Thanks to their performances at the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships, nine Bulldogs have earned All-America honors for the outdoor season. Six of the honorees are repeat All-Americans.
Seven Bulldogs earned spots on the All-America podium on the final day of the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The highlights included a school record for Rylee Haecker and a sendoff for the accomplished Rachel Battershell.
In highlighting day two of the 2023 NAIA outdoor meet, the Concordia women’s 4x400 meter relay blazed to a first-place time in its heat of the prelims and Austen Rozelle crashed the All-America party in the discus. Twelve total Bulldogs competed.
A total of 19 Bulldogs represented Concordia Track & Field on day one of the 2023 NAIA outdoor national meet. The highlights included an NAIA national runner-up claim for Josie Puelz and a finals qualification for Rylee Haecker.
Concordia Track & Field boasts the most 2023 NAIA Scholar-Athletes for both men and women. A total of 60 Bulldogs have achieved Scholar-Athlete status, including 37 women and 23 men.
A group of 32 Bulldogs is on its way to Marion, Ind., for the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships. Those qualifiers have combined for 53 past NAIA All-America awards. The meet will run May 24-26.
For the eighth time in his career, Matt Beisel has been named the NAIA Midwest Region Women's Coach of the Year by the USTFCCCA. The latest award comes on the heels of another GPAC championship for Concordia women's track.
A total of 32 Bulldog athletes have qualified for the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships. The qualifiers are preparing to head to Marion, Ind., for national championship action May 24-26.
It was a strong final pre-nationals weekend as three more automatic national qualifying standards were achieved at the UNK Loper Twilight. Those marks came from Erin Painter, Joel Rathe and Gretchen Stottlemyre on Saturday (May 13).
It was a significant Concordia Twilight meet for Bulldog throwers, who posted four new 'A' standards on Friday (May 12). In addition, Lauren Dawson broke her own school record in a meet that included a lightning delay of nearly four hours.
She's one of a kind for so many reasons. In five years as a Concordia Bulldog, Josie Puelz not only won five NAIA national titles, she did so with class and that signature smile while living out her Christian faith.
The collegiate journey for Chris Wren culminated with a hammer throw national title. This mountaintop moment was meant to be for Wren, who looks back at his Concordia experience and how it transformed his life.
While feeling the best she ever has physically and mentally, Hastings native Jenna Esch has thrived in her third and final year as a Bulldog. Says Esch, "It’s been really special what I’ve been able to do, especially with this group of people."
On the heels of a fine indoor season, Concordia Track & Field sets its focus upon the 2024 outdoor campaign. The Bulldogs will attempt to build upon the All-America awards won by 15 individuals at the indoor national meet.
The ‘aha moment’ for Zach Zohner occurred during the middle of the 2023 indoor season when he decided he would no longer let the fear of injury monopolize his thoughts. The right mentality set him on a path to a national title.
Energetic and intensely competitive, Rylee Haecker has been described by coaches as "a gamer." Beyond athletics, Haecker is caring and outgoing, is a positive encourager of her teammates and is devout in her faith.
If the Bulldog Early Bird Meet is any indication, Concordia Track & Field is in for a phenomenal 2023-24 indoor season. The Bulldogs enter 2024 expecting to compete with the best of the GPAC and the NAIA once again.
With only a cinder track and no dedicated indoor facilities, Coach John Knight went to work building up the Concordia Cross Country and Track & Field programs. He succeeded in landing some of the top athletes in school history.
In winding down a fifth year of a remarkable collegiate journey, the triple major Rachel Battershell has rediscovered the joy that made her a champion. Nearing the finish line, Battershell reflected on an experience she calls "really special."
Outdoor track season has nearly arrived for the Bulldogs, who are coming off indoor GPAC placements of first for the women and third for the men. The dynamics change with a different set of events on tap for outdoor track.