Track team opens Dec. 12 at USD Open
The Concordia University indoor track team opens it season Dec. 12 at the USD Preseason Open at the Dakota Dome in Vermillion, S.D. The meet, which will include 10 teams, begins with field events at 5 p.m. Running events start at 5:30 p.m. Other participating teams include South Dakota, Augustana, Briar Cliff, Morningside, Dakota Wesleyan, Mount Marty, Northern State, Wayne State and York College.
Coach Kregg Einspahr has a roster of about 80 and expects to compete for the Great Plains Athletic Conference championship for both the men and women.
Ten years ago, he said, Concordia had perhaps 20 members on the track team and finished last in the indoor conference championship track meet.
“We have a talented group of athletes on the team this year,” he said “with an outstanding practice and work ethic.” Both teams have the talent to finish in the top 10 at the national meet, he said.
Returning All-Americans from the 2002 NAIA Indoor National Championships include Stephanie Beberniss (Grand Island junior) in the pole vault, Mark Samuels (Lakewood, Colo.) in the 400 and 200 meter races, Michelle Quinlan (Denver, Colo. sophomore) in the 5000, Kari Retzlaff (Pierce senior) in the 600 and 4x800 relay members Molly Engel (Columbus sophomore), Julie Gaebel (Plattsmouth sophomore) and Jennifer Nikkila (Kearney sophomore). Much will depend on how Samuels recovers from a knee injury, Einspahr said.
He also pointed to help from a large number of newcomers, including Amber Tiedeman (throws), Angela Matthews (400m), Micah Dubbs (middle distances), Luke Meyer (pole vault), Nick Suing (400m), Rob Greer (hurdles) and Andrew Walquist (middle distances).
“In addition,” the coach said, “we have a very good sophomore class in which many individuals are vastly improved over last year at this time.
Vaulters prevail at USD Open on Dec. 12
Concordia's pole vaulters prevailed at the USD Open Thursday in the start of the indoor track season.
First-place finishes were reported for Stephanie Beberniss at 11-8.25 and Luke Meyer at 15-3. A height of 10-0.5 in the women's division was good enough for sixth place for Katie Andreasen and seventh for Rene Dinkel. Reid Ehrisman was third for the men at 15-0.
Other Concordia performances:
Women
Weight throw: Brandy Zarek, 5th, 14.86m; Amber Tiedeman, 12th, 12.28m; and Sarah Huber, 15th, 9.6m
Long jump: Kari Retzlaff, 10th, 5.05m; Rene Dinkel, 15th, 4.89m; Amy Warneke, 16th, 4.88m
Shot put: Zarek, 4th, 12.78m; Tiedeman, 5th, 12.17m; Huber, 22nd, 9.13m; Margaret Ingerslew, 25th, 8.91m; Lauren James, 28th, 6m
Triple jump: Dinkel, 6th, 10.48m; Becky Rusnak, 14th, 9.51m; Warneke, 15th, 9.37m
60-meter hurdle prelims: Deb Kroese, 9.91
60-meter dash prelims: Heather Olson, 8.4; Retzlaff 8.47; Rebecca Proud 8.55
400-meter dash: Retzlaff, 19th, 1:03.86; Proud, 21st, 1:05.22; Olson, 28th, 1:10.72
4x400 meter relay: Concordia 13th, 4:26.18
Men
Weight throw: Dustin Nelson, 5th, 11.76m; Seth Clemmer, 6th, 11.67; Josh Oberg, 7th, 11.03
60-meter hurdles: Jose Beaton, 2nd, 8.35; prelims: Beaton 8.32; Rob Greer, 8.74; Josh Gerken, 8.9; Michael Niederklein, 9.08; Chris Doroh, 9.11; Kaleb White, 9.22
60-meter dash: Beaton, 6th, 7.15; prelims: Beaton 7.17; Greer 7.43
400-meter dash: Gerken, 3rd, 50.94; Nick Suing, 4th, 51.78; Greer, 17th, 54.69; Jon Krenz, 19th, 54.92; Tommy Moll, 24th, 56.54; Brandt Klawitter, 25th, 57.28
4x400 meter relay: Concordia A, 7th, 3:35.58; Concordia B, 11th, 3:43.62
Shot put: Travis Jones, 2nd, 14.46m; Clemmer, 11th, 12.59m
Triple jump: Klawitter, 11th, 12.42m
Track team competes at Haylett Invitational
