. | Westside |
Alicia Marteney | Fr. | Pawnee City, Neb. | Pawnee City Public |
Allison Mitchell | Fr. | Aurora, Neb. | Aurora |
Rebecca Mol | So. | Flint, Mich. | Kearsley |
Katie Swanson | Jr. | Columbus, Neb. | Scotus |
Jacque Wiseman | Jr.. | LaGrande, Ore. | LaGrande |
2007 - Cross Country coaching staff
Head coach: Kregg Einspahr
Assistant coach: Suzanne Weeder-Einspahr
Men finish second, women sixth at Woody Greeno Invite
15 SEP 2007
The Concordia University, Nebraska cross country teams opened the season at the Woody Greeno Invite hosted by the University of Nebraska and Nebraska Wesleyan University at Pioneers Park in Lincoln. The men took second in the college division while the women finished sixth.
Overall at the meet the Bulldogs, ranked No. 12 in the NAIA, took third finishing only behind the University of Nebraska and NCAA Division II Colorado School of the mines who was ranked No. 7 coming into the meet. The Bulldogs finished ahead of teams such as Kansas State, Creighton, the University of South Dakota and the University of Nebraska-Kearney.
The Bulldogs were also the top placing GPAC team at the meet.
Two-time NAIA All-American Luka Thor paced the Bulldogs during most of the race before being nipped at the finish by teammate Zach Meineke, a sophomore. Meineke's time of 26:01.45 earned him 13th place. Thor clocked in at 26:01.50 and took the 14th spot. David Goeglein and Brain Felker weren't far behind, crossing the tape in 15th and 17th respectively.
On the women's side the Bulldogs, ranked No. 19 in the NAIA, were led by Taylor Felix and Alicia Marteney who finished 22nd and 24th respectively. Felix covered the course in 23:44.65, while Marteney came in at 23:47.90. The next best finisher for Concordia was Katie Swanson in 29th place (23:59.45).
The next action for the cross country teams is on Sept. 22 as Concordia travels to Crete, Neb., to compete at the Dean White Invitational. The meet is scheduled to start at 10:00 a.m.
Limited squad competes in Crete
22 SEP 2007
The Concordia University, Nebraska cross country teams participated in the Dean White Invitational hosted by Doane College on Saturday in Crete, Neb. The Bulldog men finished sixth (136 points) while the women were third (91 points).
The Bulldogs held out many of their top runners who put in a hard week of training in preparation for next weeks Griak Invitational hosted by the University of Minnesota.
Leading the way for the women's squad was Allison Mitchell in 15th place with a time of 21:35.01. Emly Hartmann was also in the top 20, finishing 18th, crossing the tape with a time of 21:38.88.
Other Concordia runners finished as follows: 24th - Katie Klein (21:50.60), 25th - Rebecca Mol (21:51.78), 32nd - Hannah Ferry (22:08.61), 43rd - MaryLou Andrews (22:43.11), 54th - Emily Bourret (23:24.17).
On the men's side Kurt Jostes led the way taking 15th, crossing the tape in 27:26.40. No other Bulldogs finished in the top 20.
Other Concordia runners finished as follows: 26th - Andy Eberhard (28:14.85), 30th - Ricky Gross (28:50.63), 31st - Josh Meyer (28:52.09), 34th - Aaron Kortze (28:55.60), 35th - Chris Dehning (28:58.33), 41st - Lucas Tanney (29:16.18), 42nd - Keegan Bloomfield (29:18.11), 46th - Scott Schwallenberg (29:24.20), 53rd - Ben Walnofer (30:07.27), 57th - Caleb Egger (30:26.46), 58th - Chris Tegtmeier (30:30.93), 68th - Nate Dreher (32:22.97).
The Bulldogs will travel to Minnesota to take part in one of the largest cross country meets in America, the Griak Invite, on Saturday, Sept. 29.
Women sixth at Griak, beat region leader BHSU
29 SEP 2007
The Concordia cross country teams placed sixth (women) and 11th(men) at the 22nd Annual Roy Griak Invitational held Saturday morning in St. Paul, Minn.
The meet, hosted by the University of Minnesota, is one of the largest in the nation, drawing 350 teams and nearly 4,000 runners. The meet featured 10 races including three divisions for colleges (Division I, Division II and Division III) and high schools. The Bulldogs went up against NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA schools from around the country.
The women put together a solid team effort, finishing better than numerous NCAA Division II teams. In addition, the Bulldogs finished two spots better than NAIA Region III foe Black Hills State. Black Hills State entered the race as the top ranked team in the region and fifth ranked in the NAIA.
