Hot weather and a challenging course could not slow the Concordia Bulldogs as the competed in the Roy Griak Invitational in St. Paul, MN. The Concordia women continued to impress, placing 11th of 37 teams in the Maroon II race while the men’s squad took a positive step forward, placing 24th of 37 teams.
The Concordia University cross country teams opened up their 2015 seasons on the hilly course at the annual Woody Greeno Invite in Lincoln, Neb. The women placed fourth out of 14 teams in the college division while the men finished in 13th among 15 teams in the college division.
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.
Two decades after her graduation, Molly (Engel) Christensen continues to stand out as one of the top runners in Concordia history. Through multiple interviews over the years, Molly described her experiences as a Bulldog.
Dr. Brandon Seifert will take his place amongst the elite student-athletes in NAIA history. On Sept. 15, Seifert was announced as one of nine inductees into the NAIA Hall of Fame Class of 2025.
The Concordia Cross Country programs are coming off top four GPAC placements in 2024 while led by three national qualifiers. Many key Bulldogs return for squads with high hopes entering 2025.
When Sarah Kortze arrived at Concordia, she quickly learned about the exploits of Rachael Geidel and Molly Engel. Now she takes her place among the program's distance greats as a Concordia Athletics Hall of Famer.
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.