The Concordia indoor track team competed on Jan. 18 at the Ward Haylett Invitational at the indoor track at Doane College at Crete. First-place finishes included Nick Bartlett in the mile, Mark Heider in the 1000-meter run, Jose Beaton in the hurdles, Stephanie Berberniss in the pole vault and Jennifer Nikkila in the 1000-meter run. Concordia performances included:
Women
1000-meter run: Jennifer Nikkila, 1st, 3:04.71; Kelly Waterman, 6th, 3:19.45; Micah Dubbs, 7th, 3:23.17; Melissa Weeder, 9th, 3:29.14
Pole vault: Stephanie Beberniss, 1st, 11-6; Rene Dinkel, 5th, 10-0; Katie Andreasen, tie 6th, 10-0
4x800 relay: Concordia, 1st, 9:52.79
Mile: Molly Engel, 2nd, 5:21.52; Jennifer Nikkila, 5:22.89; Kelly Waterman, 6th, 5:32.45; Sara Schuelke, 7th, 5:34.73; Micah Dubbs, 10th, 5:42.44; Melissa Weeder, 12th, 5:52.11; Jen Henderson 14th, 5:59.76; Michelle Quinlan and Emily Ronning, no time
400-meter run: Rebecca Proud, 3rd, 1:03.59; Katherine Eberhard, 10th, 1:08.25
600-meter run: Kari Retzlaff, 5th, 1:48.95
800-meter run: Angela Matthews, 5th, 2:27.04; Tanya Kannengieter, 8th, 2:29.52; Lacey Darien, 12th, 2:37.86; Jamie Burmeister, 16th, 2:41.92
3000-meter run: Sara Schuelke, 5th, 11:01.27; Michelle Quinlan, 7th, 11:28.01; Jen Henderson, 14th, 12:11.87; Emily Ronning, 15th, 12:38.17
4x400-meter relay: Concordia, 4th, 4:25.57
55-meter dash: Rebecca Proud 7.94
200-meter dash: Katherine Eberhard 29.50
Shot put: Amber Tiedeman, 4th, 41-10.5; Brandy Zarek, 9th, 39-11.5; Sarah Huber, 29th, 30-9; Lauren James, 30th, 21-10; Margaret Ingerslew, foul
Weight throw: Brandy Zarek, 5th, 49-6.5; Amber Tiedeman, 16th, 41-6.5; Sarah Huber, 26th, 31-8; Lauren James, 28th, 26-3
High jump: Kristina Anderson, tie 8th, 5-0
Long jump: Kari Retzlaff, 9th, 16-1.75; Rene Dinkel, 10th, 16-0.75; Amy Warneke, 12th, 15-9.25
Triple jump: Rene Dinkel, 7th, 33-4.25; Amy Warneke, 10th, 30-11.75; Rebecca Rusnak, 11th, 30-8.5; Kristina Anderson, 12th, 30-5.5
Men
Mile: Nick Bartlett, 1st, 4:23.8; Andrew Walquist, 5th, 4:33.1; Brett Kapels, 6th, 4:34.1; Mark Heider, Chris Rolland, Matt Haden, no time
1000-meter run: Mark Heider, 1st, 2:36.07; Andrew Walquist, 3rd, 2:39.82; Brett Kapels, 6th, 2:44.58; Curtis Wilson, 9th, 2:57.27; Greg Schroll, 13th, 3:18.14
55-meter hurdles: Jose Beaton, 1st, 7.78; Kurt Earl, 4th, 8.06; Rob Greer, 5th, 8.09; Chris Doroh, 8.42; Mike Niederklein, 8.48; Kaleb White, 8.55
400-meter run: Nick Suing, 2nd, 52.09; Josh Gerken, 3rd, 52.42; Andrew Newton, 12th, 54.92; Brandt Klawitter, 13th, 56.12; Nate Leckband, 16th, 57.33; Kaleb White, no time
600-meter run: Jon Krenz, 6th, 1:30.16
800-meter run: Matt Buns, 3rd, 2:00.46; Matt Luevano, 4th, 2:00.57; Jordan Duncan, 9th, 2:14.24; Tim Thurber, 10th, 2:19.37; Mark Samuels, no time
3000-meter run: Nick Bartlett, 4th, 9:03.37; Matt Haden, 6th, 9:05.77; Chris Rolland, 11th, 9:35.74
55-meter dash: Jose Beaton, 6.76; Rob Greer, 6.81; Kurt Earl, 7.03; Albert Greenwood, 7.10;
200-meter dash: Rob Greer, 4th, 24.18; Jose Beaton, 5th, 24.21; Andrew Newton, 10th, 24.60; Albert Greenwood, 16th, 25.55; Chris Doroh, 17th, 25.81; Kaleb White, 19th, 25.96; Ben Delin, 20th, 25.96; Mike Niederklein, 21st, 26.12
4x400 relay: Concordia, 3rd
Pole vault: Reid Ehrisman, tie 3rd, 14-6
Triple jump: Ben Ideus, 5th, 41-8.5; Lee DeWald, 6th, 40-10.75
Long jump: Lee DeWald, 15th, 19-0.25; Brandt Klawitter, 17th, 18-6
Shot put: Travis Jones, 6th, 45-7; Seth Clemmer, 14th, 39-9.5; Josh Oberg, Dustin Nelson, foul
Weight throw: Josh Oberg, 10th, 37-2; Seth Clemmer, 11th, 36-11; Dustin Nelson, 13th, 35-8
Men's distance medley relay team sets record
A time of 10:06.26 in the men’s distance medley relay established a new Concordia University record as the Bulldog indoor track team competed in the UNL Open Friday and Saturday at Lincoln. The team included Mark Heider, Matt Luevano, Matt Buns and Nick Bartlett.