Other ranked team competing in the same division as the Bulldogs included Augustana (#5 in NCAA DII) who won meet and Indiana Wesleyan(#10-NAIA), North Dakota(#14-NCAA DII), Pittsburg State(#12-NCAA DII), and Minnesota-Duluth(#17-NCAA DII).
Seward native Taylor Felix led the Bulldogs finishing 32nd in the race with a time of 24:10.
"Taylor (Felix) is running very well coming off an injury from last year," Head Coach Dr. Kregg Einspahr said. "She put in a great summer and has worked hard to return to a high level of competition."
Felix was led the group of Bulldog runners that all finished within 30 seconds of each other.
Kayla Engel finished in 38th (24:16), Katie Swanson took 41st (24:20), Alicia Marteney was 49th (24:28) and Jacque Wiseman finished 61st (24:40).
"Our women ran very well," Einspahr added. "This race was probably the best example of a Concordia cross country team working together during an entire race."
For the men a pair of sophomores, David Goeglein and Zach Meineke, led the Bulldogs, finishing 20th and 57th respectively. Goeglein covered the course in 26:43 while Meineke finished with a time of 27:24. Bryan Felker finished with the same time as Meineke in 58th place. Concordia was without the services of junior Luka Thor who did not compete.
"David (Goeglein) had a very good race to finish in the top 20 among outstanding competition," added Einspahr. "We also had solid performances from freshman Tyson Billings and sophomore Jon Grotefendt."
Billings and Grotefendt finished 61st and 66th respectively with times of 27:27 and 27:32.
Next up the Bulldogs will host the Concordia Invitational. The meet is slated for this Saturday, Oct. 6 at 10:30 a.m.
Bulldogs sweep Doane in Seward
6 OCT 2007
Bulldog sophomore David Goeglein won the men's division of the 2007 Concordia Cross Country Invitational on Saturday morning. Kayla Engel took the title on the women's side. The meet turned out to be more of a dual, as the only other team participating in the event this year was Doane College.
Concordia took the team title on each side, with identical scores (19-44). In the men's race the Bulldogs had nine of the top 10 finishers. Sufian Kimo of Doane College took second place to break up the top 10 sweep for Concordia,
Goeglein covered the 8k course in 26:08.00 en route to the individual title. Bryan Felker was third (26:56.04) while Zach Meineke, Tyson Billings Jordan Tucker , Zach Baedke, Zane Grabau, Kurt Jostes and Andrew Eberhar rounded out the top 10 for the Bulldogs.
On the women's side the Bulldogs nearly duplicated the results of the men, taking eight of the top ten spots. After Engel, who covered the 5k course in 19:00.83 it was Kym Bennett of Doane taking second. The next best finisher for the Bulldogs was Taylor Felix in third place (19:17.37).
Katie Swanson, Jacque Wiseman, Kate Lutmer Alicia Marteney and Emly Hartmann finished fourth through eight respectively, all within 45 seconds of each other.
The next scheduled action for the Bulldog cross country squads is the Mount Marty Invitational which will be held in Yankton, S.D., on Oct. 13.
Bulldogs second in tight team races
13 OCT 2007
Both the men's and women's cross country teams for Concordia placed second at the Mount Marty Invitational on Saturday in Yankton, S.D. Black Hills State University edged the Bulldogs on women's side while Dickinson State took the men's title.
In the team standings on the women's side Black Hills State, ranked No. 16 in the NAIA finished with 59 points, just two points better than Concordia who was ranked No. 13 going into the meet. The Bulldogs were the highest finishing GPAC team at the meet.
Concordia was led by Kayla Engel for the second straight week. Engle took eighth place (19:07.65) while freshman Alicia Marteney was ninth (19:11.61). The Bulldogs top six runners all finished within 25 seconds of each other. Katie Swanson was 11th (19"16.29), Taylor Felix 14th (19:20.19), while Jacque Wiseman and Katie Lutmer took 19th and 20th respectively (19:32.35 - 19:32.64).
On the men's side of the event the Bulldogs were edged by Dickinson State University who finished with a team total of 54, while the Bulldogs put up 60 points.
Individually the Bulldogs finished with four runners in the top 15, led by sophomore David Goeglein who took fifth place, crossing the finish line in 25:49.40. Fellow sophomore Zach Meineke was two places back in seventh place (25:54.91).
Others in the top 15 for Concordia included Jordan Tucker (13th-26:13.71), Bryan Felker (14th-26:18.64). Tyson Billing and Zach Billings finished in 21st and 22nd place respectively.
The Bulldog cross country squads are readying for the GPAC Championships which will be held in Crete, Neb., on Oct. 27 at 10:45 a.m.
