Bulldog Weekly Report (April 5, 2016)

By Jacob Knabel on Apr. 5, 2016 in Athletic Announcements

Bulldog Booster Club Athletes of the Week

Male: Willy Pardos, Tennis

Pardos, a native of Pamplona, Spain, won matches at both No. 1 singles and doubles versus Morningside on Saturday. In singles action, Pardos toppled Pedro Pinassi, 6-2, 6-0. He is now 8-4 overall in singles and 5-6 in doubles play in his freshman season as a Bulldog.

Female: Stephanie Coley, Track & Field

Coley, who hails from Gering, Neb., enjoyed a big first outdoor meet at the Bronco Invite (April 2), winning all three events she competed in (discus, hammer, shot put). Each of her marks rank either first or second on the NAIA national leaderboard. Her hammer throw represented a personal best by nearly five feet.

News and notes:

Registration open for Bulldog Golf Classic: The 23rd annual Bulldog Golf Classic is set for Friday, July 22 at Woodland Hills Golf Course in Eagle, Neb. Team payment and registration is due by July 8. Teams can be registered by clicking HERE.

Alums win big in high school coaching ranks: Alums Mark Duitsman (’03), Dan Kober (’10) and Bernie Ochoa (’03) have all led high school teams to state championships during the current academic year. We highlighted the recent coaching accomplishments of alums in a feature piece HERE.

Harpst-Woodward make up formidable one-two punch: The pitching duo of Kylie Harpst and Michaela Woodward have helped the Concordia softball team get off to an 18-7 start in 2016. After shouldering the lion’s share of the pitching load in 2015, Woodward has teamed with Harpst in 2016 on a winning formula. For more on the talented pitching pair, click HERE.

Women’s soccer free youth clinic a success: Head women’s soccer coach Greg Henson’s program hosted a free youth clinic inside Bulldog Stadium on April 2. Nearly 100 elementary students turned out for the hour-and-a-half clinic put on by Henson’s staff and student-athletes.

Spring golf underway: Fifth-year head coach Brett Muller’s golf programs have returned to action. For a refresher on where both teams stand entering the spring, click the links below.
Men’s Golf | Women’s Golf

Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 4 p.m. CT: New this year is the Bulldog Coaches Show, which runs for a half hour every Thursday beginning at 4 p.m. CT on KOOL 103.5 FM. The show can also be heard live via 104.9 Max Country’s website or by downloading the TuneIn Radio app and then searching “KOOL.” Throughout the 2015-16 season, Bulldog football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball contests were aired live on Max Country.

Concordia Sports Network: Live webcasts for most home varsity contests can be accessed by visiting http://www.cune.edu/csn at game time. Check team schedules/results pages for webcast dates. Scrimmages, exhibitions and junior varsity events are not broadcasted.