“We had outstanding legs,” Coach Kregg Einspahr said, with Heider covering 1200 meters in 3:05 and Bartlett turning in 4:12 for 1600 meters.
More national qualifying marks were attained by the men’s and women’s distance medley teams (12:25.20), 3000-meter runners Bartlett (8:25.54) and Molly Engel (10:30.34) and Katie Andreasen (10-6) in the pole vault.
The Bulldogs return to action Saturday in Lincoln with a dual meet at Nebraska Wesleyan University starting at noon. “This should be a good meet with excellent competition,” the coach said. The meet was originally a triangular, but Northwest Missouri State withdrew.
“We had another very good meet,” Einspahr said of the competition at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Bartlett’s race in the 3000 was outstanding, he said. “His time is very good. His ability to come back the next day and run an excellent mile time of 4:12 is particularly notable.”
He wasn’t alone. “The same can be said for Jose Beaton, who had an excellent race in the 60-meter hurdles (8.33). Luke Meyers had a good day in making 15-7 in the pole vault, the coach added. Concordia performances at the UNL Open:
Women:
800: Tanya Kanengieter 2:26.68; Angela Matthews 2:26.71; Jamie
Burmeister 2:40.54
1000: Lacey Darien 3:14.60
Mile: Jennifer Nikkila 5:19.97; Micah Dubbs 5:24.16
3000: Molly Engel 10:30.34; Melissa Weeder 11:27.31
5000: Sara Schuelke 18:24.57; Michelle Quinlan 18:50.72; Kelly
Waterman 19:35.59; Jennifer Henderson 21:25.39
60: Heather Olson 8.43; Rebeccah Proud 8.
Distance medley: Concordia 12:25.20 (Nikkila, Kanengieter,
Matthews, Engel)
400: Proud 1:03.48; Katherine Eberhard 1:07
600: Kari Retzlaff, Kari 1:31.23; Dubbs 1:33.43; Matthews 1:33.58;
Kanengieter 1:34.93; Darien 1:35
200: Olson 28.01; Proud 28.61; Eberhard 29.70
Shot put: Brandy Zarek 41-1.00; Amber Tiedeman, 34-11; Hannah
Krenz 33-7.25; Sarah Huber, 29-4; Lauren James 21-0.5; Margaret
Ingerslew, foul
Weight throw: Zarek 48-3.25; Tiedeman 38-4; Huber 29-5.25
Triple jump: Rene Dinkel, 33-11.5; Rebecca Rusnak 32-11.25;
Amy Warneke 31-2
Pole vault: Stephanie Beberniss 10-11.75; Andreasen 10-6;
Dinkel 9-6.25
Long jump: Kari Retzlaff 15-9.75; Dinkel 14-8.5; Warneke 14-5
Men:
4x400 relay: Concordia 3:24.65 (Nick Suing, Jon Krenz, Josh
Gerken, Andrew Newton)
800: Luevano, 1:57.11; Buns 1:59.20; Tim Thurber 2:21.55
1000: Jordan Duncan 2:49.07; Greg Schroll 3:24.02
Mile: Heider 4:20.36; Brett Kapels 4:27.35; Andrew Walquist
4:30.85; Curtis Wilson 4:43.10; Koch 4:45.95
3000: Bartlett 8:25.54; Chris Rolland, 9:24.69
5000: Matt Haden 16:06.40
60 hurdles: Beaton, 8.33 (8.25 in prelims); Kurt Earl 8.63; Chris
Doroh 9.09; Mike Niederklein 9.10; Kaleb White 9.33
60: Phillip Elder 7.33; Earl 7.51
Distance medley: Concordia 10:06.26 (Heider, Luevano,
Buns, Bartlett)
400: Rob Greer 52; Newton 53.30; Brandt Klawitter 54.84;
Nathan Leckband 54.87; White 55.60; Albert Greenwood 59
600: Gerken 1:14.6; Mark Samuels 1:15.1; Suing 1:15.23; Buns
1:15.58; Luevano 1:15.96; Kapels, Brett 1:16.96; Krenz 1:20.10
200: Beaton 22.92; Greer 23.67; Elder 24.20; Newton 24.52;
Niederklein 24.9; Greenwood 25.02; White 25.03: Doroh 25.09
Shot put: Travis Jones, 44-0.75; Seth Clemmer 38-10.5; Josh
Oberg; Nelson 26-7.25
