GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Two Bulldogs secured spots in the finals of the racewalk while representing Concordia University, Nebraska Track & Field on day one of the 2026 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships held at Alachua County Sports & Events Center in Gainesville, Fla. Racewalk finalists Jonny ‘The Jet’ Jurchen and Jack Habegger were two of 11 Bulldogs in action on Thursday (March 5). Concordia’s 4x800-meter men’s and 4x400-meter women’s relays turned in strong efforts that fell short of finals qualification.
Head Coach Matt Beisel’s men’s and women’s programs traveled a combined 21 athletes to Gainesville. The national meet will continue on Friday and Saturday.
Beisel provided some quick insight at the end of day one. He noted splits for the 4x8 crew (listed below) and remarked that the “racewalk was fantastic.” He added, “Having Jack and Jonny make the final – and not pushing super hard to do it – is exciting for tomorrow.”
Home to the top-rated men’s racewalk crew in the NAIA (according to the USTFCCCA event squad ratings), Concordia deployed Jack Habegger, Luke Hammang and Jonny Jurchen in Thursday morning action. The 2025 indoor All-American Jurchen placed third in the prelims as he cruised to a time of 13:30.72. Habegger followed in 10th place (13:34.21) in his first experience at a national meet. A four-time qualifier, Hammang clocked a time of 15:29.15 and placed 17th. Individuals qualified for finals by having a top-four time within their heat or by having one of the next four fastest times.
Though the GPAC championship winning men’s 4x8 did not reach the finals, but the group did manage to record a season best time of 7:41.34, good for 11th place out of 21 relays in the preliminaries. That time also represented the fourth fastest 4x8 in program history. The crew included Keith Siek, Trenton Kumm, Lucas Corwin and Justin Sherman. Splits were 1:56.68 for Siek, 1:57.05 for Kumm, 1:52.28 for Corwin and 1:55.39 for Sherman. Concordia entered the meet seeded 16th in the event.
As the final event on the track for the Bulldogs, the women’s 4x4 placed 14th in the preliminaries, outperforming its seed by one spot. Concordia crossed the finish line in 3:54.45, roughly seven seconds off a qualifying time. The Bulldog 4x4 was made up of Adrianna Rodencal, Josi Noble, Tayden Kirchner and Kayla Kirchner. Noble stepped in as Adysen McCarter was competing in the triple jump.
McCarter closed out the first day from a Concordia perspective. A three-time national qualifier in the triple jump, the GPAC champion from Overton, Neb., had hoped to put herself on the podium. She wound up in 15th place in Thursday’s competition as she landed at 37’ 11 ½.” McCarter fouled on two longer jumps. McCarter is the school triple jump record holder for both indoor and outdoor.
Day two in Gainesville will be led off by Habegger and Jurchen in the racewalk. The schedule of events for Concordia athletes is included below. Early in the afternoon, the four-time All-American Rodencal will take the track for the prelims of the 60 hurdles. Additional field event athletes will also join the action. All events can be watched live via NAIAnetwork.com.
Concordia Bulldogs schedule for Friday, March 6
Times are EST to reflect local time in Gainesville, Fla.
· 10:45 a.m. – Women’s 3,000m Race Walk Finals: Hannah Beintema
· 11:15 a.m. – Men’s 3,000m Race Walk Finals: Jack Habegger; Jonny Jurchen
· 12 p.m. – Women’s Weight Throw: Harper Boche
· 12:30 p.m. – Women’s 60 Hurdles Prelims: Adrianna Rodencal
· 12:50 p.m. – Men’s 60 Hurdles Prelims: Hayden Kluthe
· 3 p.m. – Men’s Weight Throw: Nathan Baldwin and Josiah Edwards