SEWARD, Neb. – In the third indoor home meet of the 2024-25 Concordia University, Nebraska Track & Field season, three Bulldogs added automatic national qualifying standards at the Concordia Classic. The women’s 4x4 broke a Walz Fieldhouse record, freshman Jonny Jurchen clocked a new automatic national qualifying standard in the 3,000-meter race walk and Abigail Gerber popped an auto mark in the shot put. In addition, Concordia athletes combined to win seven events as part of a meet featuring competitors from 14 institutions on Friday and Saturday (Jan. 24-25).
Head Coach Matt Beisel’s programs have notched six automatic national qualifying standards on the indoor season to date. Additionally, Josi Noble stands in 12th place nationally in the pentathlon.
“I love my athletes and I love my staff,” Beisel said. “We had a great time and went after it today. I love all that we do here. I love to see all the fans and families show up. I know they are watching online. There is a great culture here and I'm proud of both the athletes and the coaches who work with them. We got a lot of good things done today. We still have some things left to do. We had some auto marks, some B marks and a lot of personal bests. I'm pretty happy with it for the second meet out for the (calendar) year.”
The meet concluded in sterling fashion when the women’s 4x4 blazed to a facility record time of 3:53.71. The 4x4 group included junior Adrianna Rodencal, senior Trinity Tuls, senior Isabelle Salters and junior Kayla Kirchner. The crew’s converted time of 3:50.65 moved it to No. 2 on the current NAIA national list. Kircher and Tuls were both part of a 4x4 in 2024 that clocked the second fastest indoor time in school history. In Saturday’s race, the Bulldogs beat our four competing 4x4s.
Said Kirchner afterwards, “It's really good. I wasn't expecting it coming into this. We didn't know a whole lot about the competition. We weren't sure we would have someone to run against. Getting the Fieldhouse record with not a lot of people to run against was good and way above what we were expecting. It's a good feeling.”
As just a freshman, Jurchen keeps raising the bar in the race walk. The Seward High School product hit the NAIA ‘A’ standard on Saturday while crossing the finish line in 14:12.41 at the Concordia Classic (second place). In first-place efforts on the track, Rodencal and freshman Easton Fries made for a sweep in the 60-meter hurdles. Rodencal equaled her school record time of 8.53 while Fries ran 8.16 in the finals of the event. Rodencal was also a winner in the 200 meters. In the men’s distance medley relay, the Bulldogs ran unopposed and finished in 10:33.73. The group was made up of Trey Robertson, Liam Fagan, Trevor Kuncl and Vaughn Hendrickson.
The fresh ‘A’ standard for Gerber in the shot put (46’ 4 ¾”) stood out amongst the throws performances at the Concordia Classic. Gerber ranks in the top 10 nationally in the event. Freshman Marissa Heins won the unseeded women’s weight throw competition with a just of just over 50 feet. The best Bulldogs, in addition to Gerber, by mark were Brittni Kinne in the women’s weight throw (‘B’ mark), Carson Fehlhafer in the men’s weight throw and Nathan Baldwin in the men’s shot put. Harper Boche fired a ‘B’ standard in the shot put in backing Gerber.
In the men’s pole vault, junior Mayson Ostermeyer achieved a personal best of 16’ 4 ¾” and remains the NAIA national leader. Ostermeyer beat out a field of 15 vaulters at the Concordia Classic. One week earlier, Ostermeyer went 16’ 4 ½” at the Devaney Center.
In the women’s 200 meters, Adysen McCarter and Emily Loseke followed Rodencal with second and third place finishes, respectively. Elsewhere on the track, Bulldogs with strong times included Lucas Corwin in the 600 meters (1:24.52), Robertson in the mile (4:21.52) and the men’s 4x400-meter relay (3:23.53) of Fagan, Matthew Wing, Perry Chadwick and Easton Fries. Hendrickson ran 8:56.71 in the 3k and Chadwick ran 52.76 in the 400 meters.
The top Bulldog jumpers were Myles Sadd in the men’s high jump and long jump, Aaron Spivey in the men’s triple jump, McCarter in the women’s triple jump, Amanda Steinke in the women’s high jump and Hayley Miles in the women’s long jump.
In a field of seven in the women’s pentathlon, Noble placed second with a total of 3,184 points (behind only a competitor from Concordia University Irvine). Noble (12th), Addie Reimer (18th) and Zoey Walker (20th) rank inside the top 20 of the NAIA in the pentathlon.
Said Beisel in summing up the day, “Overall a good day. Any other year this would have been our third full team meet of the season. We have a lot of work to do before conference. All the athletes and coaches see that clock ticking away. We are working towards it. God is good and I am very proud of all of them.”
NAIA National Qualifying Standards Achieved at Concordia Classic
· A – Women’s 4x400m Relay (3:53.71); Rodencal, Tuls, Salters & Kirchner
· A – Abigail Gerber: Shot Put (46’ 4 ¾”)
· A – Jonny Jurchen: 3,000m Race Walk (14:12.41)
· A – Mayson Ostermeyer: Pole Vault (16’ 4 ¾”)
· A – Adrianna Rodencal: 60m Hurdles (8.53 / 8.54)
· B – Harper Boche: Shot Put (44’ 2 ½”)
· B – Easton Fries: 60m Hurdles (8.16)
· B – Brittni Kinne: Weight Throw (54’ 5 ½”)
Concordia Classic Event Champions
· Women’s 4x400m Relay (3:53.71); Rodencal, Tuls, Salters & Kirchner
· Men’s Distance Medley Relay (10:33.73); Robertson, Fagan, Kuncl & Hendrickson
· Easton Fries: 60m Hurdles (8.24 / 8.16)
· Abigail Gerber: Seeded Shot Put (46’ 4 ¾”)
· Marissa Heins: Unseeded Weight Throw (50’ ½”)
· Adrianna Rodencal: 60m Hurdles (8.53 / 8.54); 200 Meters (25.61)
The 2024-25 indoor season will continue next Saturday when the Bulldogs will compete at the Fred Beile Invite hosted by Doane. This season’s final indoor home meet is slated to take place on Feb. 7, the date of the Concordia Indoor Invite. The 2025 GPAC Indoor Track & Field Championships will be held the following weekend (Feb. 14-15).