Track and Field

  • Fourteen different Bulldogs qualified for the national championships in at least one event as the outdoor season opened at the Bronco Invite hosted by Hastings on April 2. Head coach Kregg Einspahr’s program returned to action four weeks after recording two top-five finishes at the 2016 NAIA Indoor Track and Field National Championships in Johnson City, Tenn. For more on Concordia track and field, click HERE.
  • Bulldog athletes combined for 12 event titles at the Bronco Invite: men’s 4x400 meter relay, Stephanie Coley (discus, hammer, shot put), McKenzie Gravo (pole vault), Liz King (javelin), Zach Lurz (discus, shot put), Josh Slechta (hammer), Lucas Wiechman (110 meter hurdles, 400 meter hurdles) and Kim Wood (800 meters). Concordia throwers won every event with the exception of the men’s javelin. Coley led the way with three wins – all in automatic national qualifying fashion.
  • Coley put together a special day. Not only did she win three events, each of her marks ranks either first or second on the NAIA national list. She holds down the No. 1 spot in the hammer throw (181’ 11”) and the shot put (45’ 11 ¼”) while ranking second in the discus (149’ 6”). Coley’s mark in the hammer represented a personal best by nearly five feet and places her No. 4 on the program’s all-time hammer throw list. Coley also ranks fourth in school history in the shot put and sixth in the hammer.
  • Twelve throwers combined for 22 automatic national qualifying marks at the Bronco Invite. The Bulldogs placed five of the top six in the women’s hammer. Concordia also hogged the top four spots in the men’s hammer and men’s discus, the top three and four of the top five in the men’s shot put and three of the top four in the women’s shot put. Coley’s three automatic national qualifying marks were equaled by Zach Lurz and Jose Rojas, who also qualified for nationals in three events. Lurz ranks inside the top four nationally in the discus, hammer and shot put.
  • Junior Lucas Wiechman earned praise from Einspahr for his work on the track and in the pole vault pit. The native of Pilger, Neb., won the 110 and 400 meter hurdles races at the Bronco Invite and qualified for the national championships in the pole vault by jumping 15’ 5.” Wiechman is a five-time All-American.
  • On the women’s side, McKenzie Gravo also cleared the national qualifying height (11’ 9 ¾”) in the pole vault and won the event at the Bronco Invite. The freshman from Henderson, Nev., won the GPAC indoor pole vault title and then collected All-America honors. Gravo is one of eight female pole vaulters in the NAIA to qualify for nationals.
  • Senior Kim Wood missed the automatic mark by .19 seconds with her time of 2:14.69 in the 800 meter race. She won the event and currently ranks No. 6 on the national leaderboard. Wood is coming off four GPAC titles (three conference meet records) and two All-America awards this past indoor season.
  • Below is the list of 24 automatic national qualifying marks and three ‘B’ standard marks turned in by Concordia athletes at the Bronco Invite.
    • Trey Barnes – shot put (A, 52’ 6 ¾”); discus (A, 164’ 11”)
    • Allison Brooks – pole vault (B, 11’ 5 ¾”)
    • Kattie Cleveland – hammer (A, 173’ 11”)
    • Stephanie Coley – shot put (A, 45’ 11 ¼”); discus (A, 149’ 6”); hammer (A, 181’ 11”)
    • McKenzie Gravo – pole vault (A, 11’ 9 ¾”)
    • Liz King – hammer (A, 174’ 2”); javelin (A, 142’ 5”)
    • Philip Kreutzer – hammer (A, 177’ 3”)
    • Samantha Liermann – shot put (A, 45’ 1 ¾”)
    • Zach Lurz – shot put (A, 54’ 8 ¾”); discus (A, 169’ 1”); hammer (A, 181’ 10”)
    • Sydney Meyer – hammer (A, 166’ 6”)
    • Nicole Perry – hammer (B, 157’ 5”)
    • Kali Robb – shot put (A, 44’ 7”); hammer (A, 166’ 2”)
    • Jose Rojas – shot put (A, 52’ 3 ¼”); discus (A, 162’ 7”); hammer (A, 186’ 9”)
    • Josh Slechta – discus (A, 163’ 9”); hammer (A, 195’)
    • Katricia Svoboda – discus (A, 143’ 1”)
    • Lucas Wiechman – pole vault (A, 15’ 5”)
    • Kim Wood – 800 meters (B, 2:14.69)
  • The Bulldogs now get set to host the annual Concordia Outdoor Invite on Saturday. The meet gets started with throwing events at 11 a.m. Running events begin at 12 p.m. For the tentative meet schedule, click HERE.

