BROOKINGS, S.D. – There were some ups and some downs on the opening day of the 2019 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships for the Concordia University track and field teams. Fourteen Bulldogs took to the national stage on Thursday (Feb. 28) as the 54th annual men’s and 39th annual women’s event got started from the Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex on the campus of South Dakota State University in Brookings, S.D.
Head coach Matt Beisel’s squads entered the three-day meet with hopes on the heels of a GPAC indoor title for the women and conference runner-up finish for the men. In the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) ratings, the Bulldogs sport national ratings of third on the women’s side and seventh on the men’s side.
The highlight of the day on Friday came courtesy of another big-time performance from the Concordia women’s 4x400 meter relay. The star-laden group already owned the school record (previously 3:57.55) and crushed it by clocking in at 3:51.80 in Brookings. The quartet of Rachel Battershell, Sarah Lewis, Jamie Nikodym and Jacee Pfeifer won heat 2 of the preliminaries and placed third overall. The finals of the event will take place at 4:55 p.m. on Saturday.
The Bulldogs also qualified their men’s 4x800 meter relay for the finals, which will run off at 5:35 p.m. on Friday. The group of Nathan Matters, Thomas Taylor, Christian Van Cleave and Josiah McAllister galloped to a season best by more than five seconds. Due to a series of lightning fast relays, that time Concordia sixth. The Bulldog foursome entered the meet ranked No. 1 in the NAIA.
The only Concordia relay to fall short of reaching the finals was the men’s 4x400 meter squad. That group consisted of Gavin Davis, Xavier Ross, Henry Reimer and Kenny Paetow. Each of those four athletes were making their first career appearances at a national meet. They placed 16th in the prelims with a time of 3:20.26.
Currently sitting sixth in the heptathlon, sophomore Cody Williams appears to be on track for an All-America finish for the second year in a row. The native of Imperial, Neb., got his day started with a personal best in the 60 meters. Unfortunately, a slip up in the high jump may have cost Williams a chance of fighting for a national title. The good news is that Williams will play to his strengths in the final three events of the heptathlon on Friday (60 meter hurdles, pole vault and 1,000 meters).
Junior Jessica Deterding also opened up with a PR, this one coming in the 60 meter hurdles as part of the pentathlon. She then experienced her own struggles in the high jump. Due to a low point total in that event, Deterding did not even compete in the 800 meters in order to conserve herself for the triple jump and long jump that are yet to come.
Twenty-one Bulldogs are slated to be in action on Friday. The meet will resume with the heptathlon at 10 a.m.
Concordia Friday schedule
- 10 a.m. – Men’s Heptathlon (Cody Williams)
- 12 p.m. – Men’s Weight Throw (Jacob Cornelio)
- 1 p.m. – Women’s Long Jump (Jessica Deterding)
- 1:05 p.m. – Women’s 400 Meters (Rachel Battershell, Jacee Pfeifer)
- 1:25 p.m. – Men’s 400 Meters (Gavin Davis)
- 2 p.m. – Men’s High Jump (Ben Pratt)
- 2:05 p.m. – Men’s 600 Meters (Nathan Matters)
- 3 p.m. – Women’s Pole Vault (Allie Brooks, McKenzie Gravo, Erin Mapson, Tristen Mosier, Jacee Pfeifer)
- 3 p.m. – Women’s Weight Throw (Morgan De Jong, Sam Liermann, Johanna Ragland, Addie Shaw, Carley Weisser)
- 3:30 p.m. – Men’s 1,000 Meters (Josiah McAllister)
- 5:35 p.m. – Men’s 4x800 Meter Relay (Nathan Matters, Thomas Taylor, Christian Van Cleave, Josiah McAllister)