SEWARD, Neb. – Athletes from eight institutions were on hand over the course of the two-day Concordia Outdoor Invitational that unfolded Friday and Saturday (April 5-6) in and around Bulldog Stadium. The Bulldogs were particularly impressive in the women’s field events, which combined for seven fresh automatic national qualifying marks. Eleven total ‘A’ qualifying standards were achieved by Concordia in what was its second outdoor meet of the season.
Head coach Matt Beisel’s squads also notched six event titles on a sunny and warm spring day in Seward.
“Our kids went into the home meet with a lot of intensity and enthusiasm,” Beisel said. “They were really pulling for each other and we had lots of fans here. It was a beautiful day to put up some good marks. I feel like we’re off to a good start for the season. There were a lot of areas where our athletes probably wanted to do better – and I think that will come.”
Anyone who has followed Bulldog track and field is aware of the exploits of the likes of throwing national champions Samantha Liermann and Addie Shaw. It’s also time to get familiar with freshmen like Claire Cornell and Mackenzie Koepke. A product of Elm Creek High School (Neb.), Cornell entered Concordia with plenty of accolades already to her credit. She’s now a national qualifier in the long jump after turning in a personal best of 18’ 10 ¾” in a first place performance on Saturday. That mark was the third best long jump in school history.
A teammate of Cornell’s in both track and basketball, Koepke may someday eclipse the school record in the high jump. The Lincoln Lutheran High School product cleared 5’ 5 ¾” for an automatic national qualifying mark that is not far off the program standard of 5’ 6” that has stood since 1986.
Things went much better in the women’s pole vault as compared to a week ago. Junior McKenzie Gravo won the completion by vaulting 12’ 1 ½.” Gravo qualified for nationals and so too did teammates in Tristen Mosier (11’ 9 ¾”) and Erin Mapson (11’ 9 ¾”). Seven Bulldogs competed in an event that is one of the team’s biggest areas of strength.
Liermann and Shaw are incredibly reliable high-end performers. Liermann entered the weekend leading the NAIA in the shot put. She put up a new automatic mark in the hammer throw (177’ 10”) and improved in the shot put (46’ 7 ¼”) on Saturday. Meanwhile, Shaw won the hammer throw (183’ 4”) competition and locked in a spot at nationals in the discus (154’ 9”). Shaw will have the opportunity to defend her national title in the discus.
On the men’s side of the throws, All-American Jacob Cornelio bumped up his hammer throw mark (195’) while placing fifth at the Concordia Invite. Teammate Ryan Sanchez broke through with a mark of 175’ 4” in the hammer and booked his first ever trip to a national championship meet.
In addition to the aforementioned first place claims from Cornell, Gravo, Koepke and Shaw, additional winning efforts were delivered by Jazzy Eickhoff in the javelin and Cody Williams in the 110 meter hurdles. Williams continues to star as a do-it-all athlete. He competed in five different events this weekend. Williams cleared a ‘B’ standard in the pole vault.
Things are still coming along on the track. The day ended with the Concordia men’s 4x400 meter relay of Gavin Davis, Xavier Ross, Josiah McAllister and Nathan Matters running a time of 3:17.72 (second place), just .02 seconds from the ‘B’ standard. The women’s 400 meter hurdles looks to be a strength. In that event, Kennedy Mogul, Jamie Nikodym and Tori Beran placed second through fourth.
Bulldogs flooded the field in the 10,000 meter races that were set off on Friday. On the women’s side, Hannah Rebmann led the way with a runner up finish (42:47.14) and Jordan Lorenz placed third on the men’s side (34:26.32). Also in the distance races, Beisel continues to bring along his athletes in the steeplechase, which has been paced by Jacy Johnston for the women and Patrick Schneeberger for the men.
Concordia will return to action next Saturday (April 13) with the Grand View University Quad in Des Moines, Iowa. The meet is slated to get underway at 11 a.m. CT.