Golf

  • Both of head coach Brett Muller’s golf programs competed in their first tournaments of the spring over the past three days. The men got started at the Bethel Spring Invitational (April 2-3) and placed 13th out of 22 teams in the field. Meanwhile, the women opened up play on Monday by finishing second amongst a 10-team field made up mostly of GPAC teams at the Midland Spring Invite. Entering the spring, the women sit fifth in the GPAC (354-348–702) while the men are ninth (312-316–628). For more on the Concordia golf programs: MEN | WOMEN.
  • Led by junior Amy Ahlers’ fourth-place finish in Fremont, the Bulldogs defeated every GPAC team at the Midland Invite. One of those teams was current GPAC leader Mount Marty, which carded a 369 on Monday. Concordia turned in a 76-over-par 368, which actually marked its highest score out of eight rounds during the 2015-16 campaign. The Bulldogs had entered the spring with a season average of 344.6.
  • Ahlers now has four top-five finishes during her junior season. She has turned in at least a top-10 finish in every tournament this season. The native of Albion, Neb., now has 15 career top-five tournament finishes in 25 events played over the past three years. She’s won five of those tournaments. Over 31 collegiate rounds, Ahlers owns a career average score of 82.4.
  • The rest of the five-person lineup at the Midland Invite included junior Kayla Krueger (T-16th, 93), sophomores Brenna Gnuse (T-16th, 93) and Ashlen Pospisil (T-29th, 97) and freshman Madison Pitsch (67th, 132). Competing as an individual, sophomore Lauren Sperry carded a 110 (54th).
  • The men finished with a two-round total of 318-316–634 (+62) on their way to a 13th-place finish. The Bulldogs finished ahead of GPAC teams from Doane, Dakota Wesleyan, Hastings and Midland. Concordia had entered the spring with a team average of 309.9. It broke the program record for lowest single-round score with a 298 on the first day of the Siouxland Invitational on Sept. 10.
  • Junior Reid Wiebe, who owns the team’s lowest average (75.6), put together a solid 77-76–153 (+10) performance at the Bethel Invite. Wiebe’s better play on day two came on a tougher course, allowing him to move from 47th to 33rd on the individual leaderboard at a tournament that featured 119 golfers. Wiebe has taken part in all seven tournaments in 2015-16 and has recorded a team best four top-five placements.
  • Muller took both an ‘A’ and a ‘B’ team to the Bethel Invite. The A team was made up of Wiebe, freshman Nolan Zikas (T-50th; 80-78–158), sophomore Russell Otten (T-59th; 79-81–160), junior Jared Knoepfel (71st; 82-81–163) and sophomore Tyler Ehresman (T-79th; 84-81–165). Senior Sam Simonson paced the B team by tying for 53rd place (78-81–159).
  • The top three performers for the men in 2015-16 in terms of season average have been Wiebe (75.6), Otten (77.8) and Zikas (78.7). On the women’s side, the top three by the same measure have been Ahlers (79.5), Emma Jacoby (85.7) and Krueger (86.5).
  • One event remains on this week’s schedule for Concordia golf. The women will be back in action on Friday (10 a.m.) when they take the course at Miracle Hill in Omaha for the College of Saint Mary Spring Shootout. It will mark a return to the site where Concordia broke the program’s single-round record with a team score of 335 on the second day of the College of Saint Mary Fall Invitational on Sept. 9.

Tennis

  • Both Concordia tennis programs went more than three weeks between matches. They ended their idle stretches by opening up conference play versus Morningside on April 2. The Mustangs got the better of the Bulldog men, 7-2, and blanked the women, 9-0. The women then picked up their first GPAC victory by taking a 5-4 decision over College of Saint Mary on Monday. The Concordia men are now 6-7 overall while the women stand at 3-11 (1-1 GPAC) on the year. For more information on Bulldog tennis: MEN | WOMEN.
  • Freshman Willy Pardos has served as a standout performer all season for head coach Joel Reckewey’s program. This past weekend Pardos was responsible for both Bulldog wins. At No. 1 singles, Pardos defeated Morningside’s Pedro Pinassi, 6-2, 6-0. In the process, the native of Pamplona, Spain, improved to 8-4 this season at No. 1 singles. In doubles action, Pardos teamed up with junior Javier Moreno for an 8-6 victory. The combo of Pardos and Moreno is 5-6 at No. 1 doubles in 2016.
  • In addition to Pardos, four other Bulldogs have at least five singles wins this season: freshman Gabe Poling (7-6), junior Patricio Esquivel (6-6), Moreno (6-7) and freshman Thomas Greeff (5-8). Those four, along with Pardos, have consistently made up the top five of the team’s singles lineup.
  • As a team, the Concordia men are 33-45 overall in singles matches and 12-24 in doubles play. Five individuals have been part of five doubles victories: Greeff, Moreno (5-7) and Pardos (5-6).
  • On the women’s side, the Mustangs took care of the Bulldogs by winning many of the matches handily. Reckewey used a singles lineup that included Hailey Lemos (No. 1), Hannah Boe (No. 2), Katelinn Wurm (No. 3), Alison Ebel (No. 4), Kayla Smock (No. 5) and Katie Hertz (No. 6). Then on Monday in Lincoln, the bottom three of the singles lineup – Ebel, Hannah Boe and Smock – all recorded wins as the Bulldogs bounced back. In doubles action, the combos of Annie Horn and Anna Kenney (No. 2) and Wurm and Ebel (No. 3) both turned in victories versus the Flames.
  • Overall this season, the Bulldog women have gone 22-61 in singles play and 9-30 in doubles matches. Two players are tied for the team singles wins lead with four victories apiece: Smock (4-8) and Ebel (4-10). Boe (3-10) has three victories. Reckewey has used 14 different doubles teams and 10 total players for singles matches.
  • Conference play continues with one women’s match and one men’s match yet this week. Both will go up against Doane in Crete. The Bulldog women will play the Tigers (6-6, 1-1 GPAC) at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. The men then take their shot at Doane (5-6, 1-0 GPAC) at 4 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads have just a single home match remaining on the 2016 slate.

