King flies by school javelin record at Wildcat Classic

By Taylor Mueller, Sports Information Assistant

WAYNE, Neb. – The road to the GPAC conference outdoor track and field championship is officially underway. The Concordia Bulldogs loaded two charter buses full of athletes to head up to Wayne State College for their first outdoor meet of the season. Fresh off an indoor track and field championship, the Bulldogs set sail once again with high expectations for the outdoor season.

Although expectations continue to rise for the Concordia Bulldogs, head coach Kregg Einspahr is realistic when it comes to analyzing the performances of his athletes after the first meet of the season.

“Well when you start outdoor, the weather’s different, you’re dealing with the wind and today was pretty cold actually,” Einspahr said. “So you have to deal with the elements, everyone at the meet does. We’ve been working really hard the last couple weeks in a lot of our areas and haven’t taken a lot of rest at this point in the season. I thought overall we had some really good performances, particularly given that we were a little bit on the tired side and especially on the track.”

In just the first day of competition, a few Bulldogs started the season strong, particularly in the field events.

Sophomore Liz King set a school record in the javelin throw with a heave of 155’10,” smashing the old record by over 10 feet.

Sophomore Cody Boelstorff continued his outstanding throwing from the indoor season and came away with another first place victory in the hammer throw, with a toss of 183’05”.

Junior Rianne Gross championed in the women’s pole vault, clearing 10’06.”  

“Some of our field event people had a really good day, especially in the throws,” Einspahr said. “Cody Boelstorff had a great opening hammer throw and Elizabeth King set a new record in the javelin, so we had two big wins there. I thought that was a great way to start our throws out this season.”

Einspahr went on to note that at this point in the young season, he sees a lot of talent and potential for the Bulldog squads.

“In some cases we were just trying to get ourselves some marks for the conference championship, but overall I was real happy with that,” Einspahr said. “We have some folks that are looking pretty good in some events that we don’t compete in indoors like the 400 intermediate hurdles. I thought we had some guys that looked real good in that and have a promising future in that. That was a bright point for us in that.”

Although the times and finishes may not have been what many Bulldogs would have wanted, there is plenty of season left and much time to improve.

“It was kind of a typical way to start the outdoor season,” Einspahr said. “Sunny but breezy, pretty chilly overall, people on the tired side but still coming out, competing well and giving a great effort. I’m real happy with the day today. A lot of things will come around just with a little bit more practice time, a little bit more repetition. Getting some better weather and taking a little bit more rest.”

Other Bulldogs with impressive performances were Ben Sievert in the 10,000 meter run, placing third in 33:22.

Jonathon Becker took second in the 110 hurdles in 14.94, while Hayden Hohnholt clocked in at 9:55 to place third in the steeplechase.

The 4x100 meter relay team of Noah Smith, John Cartier, CJ Muller and Taiheem Pleasant took third in 42.27.

Carson Farr tied for second in the pole vault with a clearance of 15’05.”

Zachary Lurz took second in the shot put with a throw of 54’05”1/4 while fellow throing teammate Josh Slechta placed third in the javelin with a  heave of 175’05.”

On the women’s side, Kim Wood placed third in the 800 meter race, finishing in 2:20, while fellow distance teammate Renee Williams claimed third in the steeplechase in 12:01.

Katricia Svoboda took third in the discus, throwing for 140’09.” Jamie Crouse had another good day herself in the hammer throw, placing third with a distance of 164’09.”  

The Bulldogs will travel to the University of Nebraska Kearney on Sat. Apr. 5 to next compete in the UNK Loper Invite.