Weight throw: Clemmer 41-9.75; Oberg 33-9.25; Nelson 31-06.50
Triple jump: Ben Ideus 39-10.75; Klawitter 39-7.75; Lee DeWald,
no distance
Pole vault: Lucas Meyer 15-7; Reid Ehrisman 14-3.25; Jeb Myers,
no height
Long jump: DeWald 18-7; Ben Delin 18-4.5
Tiger Classic next on list for track team
The next challenge for Concordia’s indoor track team will be Doane College’s Tiger Classic on Saturday. Field events start at 8:30 a.m. and running events at 11:30 a.m. on the Crete track. “I am looking forward to a great meet at Doane with some very competitive teams entered,” Coach Kregg Einspahr said. Hutchinson Junior College, UNK, UNO and Nebraska Wesleyan also will be at the event.
“Our vaulters and hurdlers had an outstanding meet,” the coach said after competition Saturday with Nebraska Wesleyan on Saturday on the Lincoln school’s track. “Steph Beberniss (11-8.25) and Jeb Myers (15-9) both have NAIA leading marks at this point.” The meet was scored with Wesleyan leading. The Concordia performances:
Women
55: Heather Olson (6th) 7.77 (7.76 prelim); Rebecca Proud 8.04; Katie Willett, Deb Kroese, no time
220: Kari Retzlaff (5th) 28.80; Olson 29.50; Katherine Eberhard 31.01
440: Proud (3rd) 1:05.94; Angela Matthews 1:06.51; Eberhard 1:08.71
Mile: Kelly Waterman (1st) 5:22.82; Micah Dubbs (3rd) 5:23.79; Jennifer Nikkila (4th) 5:26.80; Melissa Weeder 5:43.34; Molly Engel, no time
Two-mile: Sara Schuelke (1st) 11:53.30; Waterman (2nd) 11:55.10; Michelle Quinlan (3rd) 11:55.40; Jennifer Henderson 12:54.30; Emily Ronning 13:11.70
600: Retzlaff (3rd) 1:32.57; Tanya Kanengieter (4th) 1:34.41; Lacey Darien 1:38.20; Matthews, no time
880: Nikkila (2nd) 2:30.31; Dubbs (3rd) 2:34.85; Jamie Burmeister (5th) 2:48.06
55 hurdles: Willett (3rd) 10.11 (9.64 prelim)
4x440 relay: Concordia A (2nd) 4:18.70; Concordia B, no time
High jump: Kristina Anderson (3rd) 4-11
Pole vault: Steph Beberniss (1st) 11-6; Katie Andreasen (2nd) 11-0; Rene Dinkel (3rd) 10-6
Long jump: Amy Warneke 15-8; Dinkel 15-5; Willett 14-4.5; Becky Rusnak 14-0.5
Triple jump: Dinkel (1st) 35-4; Rusnak (4th) 32-0.25; Anderson (5th) 30-2; Willett 29-7
Shot put: Amber Tiedeman (1st) 42-2; Brandy Zarek (2nd) 41-6.5; Hannah Krenz 31-8.5; Lauren James 22-9.5; Sarah Huber , no distance
Weight throw: Zarek (1st) 46-1; Tiedeman (2nd) 42-6.5; Huber 30-10; James 26-2.5;
Men
55: Jose Beaton (3rd) 6.68 (6.71 prelim); Kurt Earl (5th) 6.98 (6.96 prelim); Rob Greer, no time (6.94 prelim); Al Greenwood, no time
220: Beaton 24.58; Andrew Newton 25.26; Chris Doroh 26.00; Mike Niederklein 26.23; Green, Phil Elder, Nick Suing, no time
440: Matt Luevano (2nd) 53.24; Newton (3rd) 54.80; Brandt Klawitter (4th) 56.52; Kaleb White (5th) 57.05; Nathan Leckband 57.65; Greer 57.94; Jon Krenz, Suing, no time
Mile: Matt Haden (5th) 4:35.90; Curtis Wilson 4:38.90; Chris Rolland 4:39.90
Two-mile: Haden (5th) 10:07.80; Rolland 10:26.70; Jeremy Koch, Wilson, Marc Biggerstaff, no time
600: Matt Buns (1st) 1:16.85; Josh Gerken (2nd) 1:16.98; Krenz (3rd) 1:20.39; Tommy Moll (5th) 1:26.89
880: Kapels (2nd) 2:01.24; Andrew Walquist (3rd) 2:01.54; Tim Thurber 2:19.62; Greg Schroll 2:34.04
1000: Mark Heider (1st) 2:17.97; Nick Bartlett (2nd) 2:20.84; Jordan Duncan (5th) 2:36.15; Wilson 2:36.35
