SEWARD, Neb. – After using last week’s meets to knock off a bit of rust, Concordia University Track & Field got back into a groove on Saturday (Jan. 21) as it hosted athletes from nine institutions at the Concordia Polar Dog Invite. The yields included five fresh automatic national qualifying standards and 17 event championships. The new national qualifiers are the men’s distance medley relay, Rylee Haecker (1,000 meters), Erin Mapson (pole vault), Colton Meyer (400 meters) and Calvin Rohde (1,000 meters). On the track, Adrianna Rodencal won two events while improving an ‘A’ standard in the 60 hurdles.
Head Coach Matt Beisel’s squads have pushed the season tally of automatic national qualifying marks to 12 with three weekends of indoor competition in the books.
“I am just really happy when kids in every event group do well, and we had that happen today,” Beisel said. “I used to get worried every year at the first meet back when we didn’t do great. It’s been a pattern. It’s just about getting through that first meet back and then the second meet, things start to click. We put a lot of personal bests, national marks and top GPAC marks on the board. Every area had something to be proud of and feel really good about.”
The Reed City, Mich., native Rohde starred in not only the 1,000 meters, but also for the DMR that became the third Concordia relay this season to hit an auto time. He won the 1,000 in a time of 2:30.64 (converted to 2:28.60 on the national list) after he had joined up for a DMR finish in 10:18.34 (conversion of 10:10.06) and another victory. The DMR also featured Camden Sesna, Kameron Farmer and Ethan Ideus. That group had come up just shy of the ‘A’ standard a week ago at the Devaney Center.
Said Rohde of his success, “The end of cross country season was a disappointment because I didn’t make it to nationals individually, but we had some great stuff going on with the team. I was running well, but there’s a lot of work involved for any national qualifying effort. I ramped up the mileage and am staying healthy. We do a lot of extra work – quicker training for the shorter races.”
Beisel’s distance crew also brought home wins via Haecker in the 1,000 meters and Kylahn Freiberg in the mile. The Davenport, Neb., native Haecker clocked in at 2:58.36 in putting herself in the top three nationally in that event. Freiberg’s mile time came in at 5:10.98 and is a ‘B’ standard. Meanwhile, in the 800 meters, teammates Hannah Beintema (2:27.17) and Julie McIntyre (2:30.39) finished 1-2.
Freiberg set the standard for much of the cross country season. Said the native of Nampa, Idaho, “I definitely happy because I left it all out on the track, and that was the real goal. The next step is hopefully hitting a PR and qualifying for the mile nationals. If I get there, I’m hoping to make finals and break 5:00 in the mile.”
It’s clear that Rodencal came ready to make an immediate impact. She reset her personal best in the 60 hurdles in prelims and the finals in clocking times of 8.91 and 8.89 while moving closer to the school record of 8.81. She was also a winner in the 200 meters (26.05) and later ran with the team’s second grouping in the 4x400 meter relay. After conversion, Concordia’s top 4x4 was rewarded with a season best of 3:54.81. The 4x4 that posted that time featured Jenna Esch, Jordan Koepke, Trinity Tuls and Rachel Battershell. A 10-time All-American, Battershell won the 400 meters in a time of 58.40, which left her .01 seconds shy of the ‘A’ standard after conversion. Additionally, Esch bettered her ‘B’ standard in the 600 meters.
On the men’s side of the 400 meters, Meyer broke out with a national qualifying finish in 49.34, good for a Polar Dog title. He led a group of six Bulldogs who competed in the event. Additional men’s wins on the track were delivered by Mark Cooke (60 hurdles) and Sesna (5,000 meters). Cooke hit the ‘B’ standard in the hurdles with a time of 8.29, an impressive feat considering the Edison, N.J., native just picked the event back up this year after going several years without competing in it.
The pole vault is again an area of strength. The star power of Mapson and Josie Puelz is worth the price of admission. Puelz cleared 12’ 6 ¼” and held off Mapson (12’ 2 ½”) for the Polar Dog title. Puelz remains ranked No. 2 on the national list while Mapson jumped to No. 5. Not only that, Erin Boggs (11’ 2 ½”) posted a ‘B’ standard and so too did Zach Zohner (15’ 3”) on the men’s side. Zohner was the champion in a small field of men’s pole vaulters.
