Three days away from officially opening the season, the Concordia University women’s cross country team has returned to the national top 25 rankings.
Most people don’t understand why they do what they do. In fact more often than not, the sanity of someone who would put him or herself through immense amounts of discomfort for the sake of competing in a race – is questioned.
Both perennially successful Concordia University cross country programs received national respect last week. Head coach Kregg Einspahr’s Bulldog men and women garnered votes in the NAIA Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 polls.
For the third-consecutive year, exactly 12 Bulldog cross country runners have earned Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete accolades, as announced by the NAIA on Monday.
The Concordia Cross Country teams returned to campus on Aug. 20 in preparation for the 2024 season. Head Coach Matt Beisel believes both squads will again be highly competitive within the GPAC.
At Concordia, Calvin Rohde found the ideal university for him to grow and flourish athletically while also enabling him to expand upon his talents as a musician. The experiences have included national meets and Christmas at Concordia.
Kylahn (Heritage) Freiberg knew her schedule was going to be crazy, but she wouldn't have it any other way. A fifth year as a Bulldog has allowed her continued bonding with teammates and a chance to grow as a leader and team captain.
Momentum has been building within the Concordia Cross Country programs as evidenced by both squads placing inside the top three of the GPAC last season. The Bulldogs return the bulk of their key performers while bringing in a freshman class large on quantity and quality.
Both Concordia Cross Country teams are preparing themselves to make runs at NAIA national championship berths. Coach Beisel's Bulldogs will be led by the likes of returning national qualifiers Rylee Haecker, Calvin Rohde and Camden Sesna.
Concordia taught Andrew Walquist many lessons on how to build relationships, how to overcome emotional hardship, how to praise Jesus and how to become one of the best competitors in Concordia cross country and track history.
Healthy and mentally rejuvenated, Kearney, Neb., native Camden Sesna has thrived this fall while leading the way for the Bulldogs at every meet. A year after a tough finish to cross country, Sesna sees a positive outlook ahead of him.
While focusing their mentality around the mottos of "step up" and "run as one," the Concordia Cross Country teams are putting behind last season. The Bulldogs have high hopes for 2021.
The Concordia men's and women's cross country teams enter 2020 aspiring to "leave no doubt" as it pertains to their status on the conference and national levels.
Alum Dan Cloeter captured four-straight individual cross country conference championships and later won the first-ever Chicago Marathon. His remarkable career has also included 42 years as a pastor.