55 hurdles: Beaton (1st) 7.67 (7.70 prelim); Earl (3rd) 7.90 (7.88 prelim); Niederklein 8.27 (8.23 prelim); Greer 8.32; White 8.39; Doroh 8.48
4x440 relay: Concordia A (2nd) 3:36.90; Concordia B (4th) 3:42.60; Concordia C 3:50.30
High jump: Ben Delin, no height
Pole vault: Jeb Meyers (1st) 15-9; Luke Meyers (2nd) 15-3; Reid Ehrisman (4th) 14-3
Long jump: Lee DeWald (3rd) 19-3; Nate Hagge (4th) 18-2.25; Zach Davis (5th) 17-7.75
Triple jump: DeWald (4th) 41-6.75; Hagge (5th) 40-6.5; Delin, Ben Ideus, no distance
Shot put: Travis Jones (3rd) 45-4.5; Seth Clemmer (5th) 41-2.5; Dustin Nelson 29-1.5
Weight throw: Clemmer (3rd) 40-8; Nelson (4th) 38-11; Josh Oberg (5th) 37-9.5
Nick Bartlett named most outstanding
Nick Bartlett was named the most outstanding athlete of the Great Plains Athletic Conference championships on Feb. 22 at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa. The sophomore middle distance runner from Eagle, Neb., won the mile in 4:18.66 and the 3000 in 8:48.58 to score 20 points.
The Concordia indoor track teams both finished second in the Great Plains Athletic Conference c The men scored 115 points to follow Nebraska Wesleyan at 171 and the women notched 109 points to 130.5 for Doane.
Two Bulldogs athletes set GPAC records at the meet. Steph Beberniss' 12-1 in the pole vault broke the standard set a year ago by an inch. Mark Heider's 1000-meter run of 2:29.99 eclipsed the old mark of 2:32.91 set in 2001.
Among others from Concordia with high places included Jose Beaton (7.69) and Kurt Earl (7.74) 1-2 in the 55 hurdles. In the pole vault, Jeb Myers had the top mark at 16-0 while Lucas Meyer was second at 15-6. Andrew Walquist at 4:23.37 was second to Bartlett in the mile.
On the women's side, Amber Tiedeman took the shot put title with a toss of 44-4.75. Brandy Zarek finished second in the weight throw, but her toss of 51-1 was a Concordia school record.
Katie Andreasen went 11-0 to place second to Beberniss in the pole vault. Second-place finishes were earned by Angela Matthews in the 800 and Kari Retzlaff in the 600. Micah Dubbs, Jennifer Nikkila and Molly Engel were 2-3-4 in the 1000 after Dubbs and Nikkila went 2-3 in the mile. Engel and Kelly Waterman were 3-4 in the 3000 and Sara Schuelke and Waterman 3-4 in the 5000.
Bulldogs dominate in pole vault at national
Steph Beberniss won the pole vault championship with a 12-1.5 performance at the NAIA national indoor track meet Friday at Johnson City, Tenn. On the men's side, Jeb Myers won the pole vault at 16-5.5 and Luke Meyers was second at 15-11.75. The Concordia men's team was fifth in the final standings while the women's team came in tied for ninth. The men's distance medley team of Mark Heider, Mark Samuels, Matt Luevano and Nick Bartlett (10:11.47) was second and the women's team fourth (12:15.98) with Molly Engel, Kari Retzlaff, Jennifer Nikkila and Micah Dubbs. Bartlett finished third in the mile (4:15.32) while Andrew Walquist was eighth (4:21.06). Brandy Zarek's 51-11.25 was good for fourth in the weight throw and Amber Tiedeman's 44-1.25 fifth in the shot put. The men’s 4x800 relay team of Heider, Matt Buns, Walquist and Luevano was fifth with a time of 7:45.97. The women’s 4x800 was sixth at 9:26.99 behind the efforts of Engel, Tanya Kanengeiter, Nikkila and Dubbs.