The racewalk is back at Concordia. Four Bulldogs competed in it on Saturday: Peyton Gissler, Lauren Dawson, Micah Willweber and Laci Havlat. Said Beisel, “Concordia has a very strong tradition at the national and international level with the racewalk. It kind of peaked in the 2000s and died away. Now that it’s become a GPAC exhibition event, we’ve committed to investing in it, coaching it and getting officials for it. We had four kids do it for the first time, and they did a great job.”
Beisel gave a shoutout to assistant coach Ben Hinckfoot for his work with the multi-event athletes. Amy Richert was held back from the pentathlon. That put the spotlight on the likes of Elena Batenhorst and Isabelle Salters, the top two pentathlon finishers at the Polar Dog. The Bulldogs now have four athletes who have met the minimum national reporting standard of 2,950 points in the pentathlon. Batenhorst posted 3,001 points (which converted to 3,022) on Saturday. After conversion, Salters and Josi Noble also made their way onto the national list.
It was a fine day for the men’s weight throw. Chris Wren won the competition with a season best toss of 62’ 10 ¾.” He was followed in fourth and fifth place, respectively, by two teammates who emerged with ‘B’ marks: Brady Klute (55’ 11”) and Dagne’ Buck (55’ 7”). Three Bulldogs also eclipsed the ‘B’ standard on the women’s side of the weight throw (with improved marks from Abby Gerber and Kamryn Pokorney). As for the shot put, Darien Semedo continues to move closer to the ‘A’ standard. He popped off a personal best of 51’ 5 ¾” on Saturday (good for a new ‘B’ mark). Meanwhile, Maddie Robinson continues to pace the women’s throwers in the weight throw and shot put.
In the jumps, Joel Rathe broke through with a long jump PR of 23’ ¾,” which represents a ‘B’ standard. He placed second in the competition. He was also a third-place finisher in the 200 meters (23.09), just behind teammate Kadin Vrbas (22.92). On the women’s side, Hannah Newton took first place in the high jump by getting over the bar at 5’ 4 ½.” Wyatt Loga was the runner up in the men’s high jump (6’ 3 ¼”).
Added Beisel, “We couldn’t have done any of this without this awesome God that we have. He continues to bless us with great things. I talked to a lot of kids that didn’t get what they wanted and they seemed optimistic about the future. We’re in a good place.”
Automatic National Qualifying Marks Achieved
· Men’s Distance Medley Relay (10:18.34); Sesna, Farmer, Ideus, Rohde
· Women’s 4x400m Relay (3:57.92); Esch, Koepke, Tuls, Battershell
· Rylee Haecker – 1,000 Meters (2:58.36)
· Erin Mapson – Pole Vault (12’ 2 ½”)
· Colton Meyer – 400 Meters (49.34)
· Josie Puelz – Pole Vault (12’ 6 ¼”)
· Adrianna Rodencal – 60m Hurdles (8.89)
· Calvin Rohde – 1,000 Meters (2:30.64)
· Chris Wren – Weight Throw (62’ 10 ¾”)
NOTE: Elena Batenhorst, Isabelle Salters and Josi Noble eclipsed the minimum standard for heptathlon points needed to be reported to the national list.
Polar Dog Event Champions
· Men’s Distance Medley Relay (10:18.34); Sesna, Farmer, Ideus, Rohde
· Women’s 4x400m Relay (3:57.92); Esch, Koepke, Tuls, Battershell
· Elena Batenhorst – Pentathlon (3,001)
· Rachel Battershell – 400 Meters (58.40)
· Hannah Beintema – 800 Meters (2:27.17)
· Mark Cooke – 60m Hurdles (8.29)
· Kylahn Freiberg – Mile (5:10.98)
· Rylee Haecker – 1,000 Meters (2:58.36)
· Colton Meyer – 400 Meters (49.34)
· Hannah Newton – High Jump (5’ 4 ½”)
· Josie Puelz – Pole Vault (12’ 6 ¼”)
· Adrianna Rodencal – 60m Hurdles (8.89); 200 Meters (26.05)
· Calvin Rohde – 1,000 Meters (2:30.64)
· Camden Sesna – 5,000 Meters (15:11.97)
· Chris Wren – Weight Throw (62’ 10 ¾”)
· Zach Zohner – Pole Vault (15’ 3”)
The Bulldogs will be back at Doane next Saturday (Jan. 28) for the Fred Beile Classic in Crete, Neb. Another home meet is coming up on Friday, Feb. 3 when the Concordia Classic will take place. The 2022-23 indoor schedule features five home meets.