2023 GPAC Track & Field Outdoor All-Conference Awards
SEWARD, Neb. – Courtesy of their performances at the 2023 GPAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, 53 Bulldogs from the Concordia University Track & Field program have been officially recognized as all-conference award winners. Additionally, freshman standout Adrianna Rodencal has earned a clean sweep of 2023 GPAC indoor and outdoor Female Athlete of the Year accolades. Rodencal led all women’s athletes in points scored at last week’s championship meet. Meanwhile, Head Coach Matt Beisel was honored as the 2023 Jim McMahon GPAC Women’s Outdoor Coach of the Year. The complete list of Bulldog All-GPAC honorees can be found below.
At the 2023 GPAC outdoor meet hosted by Dordt, the Concordia women claimed their ninth GPAC title in a row while the men placed third. Beisel has garnered the 10th GPAC Coach of the Year award of his tenure. Nine of those honors have come in track & field and one resulted from winning the GPAC women’s cross country title in 2019. Beisel and his staff have built the women’s track program into a powerhouse that has placed first at every GPAC meet since the 2019 outdoor conference championships. At the 2023 GPAC outdoor meet in Sioux Center, Iowa, the women racked up 244.5 points, compared to 132 for second place.
A freshman out of Lincoln Lutheran High School, Rodencal earned individual GPAC outdoor place finishes of second in the 100 hurdles (14.00), second in the 100 meters (12.22) and third in the 200 meters (25.28). She broke her own school record with that time in the hurdles and also ran the anchor leg for the 4x100 meter relay that won the GPAC title and reset the program standard with a time of 47.40. Other GPAC champions last week included the women’s 4x400 meter relay, Rachel Battershell (400 meters), Rylee Haecker (1,500 meters), Hannah Newton (high jump), Josie Puelz (pole vault), Amy Richert (heptathlon) and Zach Zohner (pole vault).
There were 20 Bulldogs who picked up all-conference honors in multiple events. That group included Battershell, who competed in the final GPAC meet of her terrific career. Battershell was part of the championship 4x1 and 4x4 relays, in addition to her title in the 400 meters. Notable on the men’s side, Mark Cooke placed second in the 100 meters and third in the 110-meter hurdles. Concordia cleaned up in the heptathlon with five of the top seven finishers in the event. Between the men and women, there were nine pole vaulters who collected All-GPAC medals. All-conference accolades are handed out to athletes who place in the top eight of individual events and top three in relays.
Prior to the national meet, select Bulldogs will compete this week at the Concordia Twilight (Friday) and the UNK Loper Twilight (Saturday). The 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships will take place in Marion, Ind., May 24-26. More information on the national championship meet can be found HERE.
2023 GPAC Outdoor All-Conference
MEN
· Zach Bennetts – Pole Vault (4th)
· Matthew Boyer – Discus (6th); Javelin (6th)
· Mark Cooke – 100 Meters (2nd); 110 Hurdles (3rd)
· Jack Ellis – 10,000 Meters (8th)
· Carson Fehlhafer – Shot Put (8th)
· Spencer Kearn – Pole Vault (7th)
· Trevor Kuncl – 1,500 Meters (7th)
· Wyatt Loga – Long Jump (6th); High Jump (7th)
· Ben Moll – Hammer Throw (7th)
· Mayson Ostermeyer – Pole Vault (3rd)
· Nathan Pennekamp – 3,000m Steeplechase (7th)
· Joel Rathe – Long Jump (2nd)
· Calvin Rohde – 1,500 Meters (4th); 5,000 Meters (4th)
· Austen Rozelle – Discus (2nd)
· Darien Semedo – Shot Put (3rd); Hammer Throw (4th)
· Camden Sesna – 1,500 Meters (3rd); 5,000 Meters (6th)
· Colby Sugden – 400 Meters (7th)
· Chris Wren – Hammer Throw (2nd)
· Zach Zohner – Pole Vault (1st)
WOMEN
· Elena Batenhorst – Heptathlon (3rd)
· Rachel Battershell – 400 Meters (1st); 4x100m Relay (1st); 4x400m Relay (1st)
· Hannah Beintema – 1,500 Meters (6th)
· Keegan Beisel – 5,000 Meters (4th); 1,500 Meters (5th)
· Erin Boggs – Pole Vault (5th)
· Amira Cummings – 100 Meters (7th); Pole Vault (7th)
· Jenna Esch – 4x400m Relay (1st); 400 Meters (4th); 800 Meters (5th)
· Kylahn Freiberg – 5,000 Meters (3rd); 1,500 Meters (4th)
· Rylee Haecker – 1,500 Meters (1st); 800 Meters (6th)
· Kayla Kirchner – 4x100m Relay (1st); 4x400m Relay (1st); 200 Meters (5th)
· Emma Lloyd – Discus (3rd)
· Emily Loseke – 400 Meters (8th)
· Erin Mapson – Pole Vault (2nd)
· Julie McIntyre – 1,500 Meters (7th)
· Hayley Miles – Long Jump (2nd)
· Taylor Moes – Triple Jump (4th)
· Hannah Newton – High Jump (1st)
· Katelyn Nix – 3,000m Steeplechase (8th)
· Josi Noble – Heptathlon (2nd); Triple Jump (3rd)
· Alli Owings – Hammer Throw (5th)
· Erin Painter – Discus (5th)
· Kamryn Pokorney – Hammer Throw (3rd)
· Josie Puelz – Pole Vault (1st)
· Sydney Reichert – Pole Vault (8th)
· Kellie Rhodes – 4x100m Relay (1st); Long Jump (6th)
· Amy Richert – Heptathlon (1st); High Jump (8th)
· Kaia Richmond – 3,000m Steeplechase (3rd)
· Adrianna Rodencal – 4x100m Relay (1st); 100 Hurdles (2nd); 100 Meters (2nd); 200 Meters (3rd)
· Isabelle Salters – Heptathlon (7th)
· Amanda Steinke – High Jump (4th); Heptathlon (6th)
· Gretchen Stottlemyre – Javelin (3rd)
· Kayla Svoboda – 100 Hurdles (6th)
· Trinity Tuls – 4x400m Relay (1st); 400 Meters (6th)
· Abi Wohlgemuth – Hammer Throw (6th); Javelin (6th)