NAIA National Qualifiers: Men | Women
SEWARD, Neb. – The official field of 2022 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships Qualifiers was announced on Friday (March 20) by the NAIA. In conjunction with that release, the Concordia University Track and Field program has announced a nationals team of 35 individuals (including 23 women and 12 men). The event will run May 25-27 at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium in Gulf Shores, Ala. Gulf Shores has served as the location for the national outdoor meet since 2014.
Head Coach Matt Beisel’s squads are coming off conference places finishes of first for the women and third for the men at the GPAC Championships held May 6-7 at Doane. In this week’s NAIA National Rating Index released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, Concordia appeared at No. 4 on the women’s side. The Bulldog women, winners of seven-straight GPAC titles, have been ranked either third or fourth nationally for each of the past seven weeks.
The women’s program has placed in the top five at each of the last five NAIA national championship meets. The best placement during that stretch has been third (three separate times). This year’s squad currently owns 11 marks that rank in the top 10 nationally. Three-time NAIA pole vault national champion Josie Puelz will enter the meet as a favorite once again. Meanwhile, Jordan Koepke ranks No. 2 in the 400 meter hurdles and the team’s 4x800 meter relay will be seeded second nationally. The returning All-Americans from the 2021 outdoor national meet are Rachel Battershell, Keri Bauer, Sara Huss, Sarah Lewis, Erin Mapson, Jacee Pfeifer, Puelz, Sarah Ragland and Amy Richert.
The men put together a fine GPAC outdoor meet and hope to carry that momentum into the national championships. The Bulldog men tied for 28th place a year ago in Gulf Shores and will have to outperform their seed marks if they are to move into the top 25 in 2022. The team’s highest nationally rated individual in any single event is Chase Berry, who is No. 6 in the NAIA in the pole vault. Past All-Americans on the national qualifying roster include Zach Bennetts, Berry, Jacob Jennings, Cade Kleckner, Wyatt Loga, Colton Meyer, Xavier Ross and Chris Wren.
There will be five Concordia athletes making their first ever appearances at a national meet: Brittney Aitken, Jenna Esch, Rhaya Kaschinske, Emily Loseke and Kamryn Pokorney. On the other end of the spectrum, Battershell, Lewis and Pfeifer will appear at a national meet for the seventh time in their collegiate careers. Battershell is a nine-time All-American.
For additional details on the national meet, visit the NAIA track & field website pages: MEN | WOMEN.
2022 Concordia Outdoor National Qualifiers
(Current national seeding in parentheses)
*2021 NAIA outdoor national qualifier
WOMEN
· Brittney Aitken, Freshman
-4x100m Relay (24th, 47.82)
· Rachel Battershell, Junior
-4x400m Relay (6th, 3:48.93)
-4x100m Relay (24th, 47.82)
· Keri Bauer, Senior
-4x800m Relay (2nd, 9:09.24)
-4x400m Relay Alternate (6th, 3:48.93)
-800 Meters (15th, 2:14.01)
· Amira Cummings, Sophomore
-Pole Vault (8th, 11’ 11 ¾”)
· Morgan De Jong, Senior
-Hammer (5th, 176’ 4”)
· Jenna Esch, Freshman
-4x800m Relay (2nd, 9:09.24)
-4x400m Relay Alternate (6th, 3:48.93)
· Abby Gerber, Sophomore
-Hammer (16th, 167’ 7”)
-Shot Put (23rd, 43’ 9 ¾”)
· Rylee Haecker, Sophomore
-4x800m Relay (2nd, 9:09.24)
-1,5000 Meters (23rd, 4:38.18)
· Kylahn Heritage, Sophomore
-4x800m Relay (2nd, 9:09.24)
· Sara Huss, Sophomore
-Discus (9th, 152’ 7”)
· Rhaya Kaschinske, Freshman
-4x800m Relay Alternate (2nd, 9:09.24)
· Jordan Koepke, Freshman
-400 Hurdles (2nd, 59.90)
-4x400m Relay (6th, 3:48.93)
-4x800m Relay Alternate (2nd, 9:09.24)
· Sarah Lewis, Junior
-400 Hurdles (6th, 1:01.91)
