SEWARD, Neb. – In a last-chance opportunity prior to the conference meet, senior Abi Wohlgemuth, the men’s race walkers and the men’s distance medley relay were among those who took full advantage. In sum, Concordia University, Nebraska Track & Field athletes combined to total eight performances that met at least the NAIA ‘B’ national qualifying standard while winning eight event championships at the Concordia Indoor Invite on Friday (Feb. 7). There were athletes from 10 institutions in competition at the final home meet of the 2024-25 season for the Bulldogs.
Head Coach Matt Beisel’s squads both entered the meet with NAIA top 20 national rankings.
“One of the things that made the day perfect was the distance medley relay, the first event in the running events,” Beisel said. “We had two shots to qualify (earlier this season) and had to do it by ourselves, which is really tough to do. I had pretty much given up on it. Our game plan was to stay right with Doane. Our hope was to hit a decent ‘B’ standard that would put us up in that top 12 … I saw a lot of PR’s.” Beisel went on to laud several other of the day’s standouts.
The Concordia men’s DMR became the latest to officially qualify for the NAIA national meet. A late decision to enter a DMR into the meet paid off. The group clocked in at 10:13.66 (converted to 10:05.44 on the national list) as Trey Robertson ran a 3:08.2 1,200 meters, Lucas Corwin ran a 50.8 400 meters, Justin Sherman ran a 1:57.8 800 meters and Vaughn Hendrickson ran a 4:16.7 1,600 meters. The Bulldog crew was narrowly beaten out by Doane (10:12.99) for first place. Robertson’s day also included a runner-up claim in the 3,000 meters (8:52.17).
Robertson and Hendrickson have been pushing each other to greater heights since they placed as the top two individuals at the GPAC Cross Country Championships. Said Robertson after Friday’s meet, “Early in the season we struggled (in the DMR). We didn’t run against anybody, which kind of hurt us. Our hopes dwindled a little bit, but we were confident if we got one more shot it could be the one. Coach came to us week and said, ‘Hey, I’m going to put the DMR in the race.’ We were absolutely thrilled. Our mentality going into it was – this is our last shot, so let’s give it everything we have.”
In the throws, the women continue to be paced by the star power of Wohlgemuth and fellow senior Abby Gerber. Wohlgemuth saved her best on Friday for her second toss of the finals in the weight throw. Cheers rang out when her mark was announced at 63’ 1 ½,” a personal best that pushes her to No. 2 on the NAIA national list. Gerber also shined with a PR of 46’ 7 ¼” in the shot put (No. 8 in the NAIA) and with a season best ‘B’ standard of 54’ 3 ¾” in the weight throw.
Wohlgemuth continues to be pushed in the weight throw by Doane’s Maddison Sutton. Said Wohlgemuth after her efforts at the Concordia Invite, “It kind of felt the same (on the PR throw), but it felt like I had more tension. I saw it land and I couldn’t believe it was a 19 (meters) because I’ve been looking for that all year. I didn’t really think it was going to happen, but it felt good after it.”
The top men’s race walk group in the NAIA (according to the USTFCCCA) stepped up its game on Friday. Johnny ‘The Jet’ Jurchen crushed his former personal best by finishing the 3,000-meter race walk in 13:27.23 (converted to 13:17.95 on the national list) in a winning effort at the Concordia Invite. Two of his teammates turned in fresh B standards – Luke Hammang (15:28.40) and Sam Olson (16:24.25). Hammang is looking to qualify for nationals for a second time in his career.
Outside of the aforementioned athletes, the following Bulldogs also earned first-place finishes at the Concordia Invite: the men’s 4x400-meter relay, Easton Fries (60-meter hurdles), Josi Noble (600 meters), Mayson Ostermeyer (pole vault), Aaron Spivey (triple jump) and Trinity Tuls (400 meters). The men’s 4x4 featured Liam Fagan, Matthew Wing, Perry Chadwick and Easton Fries.
Notably, the NAIA pole vault national leader Ostermeyer cleared 16 feet for the fifth-straight meet. In the same pole vault competition, Evan Hill went 14’ 1 ¼.” Elsewhere in field events, the jumps group came away with a runner-up finish from Myles Sadd (long jump) and third-place performances from Kiki Nyanok (long jump), Adysen McCarter (triple jump) and Amanda Steinke (high jump).
In the women’s 400 meters, Tuls’ winning time came in at 58.44. Teammate Isabelle Salters wasn’t far behind at 58.85 (third place). Salters also placed second in the 60 hurdles. In the men’s 600 meters, Corwin placed second in a time of 1:25.30.
On the men’s side of the throws, Carson Fehlhafer came up just shy of a B mark (51’ 5 ¾”) and placed fifth at the Concordia Invite. Josiah Edwards neared the B on the weight throw while hurling the implement a distance of 56’ 6” (fifth place). Additional top-five finishes for women’s throwers came from Harper Boche (fourth in shot put) and Brittni Kinne (fifth in weight throw).
While Robertson and Hendrickson were standout distance runners as part of the DMR, Cole Yunker and Aidan Limback ran under nine minutes in the 3,000 meters, Trevor Kuncl placed third in the mile and Hannah Beintema took fourth in the 1,000 meters. In the sprints, Kayla Kirchner placed third in the 200 meters and Cambria Saunders placed third in the 60 meters. In backing Fries in the hurdles, Hayden Kluthe ran a solid 8.35.
Meanwhile, junior Adrianna Rodencal took her talents to the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational on Friday and ran an 8.55 in the 60 hurdles. That time qualified her to run in the finals on Saturday at the Devaney Center, in Lincoln, Neb. Rodencal currently ranks fifth in the NAIA in the women’s 60 hurdles.
National Qualifying Standards Achieved on Feb. 7
· *A – Men’s Distance Medley Relay (10:13.66); Robertson, Corwin, Sherman and Hendrickson
· *A – Abby Gerber: Shot Put (46’ 7 ¼”)
· *A – Jonny Jurchen: 3,000m Race Walk (13:27.23)
· A – Mayson Ostermeyer: Pole Vault (16’ ¾”)
· *A – Abi Wohlgemuth: Weight Throw (63’ 1 ½”)
· B – Abby Gerber: Weight Throw (54’ 3 ¾”)
· *B – Luke Hammang: 3,000m Race Walk (15:28.40)
· *B – Sam Olson: 3,000m Race Walk (16:24.25)
*Personal Best
Concordia Invite Champions
· Men’s 4x400m Relay (3:23.33); Fagan, Wing, Chadwick and Fries
· Easton Fries: 60m Hurdles (8.23)
· Jonny Jurchen: 3,000m Race Walk (13:27.23)
· Josi Noble: 600 Meters (1:40.96)
· Mayson Ostermeyer: Pole Vault (16’ ¾”)
· Aaron Spivey: Triple Jump (45’ 1 ½”)
· Trinity Tuls: 400 Meters (58.44)
· Abi Wohlgemuth: Weight Throw (63’ 1 ½”)
Select Bulldog athletes (including men’s and women’s 4x4 relays) will be in action on Saturday at the Husker Invite. For most Concordia competitors, the focus now shifts to the 2025 GPAC Indoor Track & Field Championships to be held in Mitchell, S.D., Feb. 14-15. The conference meet schedule can be found HERE.
Said Beisel, “We are a team that steps up and exceeds whatever our projections are. We do it over and over again … We’ll just have to see what God’s plans are when we get to conference next week.”