Baseball

  • Concordia went 10-straight days without a game before returning to Plum Creek Park on April second for its GPAC-opening doubleheader. The Bulldogs are now 4-4 on their current eight-game homestand. Over the weekend, Concordia split twin bills with both Dakota Wesleyan and Briar Cliff, programs that represented the GPAC at the opening round of the 2015 national tournament. Both days (April 2-3) ended with the Bulldogs celebrating a walk-off victory. Second-year head coach Ryan Dupic’s squad remains at .500 overall (16-16) and inside the GPAC (2-2). For more on Concordia baseball, click HERE.
  • The heroes of the walk-off wins were both freshmen – Christian Meza and Johnny May. With no outs in the bottom of the ninth versus Dakota Wesleyan, Meza singled in Logan Ryan for the game-winning run in a contest that concluded with an 11-10 final score. The next day, May drove a 2-2 pitch over the left field fence for a walk-off blast that sank Briar Cliff by a 9-8 score. These were the first two walk-off victories of the season for Concordia, which erased deficits of 8-2 versus Dakota Wesleyan and 7-4 versus Briar Cliff.
  • While the Bulldogs were shutout in the 3-0 game 1 loss to Dakota Wesleyan to open play this past weekend, it’s been a successful homestand from an offensive standpoint. Over the past eight games Concordia has averaged 8.9 runs per game while engaging in several slugfests. The Bulldogs currently rank 24th nationally in runs per game (7.6). They are also 43rd in slugging percentage (.452) and 49th in hits per game (9.5). With 244 runs scored, Concordia is on pace to fly by the program’s single-season runs scored record set last year when it piled up 289 runs.
  • The Bulldogs are racking up runs at a school-record pace behind the power bats of Kaleb Geiger and Christian Montero. Geiger is slugging .663 on the strength of 13 extra-base hits in 80 at bats. After a slow start, Montero has cleaned up in the No. 4 spot in the lineup. He’s now batting .346 with team highs in home runs (6), RBIs (34), doubles (8) and total bases (64). Montero ranks in the top 10 among GPAC players in RBIs (fifth), home runs (sixth), doubles (seventh), slugging percentage (ninth) and total bases (10th).
  • May has been a key contributor as a freshman despite making only five starts to date. He did not hit a home run in little league or high school, but already has swatted three long balls in 36 at bats. Dupic has made use of May’s speed on the bases. The Johnston, Iowa, native has scored 23 runs and tops the team with eight stolen bases in 10 attempts. May is hitting .361 with a .694 slugging percentage.
  • Center fielder Alex Alstott may not be producing the same power he showcased in 2015 when he led the GPAC in on-base percentage and slugging percentage, but he’s been an on-base machine of late. He’s drawn at least one walk or hit by pitch in eight-straight games in 11 of the past 12 contests in which he’s played. The native of Fort Dodge, Iowa, reached base three times and scored three runs in the win over Briar Cliff. His batting average stands at .197, but his .424 on-base percentage has kept him at the top of the lineup.
  • Righty Mark Harris has easily been Concordia’s most consistent starting pitcher. The native of Tucson, Ariz., went seven strong innings in the opening game of last weekend. He allowed three runs (one earned) on five hits and one walk while striking out seven Tiger hitters. His 2.02 ERA and 32 strikeouts over 35.2 innings rank best on the team.
  • Another record to keep an eye on is the school single-season wins record of 26 set by the 2015 team. Concordia has 19 games remaining on the regular-season slate, meaning it would have to go 11-8 to break the record prior to the start of GPAC tournament play. The 20-win mark has been an elusive figure throughout program history. Only four Bulldog baseball teams (2004, 2005, 2012 and 2015) have reached that plateau.
  • A demanding week awaits as Concordia will play five games in a six-day stretch. The action begins Tuesday (April 5) with a visit from No. 16 York College (26-9) for a 5:30 p.m. first pitch in what will be a single nine-inning game. The Bulldogs get back to conference play on Saturday when they trek to Dordt (13-12, 1-3 GPAC) for a 1 p.m. doubleheader. The next day they’re back home to host Mount Marty (7-18, 0-4 GPAC) in another 1 p.m. twin bill.