-4x400m Relay (6th, 3:48.93)
-4x100m Relay (24th, 47.82)
· Emily Loseke, Freshman
-4x100m Relay Alternate (24th, 47.82)
· Erin Mapson, Junior
-Pole Vault (8th, 11’ 11 ¾”)
· Cora Olson, Junior
-4x100m Relay (24th, 47.82)
· Alli Owings, Sophomore
-Discus (6th, 156’ 8”)
-Hammer (15th, 168’ 2”)
· Erin Painter, Sophomore
-Discus (11th, 150’ 3”)
· Jacee Pfeifer, Senior
-4x400m Relay (6th, 3:48.93)
· Kamryn Pokorney, Sophomore
-Hammer (12th, 169’ 1”)
· Josie Puelz, Sophomore
-Pole Vault (1st, 13’ 5 ¼”)
· Sarah Ragland, Senior
-Hammer (7th, 175’ 5”)
· Amy Richert, Sophomore
-Heptathlon (11th, 4,541)
-High Jump (24th, 5’ 4 ½”)
MEN
· Andy Amos, Senior
-Hammer (17th, 185’ 1”)
· Zach Bennetts, Junior
-Pole Vault (17th, 15’ 5”)
· Chase Berry, Sophomore
-Pole Vault (6th, 16’ 1 ¾”)
· Jacob Jennings, Senior
-4x400m Relay (10th, 3:14.81)
-4x100m Relay (34th, 41.61)
· Cade Kleckner, Senior
-200 Meters (16th, 21.16)
-4x400m Relay (10th, 3:14.81)
-4x100m Relay (34th, 41.61)
· Wyatt Loga, Sophomore
-High Jump (14th, 6’ 8 ¾”)
· Colton Meyer, Sophomore
-4x400m Relay (10th, 3:14.81)
-4x100m Relay (34th, 41.61)
· Joel Rathe, Sophomore
-4x400m Relay Alternate (10th, 3:14.81)
-4x100m Relay (34th, 41.61)
· Xavier Ross, Junior
-400 Meters (24th, 48.04)
-4x400m Relay (10th, 3:14.81)
-4x100m Relay (34th, 41.61)
· Camden Sesna, Sophomore
-1,500 Meters (34th, 3:54.23)
· Chris Wren, Sophomore
-Hammer (9th, 194’ 5”)
· Zach Zohner, Sophomore
-Pole Vault (12th, 15’ 9”)
2022 Concordia Outdoor National Qualifiers – a closer look
Brittney Aitken, freshman (first trip to nationals)
Andy Amos, junior (third trip to nationals)
Rachel Battershell, junior (seventh trip to nationals; nine All-America awards; two-time 400 meter national champ)
Keri Bauer, senior (fourth trip to nationals; two All-America awards)
Zach Bennetts, junior (third trip to nationals; one All-America award)
Chase Berry, junior (fourth trip to nationals; two All-America awards)
Amira Cummings, sophomore (fourth trip to nationals)
Morgan De Jong, senior (sixth trip to nationals; three All-America awards)
Jenna Esch, freshman (first trip to nationals)
Abigail Gerber, sophomore (fourth trip to nationals)
Rylee Haecker, sophomore (third trip to nationals; four All-America awards)
Kylahn Heritage, sophomore (fourth trip to nationals; two All-America awards)
Sara Huss, sophomore (second trip to nationals; one All-America award)
Jacob Jennings, senior (fourth trip to nationals; two All-America awards)
Rhaya Kaschinske, freshman (first trip to nationals)
Cade Kleckner, senior (fourth trip to nationals; two All-America awards)
Jordan Koepke, freshman (second trip to nationals; two All-America awards)
Sarah Lewis, junior (seventh trip to nationals; seven All-America awards)
Wyatt Loga, sophomore (fourth trip to nationals; two All-America awards)
Emily Loseke, freshman (first trip to nationals)
Erin Mapson, junior (sixth trip to nationals; five All-America awards)
Colton Meyer, sophomore (fifth trip to nationals; two All-America awards)
Cora Olson, junior (third trip to nationals)
Alli Owings, sophomore (second trip to nationals)
Erin Painter, sophomore (second trip to nationals)
Jacee Pfeifer, senior (seventh trip to nationals; sixth All-America awards)
Kamryn Pokorney, sophomore (first trip to nationals)
Josie Puelz, sophomore (fifth trip to nationals; four All-America awards; three-time pole vault national champ)
Sarah Ragland, senior (sixth trip to nationals; two All-America awards)
Joel Rathe, sophomore (second trip to nationals)
Amy Richert, sophomore (fourth trip to nationals; three All-America awards)
Xavier Ross, junior (fourth trip to nationals; one All-America award)
Camden Sesna, sophomore (third trip to nationals)
Chris Wren, sophomore (fourth trip to nationals; two All-America awards)
Zach Zohner, sophomore (second trip to nationals)