In 2015 when Concordia University, Nebraska Track & Field won a national championship on the men’s side, it came as a pleasant surprise, even to those inside the program. Incredibly, a year later, the women’s program took its turn parading around the same track in Gulf Shores, Alabama, with the giant NAIA championship banner. With 71 team points, the Bulldogs held off Indiana Tech (66 points) for the first women’s team national championship in school history.
It was the final collegiate meet coached by the legendary Kregg Einspahr, a member of the Concordia Athletics Hall of Fame as both an athlete and coach. As the last event of the national meet went into the books, Einspahr celebrated with the group of 12 women’s national qualifiers.
As Einspahr said at the meet’s conclusion, “We have a lot of juniors and seniors that have been here before and with that we thought we had a chance. This is just a dream come true to be able to win another national championship. You always hope to be in that position someday. What a wonderful feeling for the whole coaching staff and athletes who work so hard. They’re so representative of what Concordia is about.”
Once upon a time, assistant coach Ed McLaughlin told star thrower Liz King not to worry about winning a team national title at Concordia. It probably wasn’t realistic. But King and her teammates dared to dream big. King won the 2016 hammer national title while also placing as the NAIA runner up in the javelin. What King and her fellow Bulldog throwers did was nothing short of astounding. They compiled 66 of the team’s 71 points in an unforgettable, eye-popping three-day showing that culminated on May 28, 2016.
It was only a matter of time before the 2015-16 women’s track & field team would be chosen for the Concordia Athletics Hall of Fame. The official enshrinement will happen on Sept. 18 as part of homecoming weekend. Invitations were extended to all 60 of the athletes who made up the indoor/outdoor track & field rosters from that season. The staff of assistants for Einspahr included McLaughlin, Mark Samuels, Jason Berry and Craig Saalfeld.
With King leading the way, the 2015-16 Bulldogs also placed fifth nationally at the NAIA Indoor Championships before trailblazing their way to a national title. At the outdoor championships, Concordia’s qualifiers included Allison Brooks, Kattie Cleveland, Stephanie Coley, McKenzie Gravo, King, Samantha Liermann, Sydney Meyer, Nicole Perry, Kali Robb, Jan Steinbrueck, Tricia Svoboda and Kim Wood.
The vaunted group of throwers racked up 12 All-America awards in Gulf Shores. McLaughlin’s crew went 1-4-5-6 in the hammer and 2-4-5 in the shot put and had the national runner up in the javelin while setting the stage for a potential national title heading into day three of the meet. With a championship on the line, Svoboda, Cooley, Robb and Cleveland came through, teaming up to go 2-3-6-7 in the discus. Those 19 points provided the separation needed to fend off Indiana Tech.
Afterwards, McLaughlin and the throws group posed for photos with their many plaques and medals. It was something to behold. Said McLaughlin in response, “The girls talked about this last year. They wanted this. They all showed up and scored amazingly well. The girl throwers scored 66 points. That’s just ridiculous. I couldn’t believe it.”
Critical points were also delivered by Kim Wood via a sixth-place finish in the 800 meters and McKenzie Gravo with a seventh-place claim in the pole vault (Gravo collected indoor and outdoor All-America awards in 2016). A standout on the track, Wood earned seven career All-America awards and was a 12-time GPAC champion. When interviewed after the national championship meet, the final one of her career, she expressed what every Bulldog was feeling in letting out a “Woooooo!”
The emotions were understandable as the realization began to set in. They poured out in the form of coaches being ceremoniously tossed in the steeplechase pit along with plenty of tears, hugs and photo opps. Such a mountaintop moment has happened only rarely in the history of Concordia Athletics (three total team national championships).
In the wake of the accomplishment, several Bulldogs provided reflections in the early summer of 2016. Wrote King at the time, “Wow! Oh my goodness! What?! Are you serious?! This cannot be real! These are the expressions that come to mind about winning a national championship! No one can really put into words what it's like to draw together as a team.”
Wrote Kali Robb, “I would say that you really can't put into words how it feels to be on a collegiate national championship team. It just feels unreal. The one memory I will take away from this year is the team support and family, especially from the seniors. Without them, none of this would have been possible.”
Added Kim Wood, “It feels so good. I can’t believe it really happened. It’s really great to be a part of a team that can do that. It really helps push you in a race when it gets tough. It’s great just to run for the team. It’s incredible, especially to go out on it. We all got in a circle and Coach Einspahr came over and he got all riled up and started jumping. I got launched into the air by some throwers. They’re strong. It was crazy. It’s an incredible feeling going out as national champions, especially for Coach Einspahr. It’s a really cool feeling to give that to him in his final year.”
Sydney Meyer explained, “It was the most indescribable feeling. Knowing that last year our men's team won the national championship, and now this year we were going to win the national championship, it felt like a dream come true. I honestly never thought I would be part of a national championship team, but I am so proud to be a Bulldog!”
An 11-time All-American, Coley commented after the meet, “I wasn’t sure if we could pull it off. Last year we were just so drained on the final day. I knew it was going to be really challenging. We did exactly what we were supposed to do.”
In back-to-back years, the track & field program proved that anything was attainable at Concordia University, Nebraska. Even a team national championship. That was a point Liz King reminded Coach McLaughlin the entire way back from Gulf Shores. Perhaps she’ll let him hear it again at the Hall of Fame Ceremony. As McLaughlin said laughing, “Liz was rubbing it in my face the whole way home.”
In addition to the national championship and fifth-place indoor national finish, the Bulldogs of 2015-16 placed as the GPAC runner up for both indoor and outdoor. The team also led the nation with 20 NAIA Scholar-Athletes. Between indoor and outdoor, the Concordia women combined for 24 total All-America medals. As coaches, Einspahr and McLaughlin both pulled in national coach of the year awards and King was named by the USTFCCCA as the NAIA Women’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year.
2016 Indoor All-Americans
- Kattie Cleveland (weight throw – 6th)
- Stephanie Coley (shot put – 3rd; weight throw – 7th)
- McKenzie Gravo (pole vault – 5th)
- Liz King (weight throw – 8th)
- Samantha Liermann (shot put – 2nd)
- Kali Robb (weight throw – 4th; shot put – 6th)
- Kim Wood (one mile – 3rd; 1,000 meters – 4th)
2016 Outdoor All-Americans
- Kattie Cleveland (hammer – 6th; discus – 7th)
- Stephanie Coley (discus – 3rd; shot put – 4th; hammer – 4th)
- McKenzie Gravo (pole vault – 7th)
- Liz King (hammer – 1st; javelin – 2nd)
- Samantha Liermann (shot put – 5th)
- Kali Robb (shot put – 2nd; hammer – 5th; discus – 6th)
- Tricia Svoboda (discus – 2nd)
- Kim Wood (800 meters – 6th)
Team Placements:
--GPAC: 2nd Indoor / 2nd Outdoor
--NAIA: 5th Indoor / 1st Outdoor
For more on the 2015-16 season, click HERE.