Men and women take silver at GPAC meet
27 OCT 2007
The Concordia University, Nebraska cross country teams each finished as runner-up in the team scoring at the 2007 GPAC Cross Country Championships held Saturday in Crete, Neb.
The Bulldog women edged Northwestern College for second place as the Bulldogs accumulated 77 points, while the Red Raiders where right on their heels with 78. Northwestern had the top two runners in the race, their next highest finisher was at 17.
Nebraska Wesleyan won the meet with 45 points.
The highest finish for the Concordia women was turned in by junior Kayla Engel who took 10th place with a time of 19:10.43 on the 5k course. Teammate Jacque Wiseman took 11th crossing the tape in 19:17.05.
Concordia's top five runners all finished within 44 seconds of each other. Seward native, sophomore Taylor Felix, was 15th (19:36.90) while junior Katie Swanson was 19th (19:44.67). Freshman Alicia Marteney rounded out the top five Bulldog finishers taking 22nd (19:54.70). Sophomore Rebecca Mol also placed in the top 30, finishing 26th with a time of 20:02.67.
On the men's side Concordia went 5-6-7 en route to scoring 49 points, 20 points behind the first place team, Nebraska Wesleyan. The Bulldogs were not threatened in the team race, as the next closest squad was Hastings with 125 points.
Sophomore Zach Meineke led the Concordia trio in the fifth spot, covering the 8k course in 26:20.09. Fellow sophomore David Goeglein was three seconds back in sixth (26:23.68) while junior Bryan Felker took seventh place (26:27.32).
At last year's GPAC Championship meet Meineke and Goeglein finished 11th and 15th respectively.
Other Bulldogs finishing in the top 30 for the men included sophomore Zach Baedke (14th- 26:51.28), freshman Tyson Billings (17th - 27:01.42) and junior Jordan Tucker (26th-27:18.21).
Concordia travels to Sioux Falls, S.D., for the NAIA Region III Championships on Saturday, Nov. 3.
Women take NAIA Region III team title
3 NOV 2007
The Concordia University, Nebraska women's cross country team claimed the team title at the 2007 NAIA Region III Cross Country Championships while the men finished as runner-up. The meet was held in Sioux Falls, S.D., at Prairie Green Golf Course.
With the team title the women earn their 14th consecutive trip to the NAIA National Championship meet. The Concordia women have placed in the top 20 at the NAIA meet for 13 consecutive years dating back to 1994. During the run the Bulldogs were runner-up four times, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004.
The Bulldogs placed six runners in the top 20 en route to the team title with 62 points, outdistancing second place team Northwestern (88 points). For the second straight week the Red Raiders went 1-2 individually. The team championship for the Bulldogs snaps a streak of two straight years of finishing as runner-up at the regional meet.
Concordia runners Kayla Engel, Alicia Marteney and Katie Swanson placed 9-10-11 respectively, finishing within five seconds of each other. Engel covered the 5k course in 18:43.13 while Marteney was right on her heels crossing the tape at 18:45.68. Swanson rounded out the trio with a time of 18:45.68.
Other Bulldogs finishing in the top 20 for the women included Jacque Wiseman (15th-19:08.77), Taylor Felix (17th-19:13.78) and Katie Lutmer (19th-19:22.20). Rachel Mol just missed the top 25, taking 26th place (19:36.13).
On the men's side the Bulldogs finished as runner-up with 74 points, trailing Black Hills State who took the title with 36 points.
A pair of sophomores, Zach Meineke and David Goeglein, were the first to cross the finish line for Concordia in eighth and 13th places respectively. Meineke covered the 8k course in 25:48.92, while Goeglein crossing the tape in 26:04.76. Not far behind was Bryan Felker (14th-26:09.38).
Other Bulldogs finishing in the top 25 for the men included Tyson Billings (19th- 26:18.37), Jordan Tucker (20th- 26:20.01) and Zach Baedke (22nd-26:22.15).
Concordia will wait to see if the men's team will be selected to compete at the 52nd Annual Men's NAIA Cross Country National Championships on Saturday, November 17. The meet will be held at the Dr. Wayne E. Dannehl Cross Country Course in Kenosha, Wis.
The top teams in all of the NAIA Region's qualify automatically for the national meet, along with at-large teams according to the NAIA rankings.
Teams ready for NAIA Championships
17 NOV 2007
The Concordia University, Nebraska men's and women's cross country teams will each compete at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Cross Country National Championships this Saturday, Nov. 17.
The races will be held at Dr. Wayne E. Dannehl Cross Country Course in Kenosha, Wis. The men's race will start at 10:30 a.m., while the women's starts at 11:45 a.m.
According to Head Coach Dr. Kregg Einspahr despite having a pair of young teams, they are both ready to compete and the course could favor the Bulldogs.
