Central Nebraska Challenge Results
KEARNEY, Neb. – Roughly four weeks after the indoor national championships, the Concordia University, Nebraska Track & Field squads opened the 2025 outdoor season at the Central Nebraska Challenge co-hosted by the University of Nebraska-Kearney and Hastings. The yields on Friday (March 28) included two school records, two automatic national qualifying standards and five event titles. The loaded meet included athletes from all levels of the NCAA and NAIA and was staged at Kearney High School.
Head Coach Matt Beisel viewed the outing as a strong start. Fresh off an indoor All-America award, Adrianna Rodencal broke her own school record in the 100-meter hurdles and freshman Adysen McCarter set a new program standard in the triple jump.
“It was great to get back to outdoor track and be in warm weather and compete in events that we don’t get to do indoor,” Beisel said. “We had two school records broken with Adysen McCarter in the triple jump and Adrianna Rodencal in the 100 hurdles. I’m really happy for those girls … It was very hot compared to what we’ve been used to and the wind was pretty steady. Anything 400 meters and up was not favorable. In other events, it helped us out a lot.”
Beyond the school records, sophomore Nathan Baldwin (discus) and junior Mayson Ostermeyer (pole vault) achieved personal bests that have automatically qualified them for the national meet. Additionally, ‘B’ standards were produced by the likes of Connor Asche (hammer throw), Abigail Gerber (shot put) and Abi Wohlgemuth (hammer throw). Baldwin also churned out a PR in the hammer throw as part of his breakthrough performance.
Because it was wind-aided, Rodencal’s time of 13.45 in the 100 hurdles will not appear on the national leaderboard. However, Rodencal and her event coach Mark Samuels know that time is within the reach of the Lincoln Lutheran alum regardless of weather. She placed first in the event at the Central Nebraska Challenge while toppling her previous PR of 13.65. In the triple jump, McCarter went 38’ 11 ¾,” putting her in second place in the event. That mark moved her past Charista Zehnder (38’ 9 ½”) for the new program standard.
Coach Ed McLaughlin’s crew of throwers shined. Baldwin’s automatic national qualifying mark in the discus landed at 172’ 10” (meet runner up) while his hammer came in at 172’ 8.” Asche placed fourth in the men’s hammer with his ‘B’ mark of 180’ 10.” On the women’s side, Gerber threw 46’ 2 ¾” in the shot put and Wohlgemuth posted a hammer mark of 169’ 5.” Also noteworthy, Matthew Boyer competed on Friday at the Texas Relays in Austin and threw 195’ 9” in the javelin while up against heavy hitters from the NCAA Division I level. Boyer is the school record holder in the event. On the women’s side of the javelin, 2024 All-American Gretchen Stottlemyre threw 123’ 7” in Kearney.
A two-time NAIA All-American in the pole vault, Ostermeyer is now the early NAIA national leader after he cleared 16’ 6 ¾” on Friday. He placed second in the competition based on his series of jumps. Ostermeyer is the reigning GPAC champion from indoor season. A total of 10 Bulldogs competed in the pole vault at the Central Nebraska Challenge.
In other highly contested first-place finishes, Kayla Kirchner emerged as the winner of the women’s 400 meters (57.96) and Kiki Nyanok shattered a personal best in the long jump (19’ 3 ½”). In events made up mostly of Concordia competitors, Hannah Beintema won the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase (13:06.44) and Luke Hammang won the 5,000-meter race walk (28:36.33).
While McCarter placed second in the triple jump, teammate Josi Noble was right behind her in third place (36’ 8 ¼”). On the track, the top women’s 4x100-meter relay grouping for Concordia ran 48.01 and included Cambria Saunders, Kirchner, Emily Loseke and Rodencal. In backing Rodencal in the 100 hurdles, Isabelle Salters ran 15.00 for a personal best. In the men’s 400 hurdles, freshman Easton Fries clocked in at a solid 54.89.
Other notable efforts were turned in by Jaxon Lipker in the high jump (6’ 5”), Harper Boche in the discus (135’ 4”), Josiah Edwards in the hammer (168’ 1”) and Marissa Heins in the hammer (151’ 11”).
Said Beisel in summing the meet up, “I was really proud of them (steeplechasers). We weren’t worried about times. For the distance and middle distance, we were finishing off a hard week of work. I knew they would be tired, but I just asked them to compete as hard as they could, and they did that. I know they’ll be ready to go next week.” Beisel went on to laud the throwers for a series of impressive marks while also noting Ostermeyer’s personal best, among other highlights.
National Qualifying Standards
· A – Nathan Baldwin: Discus (172’ 10”)
· A – Mayson Ostermeyer: Pole Vault (16’ 6 ¾”)
· B – Connor Asche: Hammer Throw (180’ 10”)
· B – Matthew Boyer: Javelin (195’ 9”)
· B – Abigail Gerber: Shot Put (46’ 2 ¾”)
· B – Abi Wohlgemuth: Hammer Throw (169’ 5”)
Central Nebraska Challenge Event Champions
· Hannah Beintema: 3,000m Steeplechase (13:06.64)
· Luke Hammang: 5,000m Race Walk (28:36.33)
· Kayla Kirchner: 400 Meters (57.96)
· Kiki Nyanok: Long Jump (19’ 3 ½”)
· Adrianna Rodencal: 100m Hurdles (13.45)
The Bulldogs are scheduled to host the Concordia Invitational next weekend (April 4-5), marking the first of two home meets this outdoor season. The tentative meet schedule can be found HERE.