CRETE, Neb. – On the women’s side of things, Concordia University Track & Field has built a dynasty. Inside Fuhrer Field House on the Doane campus, the Bulldogs celebrated their sixth-straight GPAC title. The Concordia women accumulated 194.5 points while beating out second-place Hastings (163) at the 2022 GPAC Indoor Track & Field Championships. Meanwhile, the Bulldog men placed fourth with 67 points.
Head Coach Matt Beisel’s squads combined for a total of six GPAC event championships. In another ‘wow’ moment for Josie Puelz, she broke her own school record and the GPAC meet record in the pole vault. Other conference champions were Zach Bennetts (pole vault), Morgan De Jong (weight throw), Rylee Haecker (mile and 1,000 meters) and Jordan Koepke (600 meters).
“God is so good,” Beisel said. “He has blessed this team so richly, and the athletic performances are a small part of that. Each of these men and women who make up our teams and our staff are remarkable in so many ways, and I’m just thankful I get to be part of it at this time in our school history. Our men fought hard and placed fourth – it was a dogfight between us, Mount Marty and Midland. Our men put together some fantastic races at the end with Camden Sesna getting third in the 3K and our 4x4 taking second.
“Our women put together another championship meet. We went 1-2 in the weight throw, the pole vault and the mile and broke two school records. We had a lot of fun. Now on to nationals!”
After Amy Richert broke the school pentathlon record on Friday, it was Puelz’s turn on Saturday. Her vault of 13’ 5” eclipsed the previous GPAC indoor meet record of 12’ 10 ¾” that had been set in 2011. With Puelz leading the way, the Bulldogs produced 25 team points as Erin Mapson placed second, Sydney Reichert fifth and Erin Boggs sixth. A two-time national champion, Puelz has now won three career GPAC pole vault championships. Bennetts cleared 15’ 3” in the men’s pole vault for the second-straight week and made it a Concordia sweep of GPAC pole vault titles.
A first time GPAC individual champ, Haecker pulled off the impressive double in taking titles in the mile and 1,000 meters. She hit the ‘A’ standard again in the 1,000 with her time of 2:58.03. That came after she had won the mile in 5:13.25. In addition, teammate Kylahn Heritage placed second in the mile and sixth in the 1,000 in helping pile up team points. Grace Reiman finished seventh in the 1,000.
Concordia continues to own the NAIA’s top-rated weight throw groups for both men and women. On the women’s side, De Jong won the GPAC weight throw title for the second year in a row while teammate Sarah Ragland placed as the runner up. They tossed out marks of 56’ 7 ½” and 56’ 1,” respectively. In a conference incredibly stacked in the men’s weight throw, Chris Wren (63’ 11”) placed third and Andy Amos (57’ 7 ¾”) placed seventh while both again hitting the ‘A’ standard. Wren was also sixth in the shot put.
A week after running the 600 meters for the first time (and clocking an ‘A’ standard), Koepke emerged as somewhat of a surprise winner in the 600. She won it with a time of 1:36.34. The 600 meters yielded three All-GPAC finishers as Keri Bauer (fifth), Jacee Pfeifer (sixth) and Grace Oberg (eight) placed top eight.
Two brand new automatic marks were recorded on Saturday as accomplished Rachel Battershell (eight-time GPAC champion) ran the 400 meters in 57.52 and placed second. In the women’s shot put, Jordyn Anderson notched a personal best of 44’ 3 ¼.” Teammate Abby Gerber narrowly missed out on the ‘A’ standard and placed third in the shot put.
All four Concordia relays finished within the top three. To summarize:
· Men’s 4x400 meter relay – 2nd (3:22.38): Cade Kleckner, Jacob Jennings, Colton Meyer and Xavier Ross.
· Women’s 4x400 meter relay – 2nd (3:59.42): Battershell, Sarah Lewis, Koepke and Trinity Tuls.
· Men’s 4x800 meter relay – 3rd (8:08.76): Sam Plante, Cameron Gray, Ethan Ideus and Micah Willweber
· Women’s 4x800 meter relay – 2nd (9:57.59): Oberg, Kaia Richmond, Faith Williamson and Rhaya Kaschinske
A star on the track all indoor season, Calvin Rohde placed fourth in both the mile and the 1,000 meters while earning 10 team points. As mentioned by Beisel, Sesna put together a strong effort in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:56.62 that was good for third place. In other noteworthy efforts, Sarah Lewis placed third in the 60 hurdles and fourth in the 400 meters. Lewis again came in under the ‘A’ standard in the hurdles while running 8.99. On the men’s side of the 400, Jennings (fifth), Ross (seventh) and Meyer (eighth) each placed in all-conference territory.
After finishing runner up in the pentathlon, Richert also placed fourth in the high jump, fifth in the long jump and sixth in the 60 hurdles. That added up to 20 team points from Richert. Also in the jumps, Wyatt Loga placed fourth in the men’s high jump while three Concordia women placed in the top eight of the triple jump: Gabby Diamond (third), Katie Severt (seventh) and Cora Olson (eighth).
All that’s left of the 2022 indoor season are the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships, which are coming up March 3-5 in Brookings, S.D. To date, Bulldog athletes have combined for 22 performances that have met the automatic national qualifying standard. Official national qualifiers will be announced next week.
GPAC Champions
· Zach Bennetts – pole vault (15’ 3”)
· Morgan De Jong – weight throw (56’ 7 ½”)
· Rylee Haecker – mile (5:13.25); 1,000 meters (2:58.03)
· Jordan Koepke – 600 meters (1:36.34)
· Josie Puelz – pole vault (13’ 5”)
Automatic National Qualifying Standards
· Women’s 4x400m relay (3:59.42); Battershell, Lewis, Koepke, Tuls
· Andy Amos – weight throw (57’ 7 ¾”)
· *Jordyn Anderson – shot put (44’ 3 ¼”)
· *Rachel Battershell – 400 meters (57.52)
· Morgan De Jong – weight throw (56’ 7 ½”)
· Rylee Haecker – 1,000 meters (2:58.03)
· Jordan Koepke – 600 meters (1:36.34)
· Sarah Lewis – 60 hurdles (8.99)
· Erin Mapson – pole vault (12’ 6 ¼”)
· Josie Puelz – pole vault (13’ 5”)
· Sarah Ragland – weight throw (56’ 1”)
· Calvin Rohde – mile (4:18.85)
· Chris Wren – weight throw (63’ 11”)
*Fresh NAIA auto mark
New school records: Josie Puelz, pole vault (13’ 5”); Amy Richert, pentathlon (3,479 points)
NOTE: All-conference honors are awarded to individuals who place in the top eight and relays who place in the top three of their events. A complete list of Concordia All-GPAC award winners will be released next week.