Home action continues with Concordia Classic

By Jacob Knabel on Jan. 29, 2020 in Track & Field

Meet Schedule | Live Webcast | Live Results

SEWARD, Neb. – The Concordia University track and field teams will remain at home again this week to host the Concordia Classic on Thursday and Friday. The Bulldogs won 13 event titles and added four more automatic national qualifying marks to their total last week while putting on the Polar Dog Invite. A total of 10 teams will be on hand inside the Fieldhouse for the latest home meet. The first day of action will feature multi-events only.

Concordia Classic Field
*Current national rankings in parentheses
Bellevue University
College of Saint Mary
Concordia University – (M: 2nd | W: 2nd)
Doane University – (M: 4th | W: 4th)
Graceland University (Iowa)
Kansas Wesleyan University
McPherson College (Kan.)
Nebraska Wesleyan University
Tabor College (Kan.)
York College

The Concordia Classic has been a staple of the indoor season for head coach Matt Beisel’s programs. On the men’s side, meet records date back to 2011. Current senior Allie Brooks owns the Concordia Classic women’s pole vault record with her clearance of 12’ 6 ¾” in 2017. In addition, sophomore Xavier Ross was part of the men’s 4x400 meter relay that galloped to a meet record of 3:20.04 at last year’s classic. Ross is also capable of challenging CJ Muller’s Concordia Classic 400 meter record of 49.04 achieved in 2016.

Behind stars like Ross and others such as Rachel Battershell, Jacob Cornelio, Adrianna Shaw and Cody Williams, the Bulldogs are making a significant dent on a national scale. Concordia athletes currently own nine marks that rank either first or second on the NAIA leaderboard: women’s 4x400 meter relay (No. 2), Battershell (No. 1 in 400 meters), Brooks (No. 2 in pole vault), Cornelio (No. 1 in weight throw), Kennedy Mogul (No. 2 in pentathlon), Josie Puelz (No. 2 in pole vault), Shaw (No. 2 in shot put and weight throw) and Williams (No. 2 in heptathlon). In addition, Gavin DeHaai ranks third in the pole vault and Ross ranks third in the 400 meters.

Because of the wealth of highly rated marks, the Bulldogs were ranked second for both men and women in the 2020 NAIA indoor computer rankings released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Wednesday. Concordia also got a ratings boost from a pole vault crew that has nine ‘A’ or ‘B’ standard marks between the men and women. At the 2019 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships, Concordia placed ninth for both men and women.

Following the Concordia Classic, the Bulldogs will be present at the Fred Beile Invite (Feb. 7) and the Nebraska Sevigne Husker Invite (Feb. 7-8) next week.