Bulldogs' men's team finishes third at GPAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships

Bulldogs' men's team finishes third at GPAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships

The Concordia University, Nebraska, men's outdoor track and field team delivered five second place finishes and one individual championship as the Bulldogs finished third at the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Lincoln, Neb. on Saturday, May 5.

The Bulldogs has an impressive overall performance, amassing 117 team points.  Doane, however, was simply dominant as the Tigers won the GPAC men's team title with 234 team points.  Nebraska Wesleyan finished second with 150 points. 

Concordia claimed second place finishes in the 200 Meter Dash, the 400 Meter Dash, the 1,500 Meter Run, the 110 Hurdles and the 400 Meter Hurdles.  The Bulldogs also claimed the individual championship in the 400 Meter Hurdles to dominate the event.

The best individual performance of the day by a Bulldog came from sophomore John Cartier (Las Vegas, Nev.) as Cartier posted second place finishes in both the 200 and 400 meter dashes.  Cartier's 200m time of 21.46 seconds not only put him in second place, it also surpassed the automatic qualifying time for the NAIA National Championships.  Moments later, Cartier doubled his pleasure by eclipsing the NAIA automatic qualifying time in the 400 meter dash at 47.58.  The automatic qualifying minimums were 21.50 in the 200m and 48.25 in the 400m. 

Cartier's 400m time also broke the Concordia school record of 47.93 set in 2004 by Nick Suing.

Cartier wasn't the only Bulldog to punch a ticket to the NAIA National Championships as two other Concordia athletes earned that honor as well.  Sophomore Benjamin Hinckfoot (Colorado Springs, Colo.) qualified in the 110 Meter Hurdles.  Hinckfoot finished the event with a time of 14.54, placing second and easily surpassing the minimum time of 14.75 seconds.  Senior Adam Dannehl (Bertrand, Neb.) also qualified in the Decathalon.  Dannehl placed seventh overall in the event with a combined 5,281 points, the qualifying standard is 4,500 points.

One event that the Bulldogs showed complete dominance in on Saturday was the 400 Meter Hurdles, taking both first and second place.  Sophomore Jonathon Becker (Hartington, Neb.) claimed the individual title with a time of 54.56, while Hinckfoot finished second in 55.27 seconds.

The Bulldogs return home to Seward and will host the Twilight Meet on Friday, May 11th.