Concordia Invite Schedule | PDF
SEWARD, Neb. – The outdoor season will heat up this weekend for the Concordia University track and field squads, which are set to host their first home meet of the spring. The annual Concordia Outdoor Invitational will get started Friday afternoon and then pick up with the bulk of the meet on Saturday. The only events that will take place on Friday are the hammer throw, javelin and 10,000 meter runs.
The Concordia Invite field will include athletes from six NAIA institutions and one NCAA Division II and one NCAA Division III school. Live results will be available via Black Squirrel Timing: https://www.blacksquirreltiming.com/.
Concordia Invite Field
Concordia University
Doane University
Grand View University
Hastings College
Midland University
Nebraska Wesleyan University
Wayne State College
York College.
Head coach Matt Beisel’s squads opened the outdoor season last week at the Bronco Invite hosted by Hastings on March 31. The result was a combined three automatic national qualifying marks (all in throwing events), six ‘B’ standards and 18 event championships. The ‘A’ marks were turned in by Jacob Cornelio (hammer throw), Samantha Liermann (shot put) and Addie Shaw (hammer throw). A two-time shot put national champion, last outdoor season Liermann broke the school’s shot put record with a runner up claim in the national championships. Meanwhile, Shaw is the returning discus national champion.
The first set of 2019 NAIA outdoor national rankings were released today (April 3) by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The national ratings figure to change over the coming weeks, but the Bulldogs are currently fourth on the women’s side and No. 57 on the men’s side. Both Concordia squads have high hopes from a national perspective after placing ninth at the NAIA indoor championships for men and women. The women are coming off a GPAC indoor title while the men placed as the runner up. Defending 2018 GPAC outdoor champions include Taylor Grove (10,000 meters), Liermann (shot put) and Cody Williams (decathlon).
In addition to the three automatic marks recorded in the throws this past Sunday, Bulldog athletes combined for six ‘B’ standards: Jazzy Eickhoff in the javelin, Leah Larson in the triple jump, Liermann in the hammer throw, Erin Mapson in the pole vault, Johanna Ragland in the hammer throw and Carley Weisser in the hammer throw. The increased number of throwing events in the outdoor season has typically played to Concordia’s strengths. It will also help having some additional athletes join the team for outdoor, such as freshmen Claire Cornell, also a member of the basketball team. Cornell won the long jump competition at the Bronco Invite with a mark just below the ‘B’ standard.
The outdoor season will continue next Saturday (April 13) with the Grand View University Quad in Des Moines, Iowa. The next Bulldog home event on the schedule is the Concordia Blizzard Buster (April 27).