GPAC meet info | GPAC performance list | Event schedule
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SEWARD, Neb. – The Concordia University track and field programs enter GPAC week with credible championship aspirations. The Bulldogs are getting set to host the conference indoor championships for the first time since 2015. The 2019 event will get started on Friday afternoon with the men’s heptathlon and the women’s pentathlon. The bulk of the meet will unfold on Saturday inside the Fieldhouse.
The Concordia Sports Network will live stream the meet starting on Saturday. Additional live video coverage can be found via the Concordia track and field program’s YouTube channel.
Head coach Matt Beisel’s programs are coming off of 2018 GPAC indoor championships finishes of fourth on the men’s side and fifth on the women’s side. At the 2018 conference outdoor meet, Concordia placed third on the women’s side and sixth on the men’s side.
“Every team has its ups and downs,” Beisel said following last week’s Concordia Indoor Invite. “We’ve had a lot of great things happen. We’re set up for a very good conference meet. I think our women have a shot at winning conference and our men are going to be in a battle near the top. If we put all the pieces together, you never know what’s going to happen. I believe in our kids. They are competitors and they want it badly. God continues to bless us.”
Both teams have made significant progress since last season. In last week’s release of the NAIA national ratings by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the Bulldogs remained at No. 2 for both men and women. Through five weeks of indoor competition, Concordia athletes have combined for 24 automatic national qualifying marks and 13 ‘B’ standard qualifying marks. On the GPAC leaderboard, the Bulldogs boast 79 marks that rank in the top 10 of conference event groupings.
While Doane has often had a stranglehold on the top spot in the conference, Concordia’s women may actually be the favorite heading into the weekend. According to the USTFCCCA, the Bulldog women have the nation’s top event groups in the pole vault, shot put and weight throw. Senior Sam Liermann has hopes of extending her active string of three-straight GPAC titles in the shot put. In the pole vault, Allie Brooks and McKenzie Gravo own three combined conference titles to their credit. Gravo swept indoor and outdoor pole vault titles as a freshman in 2016. Taylor Grove is the defending GPAC outdoor champion in the 10,000 meters.
Says junior Jessica Deterding, who turned in a fresh ‘A’ standard last week in the long jump, “I think the goal going into any conference meet is to try to win a conference championship so we can get that checked off. It’s a big deal for conference. We’ve put in extra work and the team has really shown it this year in our national marks. It just makes everyone excited and ready to see what we can do.”
On the women’s side, Concordia has the GPAC top seeds in the 4x400 meter relay, Rachel Battershell (400 meters), Gravo (pole vault), Grove (3,000 meters; 5,000 meters), Rebekah Hinrichs (mile) and Addie Shaw (weight throw). The GPAC performance list is a reflection of a team with much more ability on the track. The women’s 4x4 (featuring three freshmen) could make a run at a new school record and push for an NAIA top time on Saturday.
The men are also looking at a climb back up the conference ladder. Bulldog men with past GPAC event titles include Nathan Matters (twice in the 4x4), Josiah McAllister (4x4) and Cody Williams (2018 outdoor decathlon). Current GPAC top seeds include the 4x00 and 4x800 meter relays, McAllister (1,000 meters; mile) and Williams (heptathlon). The men’s 4x8 is fresh off turning in a NAIA best time of 7:51.74 at last week’s Concordia Invite. The group included Matters, Thomas Taylor, Christian Van Cleave and McAllister.
In the pole vault, junior Gavin DeHaai is the leader for a deep crew that has compiled two ‘A’ and four ‘B’ marks. All six vaulters responsible for those marks are capable of claiming All-GPAC honors.
“We’ll come ready to go,” DeHaai said. “As far as goals, we just stay hungry. We’re always jumping for that next bar. We take it one bar at a time. I think it’s really important to stay level headed and keep our focus on high spirits and a positive attitude with God at the center.”
The GPAC is arguably the top conference for track and field in the entire NAIA. According to the USTFCCCA ratings released last week, the conference boasts five men’s and four women’s teams in the national top 25. Dakota Wesleyan (No. 15 women; No. 21 men) has become a factor under first-year head coach Zach Lurz, a four-time shot put national champion during his career as a Bulldog. Concordia, Doane, Hastings and Dakota Wesleyan each rank in the top 25 nationally for both men and women.
The 2019 NAIA Indoor National Championships are set to take place Feb. 28 – March 2 at the Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex in Brookings, S.D. For more information on the national championships, click HERE.
Concordia all-time conference titles
MEN – indoor: 2014 | outdoor: 2014, 2015
WOMEN – indoor: 2010 | outdoor: 1998, 2010, 2012
Concordia all-time conference runner-up finishes
MEN – indoor: 2003, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 | outdoor: 2002, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017
WOMEN – indoor: 2003, 2005, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2016 | outdoor: 2005, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Current Bulldogs with GPAC titles
Allie Brooks (2017 indoor pole vault)
McKenzie Gravo (2016 indoor pole vault; 2016 outdoor pole vault)
Taylor Grove (2018 outdoor 10,000 meters)
Sam Liermann (2017 outdoor shot put; 2018 indoor shot put; 2018 outdoor shot put)
Nathan Matters (2017 indoor 4x400m relay; 2017 outdoor 4x400m relay)
Josiah McAllister (2017 outdoor 4x400m relay)
Cody Williams (2018 outdoor decathlon)
GPAC teams in the USTFCCCA NAIA rankings
*Rankings from Feb. 6
MEN
2. Concordia
4. Doane
10. Dordt
18. Hastings
21. Dakota Wesleyan
28. Morningside
30. Midland
38. Northwestern
44. Mount Marty
92. Briar Cliff
WOMEN
2. Concordia
3. Doane
8. Hastings
15. Dakota Wesleyan
53. Briar Cliff
63. Mount Marty
66. Dordt
69. Morningside
77. Northwestern
95. Midland