YANKTON, S.D. – Behind four individual GPAC titlists, the Concordia University women’s track and field squad completed a 2019 sweep of indoor/outdoor team conference championships. Senior Samantha Liermann broke the GPAC shot put meet record while helping the Bulldogs rack up 200 team points. Meanwhile, Cody Williams collected Outstanding Athlete of the Meet honors for a Concordia men’s team that placed third in the conference (101.5 points).
The women are GPAC outdoor champions for the first time since 2012. Head coach Matt Beisel’s men’s team also placed as the conference runner up during indoor season.
“Even after the three hours on the bus ride, I’m euphoric still,” Beisel said upon the teams’ return to campus. “You can’t wipe a smile off my face. I’m so proud of these teams, our athletes and our coaches. I’m just so glad to be associated with a program like this.
“A lot of coaches came up to me after the meet and commented on how our women have so much depth in every single event. It’s not just one event where we shine. That’s something we have worked really hard with in recruiting. The guys are still getting there, and it’s going to happen.”
Freshman Erin Mapson got the Bulldogs off to a good start on Friday by capturing the pole vault GPAC title for an event group that contributed 24.5 points. Then on Saturday, event titles were delivered by Rachel Battershell (400 meters), Liermann and Addie Shaw (discus). The defending NAIA discus national champ, Shaw headlined a discus group that produced 23 team points. Shaw also posted a third-place finish in the hammer throw, another prosperous event (17 team points) that featured a runner up claim by Johanna Ragland.
Williams follows in the footsteps of other recent Bulldog men to earn GPAC Outstanding Athlete of the Meet honors, such as Zach Lurz and Lucas Wiechman. Concordia opted not to enter the Imperial, Neb., native into the decathlon this outdoor season. However, Williams did compete in five open events this weekend with terrific results that included conference titles in the 110 meter hurdles (14.88) and the long jump (23’ 7 ¼”) and place finishes of second in the high jump (6’ 7 ½”) and third in the triple jump (45’ 1 ¾”). All of that comes out to 34 team points from Williams himself.
“Cody’s an outstanding athlete,” Beisel said. “He told us last summer actually that he wasn’t sure he wanted to do the decathlon because it kind of wears him out. He said he just wanted to do individual events, which he does a lot of them really well. It was pretty cool. I’m really proud of him for all that he’s done for our team.”
Conference and national titles in the throws are certainly nothing new for Concordia. Liermann is one of the most accomplished throwers in school history. Her GPAC meet record came in at 50’ 6 ¼,” just shy of her own outdoor school record. In the discus, Shaw beat out the competition with her mark of 153’ 10.” Johanna Ragland made a run at a title of her own in the hammer with her toss of 175” coming one foot short of the GPAC champion. A day earlier, Jacob Cornelio won the men’s hammer throw title with a personal best (202’ 5”).
Battershell also emerged with a first-place finish while clocking in at 57.93 in the 400 meters. Battershell has been a key part of a women’s 4x400 meter relay that broke the program’s indoor school record. Battershell and the 4x4 that included Sarah Lewis, Jamie Nikodym and Jacee Pfeifer placed third on Saturday by finishing in 3:57.55. The meet wrapped up with the Concordia men’s 4x4 also placing third in a ‘B’ standard time of 3:16.02. The group was made up of Gavin Davis, Xavier Ross, Josiah McAllister and Nathan Matters.
Up and down the roster, the Bulldog women seemed to meet or exceed expectations. Beisel mentioned event groupings such as the steeplechase (Jacy Johnston – fourth place), 1,500 meters and 100 hurdles as examples of ones that outperformed projections. The 100 hurdles concluded with Lewis in second place and Kennedy Mogul (fifth) and Nikodym (sixth) also turning in all-conference place finishes. In addition, Mogul placed eighth in the heptathlon, an event in which Jessica Deterding led the Bulldogs by earning third place (4,397 points). Rebekah Hinrichs was the 1,500 meter runner up while Tori Beran notched third place in the 400 hurdles. In the long jump, Deterding placed second with teammate Claire Cornell right behind her in third. Another jumps national qualifier, Leah Larson placed third in the triple jump.
Noteworthy on the men’s side, Gavin DeHaai broke out with a fresh automatic national qualifying clearance in the pole vault (15’ 7”) and placed second and McAllister clocked a ‘B’ standard and placed fourth in the 800 meters (1:53.58). McAllister was part of a 4x8 that blazed to an automatic national qualifying time of 7:38.73 on Friday.
It was an overall satisfying meet from a Concordia perspective. Winning conference titles will never get old. Said Beisel, “The momentum kept building throughout the meet. There was a certain point where you realized there was no way our women could not win. But being able to get through the 4x4 and realize we did it was a great moment. I’ve spent so much time praying for these athletes.”
Two meets remain on the 2019 outdoor schedule. The Bulldogs will host one more time this spring when the Concordia Twilight Meet is held next Friday (May 10) on campus. The meet schedule can be viewed HERE. The season will conclude May 23-25 at the 2019 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships in Gulf Shores, Ala.
2019 Concordia GPAC Outdoor Champions
- Rachel Battershell (400 meters)
- Jacob Cornelio (hammer throw)
- Samantha Liermann (shot put)
- Erin Mapson (pole vault)
- Addie Shaw (discus)
- Cody Williams (long jump; 110 hurdles)