SEWARD, Neb. – On the same day he was named the 2022 Jim McMahon GPAC Women’s Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year, Matt Beisel was also honored by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The coaches organization selected Beisel as the 2022 NAIA Midwest Region Women’s Coach of the Year, as announced on Thursday (Feb. 24). Beisel was one of five head coaches in the entire NAIA to garner the award.
Currently in his sixth season heading the cross country and track & field programs, Beisel has collected his sixth career Midwest Region Coach of the Year accolade. The award comes on the heels of the Concordia women winning their sixth-straight GPAC title. In the process of piling up 194.5 points at last week’s conference meet, four Bulldogs won conference event titles: Morgan De Jong (weight throw), Rylee Haecker (mile and 1,000 meters), Jordan Koepke (600 meters) and Josie Puelz (pole vault). A total of 30 Concordia women earned all-conference accolades in one or more events. The women’s program (ranked No. 2 in the USTFCCCA national ratings index) will also send 20 athletes to the 2022 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships.
Beisel has been honored with seven career GPAC Coach of the Year awards (including one in cross country). During Beisel’s tenure, the women’s track and field program has placed 12th or better at every single national meet (nine total). In 2021, the Bulldog women placed third in the NAIA for both indoor and outdoor, earning team trophies for both national meets. Along the way, Beisel’s staff for his entire tenure has included assistants Ed McLaughlin, Mark Samuels and Jason Berry. In addition, Ben Hinckfoot joined the staff in January 2021.
Beisel and the Bulldogs are preparing for the national indoor meet, which will take place in Brookings, S.D., March 3-5.