"They (team members) are reasonably relaxed and confident and are running very well, the best the have all season," said Einspahr. "The course is a difficult one, featuring hills, trails, grass, and often times mud. This type of course favors our team as our home course is somewhat similar."
On the women's side the Bulldogs, ranked No. 11 in the final NAIA poll, earned an automatic qualifying bid by winning the NAIA Region III Championship meet.
This marks the 14th consecutive trip to the NAIA Cross Country National Championships. The Bulldogs will compete in a field of 29 teams (14 region champions and 15 at-large bids) and 67 individual qualifiers on the 5k course.
During that time span the Bulldogs have finished in the top 20 each year as a team. In addition the Bulldogs were runner-up four times, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004.
The Concordia men's squad, ranked No. 16 in the final NAIA poll, earned an at-large bid to the meet that features 28 teams (13 region champions and 15 at-large bids). Also running the 8k course will be 67 individual qualifiers.
The highest finish for the Concordia men came in 2002 as they took sixth place. In the past 11 years the men have had eight top 20 performances.
Women's streak continues at NAIA Championship
17 NOV 2007
The streak continued for the Concordia University, Nebraska women's cross country teams as they placed in the top 20 at the NAIA Cross Country National Championships for the 14th consecutive year, taking 15th this past weekend at Dr. Wayne E. Dannehl Cross Country Course in Kenosha, Wis.
The 2007 NAIA Cross Country National Championships, were ran on Saturday Nov. 17. Simon Fraser (99) took the women's team title while Malone College (59) won the men's championship. Region III foe Black Hills State was runner-up on the men's side with 144 points.
For Concordia the women scored 406 points to take 15th. On the men's side the Bulldogs finished 22 second, scoring 466.
The women's run of 14 consecutive top 20 team finishes at the NAIA National Championships dates back to 1994. During the run the Bulldogs have been runner-up four times, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004.
"We were excited to have our women continue to place in the top 20 at the national meet," added Head Coach Dr. Kregg Einspahr. "Such a tradition speaks to the tremendous group of women, their work ethic and attitudes, which have been part of our running program over the years."
Junior Kayla Engel was the top runner for Concordia, completing the course in a time of 18:59.70, 80th overall (59th among runners competing with a team). The Bulldogs continued their trend of finishing fairly close together time was as Katie Swanson crossed the tape in 19:14.30 (106th overall). Taylor Felix was right on her heels in 112th (19:16.30). Jacque Wiseman was 134th with a time of 19:30.00.
Although happy to see both teams in the top 25 at the meet Coach Einspahr throught the young Bulldogs could have done even better.
"Both our mens and womens teams got a little out of place by running too conservatively in the first mile. This probably cost us quite a few points toward the team scoring," Einspahr said. "This was a mistake of inexperience, and I would guess our runners will have a chance to learn from this for next year's season."
On the men's side sophomore Zach Meineke was the top finisher for the Bulldogs, covering the 8k course in 25:57.40, 62nd overall and 44th among those competing on a team. Fellow sophomore David Goeglein was the 100th competitor to cross the finish line overall (26:15.70).
Also in the Bulldogs top five runners were Bryan Felker (140th-26:33.9), Jordan Tucker (164th-26:47.50) and Tyson Billings (185th-16:58.00)
"All in all, we had a tremendous season," said Einspahr. "I thought both teams got a lot out of their talents and abilities. They have been a joy to coach."
The Bulldogs return a number of runners next season and will look to build on this year's experience.
"Both teams are fairly young," added Einspahr. Of our runners that competed at the National Championship, we return 13 of the 14 runners for next year."
Einspahr named NAIA Region III Coach of the Year
Dr. Kregg Einspahr, head cross country coach at Concordia University, Nebraska, was named the NAIA Region III Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year.
Einspahr helped lead the women's squad to the team title at the 2007 NAIA Region III Cross Country Championships held in Sioux Falls, S.D., at Prairie Green Golf Course. In addition the Bulldogs were runner-up at the GPAC Championships. Currently the Bulldogs are ranked No. 11 in the NAIA Poll.
At the meet the Bulldogs placed six runners in the top 20 en route to the team title with 62 points, outdistancing second place team Northwestern (88 points) to qualify for the NAIA National Championship meet which will be held at Dr. Wayne E. Dannehl Cross Country Course in Kenosha, Wis., on Saturday Nov. 17. The women's race starts at 11:45 a.m.
Throughout his career Einspahr has guided the women's cross country team at Concordia to 14 consecutive trips to the NAIA Cross Country National Championships. During that time span the Bulldogs have finished in the top 20 each year as a team. In addition the Bulldogs were runner-up four times, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004.