Concordia women claim team title at GPAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships

Concordia women claim team title at GPAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships

Led by eight finishes in the top two spots, the Concordia University, Nebraska, women's outdoor track team claimed the team title at the GPAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Lincoln, Neb. on Saturday, May 5.  

Concordia won the team title going away as the Bulldogs finished with a combined 158.5 points, 30 points better than second place Doane (128.50).  

The Bulldogs earned individual event championships in four events (800 Meter, 3000 Meter Steeplechase, Triple Jump and Shot Put) and racked up second place finishes in four other events (10,000 Meter Run, 4 x 800 Meter Relay, Pole Vault and Hammer Throw).  

Senior Bethany Sutton (Lincoln, Neb.) earned Concordia's first individual championship with a 2:16.94 performance in the 800 Meter Run.  Fellow senior Martha Meineke (Denver, Colo.) followed with a win in the 3,000 Meter Steeplechase in 11:42.47.  

Concordia's remaining two individual titles came from freshman Jericca Pearson (Gibbon, Neb.) in the Triple Jump and senior Lauren Eickemeyer (Houston, Texas) in the Shot Put.  Pearson delivered a combined score of 37 feet, 11.50 inches in the Triple Jump, while Eickemeyer's winning Shot Put toss went just over 48 feet (48 ft, 0.5 inches). 

Eickemeyer's toss is the farthest toss in the NAIA this season by close to a foot.  The closest toss came from Concordia University, Oregon's, Gabriella Dixson (47 ft, 1.5 inches).

Eickemeyer's toss in the Shot Put easily surpassed NAIA National Championship Automatic Qualifying standards.  Three other Bulldogs' performances on Saturday also met that mark. Pearson's long jump of 37 ft, 11.50 inches was better than the necessary 37 ft, 8.75 in.  Also attaining the automatic qualifying mark were sophomore Lydia Pomerenke (Seward, Neb.) and freshman Sara Simmons (Sumner, Neb.) in the Heptathlon.  The qualifying mark for the Heptathlon is a combined 3,700 points.  Pomerenke finished third in the event with 4,227 points, while Simmons was fifth with 3,953.

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