Softball

  • The conference season got rolling last week with a trio of GPAC doubleheaders taking place between Monday and Saturday. Concordia split each of those twin bills – two of which came on the road (Northwestern and Doane). The Bulldogs completed the week by hosting their 2016 home opener, which resulted in a 5-4 extra-inning victory and a 6-3 loss versus Briar Cliff. Third-year head coach Todd LaVelle’s squad now stands at 18-7 overall and 3-3 in conference play. To read recaps of recent action, click HERE.
  • The loss to Briar Cliff marked the first time this season that Concordia has been beaten by a margin greater than two runs. Two of the seven defeats have occurred in extra innings. The Bulldogs are 9-6 in games contests that come down to two runs or fewer. The biggest spread through six GPAC games was five runs in the 7-2 win at Northwestern.
  • Last week Concordia remained at No. 2 in the official GPAC rankings released on NAIA.org. The Bulldogs, picked fifth in the league’s preseason poll, got off to an impressive 12-2 start this season and won nine of 10 games during its road trip in Tucson, Ariz. In last week’s national rankings, Concordia appeared among “others receiving votes,” placing it 32nd in the nation. The Bulldogs were in the 36th spot a week earlier (March 22). Prior to March 22, the Bulldogs last received national votes on April 8, 2014. The 2014 team, a national qualifier, garnered votes in the national poll for four-straight weeks from March 18 – April 8. No Concordia softball team has ever cracked the top 25
  • Following the doubleheader at Northwestern, sophomore Michaela Woodward’s hitting streak stood at 11 games. The streak was snapped with an 0-for-7 effort at Doane. She rebounded by hitting a walk off single to beat Briar Cliff in the first game of the April 2 doubleheader. She’s now hitting .347 on the year.
  • Sophomore Autumn Owens ended the week with a solid three-game stretch in which she went 6-for-11 with two doubles and three RBIs. Named the GPAC player of the week on March 15, Owens tops Concordia with four home runs, 25 RBIs. She also has a .649 slugging percentage and .410 on-base percentage.
  • Amanda Wygant, a native of Oceanside, Calif., saw the most extensive action of her Bulldog career in the loss to Briar Cliff. Wygant ended up throwing 4.1 innings in relief of Kylie Harpst. Wygant retired the final 10 Charger hitters she faced and struck out four. Prior to that outing, Wygant had thrown just four innings all season. Harpst, Woodward and Wygant are the only pitchers LaVelle has used in 2016.
  • In conference games only, Concordia has averaged 4.0 runs per game. That represents a significant decrease from the 7.8 runs the Bulldogs were averaging prior to the start of GPAC action. Even with the downturn, the Bulldogs still rank 18th nationally in batting average (.343), 19th nationally in runs per game (6.8) and 22nd in slugging percentage (.486). Six different Concordia players own batting averages above .300.
  • Part of the success the Bulldogs have experienced so far in 2016 can be attributed to its impressive defensive play. Concordia went four-straight games without an error before committing one miscue in the opening game of the doubleheader at Doane. Despite that one error, the Bulldogs helped Woodward hold the Tigers to one hit through six innings despite her striking out just one hitter. Bulldogs have put a lot of onus on their defense having struck out just 60 opposing batters in 152 innings. Concordia ranks 17th among all NAIA softball programs in fielding percentage (.962).
  • This week will be the most hectic all season with five doubleheaders scheduled between Tuesday and Sunday. The weekend will test Concordia with a pair of twin bills slated against squads ranked among the NAIA’s top 20.
    • Tuesday, April 5 – vs. Hastings (23-11, 0-4 GPAC), 5 p.m.
    • Wednesday, April 6 – at Peru State College (9-23), 3 p.m.
    • Thursday, April 7 – vs. Grace University (3-32), 5 p.m.
    • Saturday, April 9 – at No. 15 Morningside (23-5, 4-0 GPAC), 1 p.m.
    • Sunday, April 10 – at No. 20 Grand View University (23-6), 1 p.m.