Bulldog Athletic Association Member (BAAM) Athletes of the Week
Male: Chase Berry, Track & Field
A Seward High School alum, Berry qualified for nationals at the Concordia Early Bird Meet with a pole vault clearance of 15’ 7.” Berry defeated all other competitors at the meet and currently ranks No. 4 on the NAIA national list. Berry is a two-time NAIA All-American.
Female: Adrianna Rodencal, Track & Field / Taysha Rushton, Basketball
Rodencal, a Lincoln Lutheran High School graduate, got her college career off to an impressive start last week while winning Concordia Early Bird Meet titles in the 60 hurdles, 200 meters and as part of the 4x400 meter relay. Rodencal’s time of 8.97 in the 60 hurdles represented an automatic national qualifying time.
A native of Midland, Texas, Rushton led the Bulldogs to wins last week over Mount Marty and Hastings while shooting an efficient 10-for-17 (.588) from the floor and 7-for-12 (.583) from 3-point range. Rushton totaled 14 points versus Mount Marty and 16 at Hastings. She’s leading the team with an average of 15.1 points per game.
Previous BAAM Athletes of the Week
Dec. 6 – Gabi Nordaker (volleyball) / Gage Smith (basketball)
Nov. 29 – Rylee Ladd (powerlifting) / Noah Schutte (basketball)
Nov. 15 – Rebecca Gebhardt (volleyball) / Federico Simonetti (Soccer)
Nov. 8 – Kylahn Freiberg (cross country) / Kaden Peters (football)
Nov. 1 – Breyer Meeks (shooting sports) / Carlos Orquiz (soccer) / Morgan Nibbe (volleyball)
Oct. 25 – Bree Burtwistle (volleyball) / Isaiah Shaddick (soccer)
Oct. 18 – Korrell Koehlmoos (football) / Carly Rodaway (volleyball)
Oct. 11 – Rylee Haecker (cross country) / DJ McGarvie (football)
Oct. 4 – Rebecca Gebhardt (volleyball) / Korrell Koehlmoos (football)
Sept. 27 – Bree Burtwistle (volleyball) / Ryan Wokutch (soccer)
Sept. 20 – Tanner Muff (shooting sports) / Gabi Nordaker (volleyball) / Katie Welker (shooting sports)
Sept. 13 – Kierstynn Garner (soccer) / Jack Nelson (shooting sports)
Sept. 6 – Camryn Opfer (volleyball) / Camden Sesna (cross country)
Aug. 30 – Federico Simonetti (soccer) / Carly Rodaway (volleyball)
Aug. 23 – Bree Burtwistle (volleyball)
2022-23 BAAM Athletes of the Month
November – Rebecca Gebhardt (volleyball); Noah Schutte (basketball)
October – Bree Burtwistle (volleyball); Korrell Koehlmoos (football); Carly Rodaway (volleyball)
September – Gabi Nordaker (volleyball); Camryn Opfer (volleyball); Camden Sesna (cross country)
News and notes:
BAAM luncheons are held every Tuesday at 12 p.m. CT inside the Dog House Grill, located in the Janzow Campus Center. The luncheons feature reports from head coaches who are in season at the time. For information on how to join BAAM, click HERE. It is not a requirement to be a BAAM member in order to attend the weekly luncheons.
Battle in the Vault set for December 20: Coming up in one week, the Concordia University Men’s Basketball program will take the floor at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Neb., for the first time ever. The 19th-ranked Bulldogs will go head-to-head at 1 p.m. CT with No. 8 Oklahoma Wesleyan as part of the Battle in the Vault on Tuesday, Dec. 20. That will be the first of three games that day at PBA. The games that follow will be Mississippi State University versus Drake University at 4 p.m. and the University of Nebraska versus Queens University at 6:30 p.m. The purchase of one ticket is good for all three games that day. Tickets are still available via Ticketmaster.
Powerlifting closes fall semester competition with four medals at Midwest Regional: Both the Concordia Powerlifting and Weightlifting teams have wrapped up competition for the fall semester. The final fall outing for powerlifting occurred on Nov. 19 when the Bulldogs took part in the Midwest Regionals hosted by William Jewell University in Liberty, Mo. Medals were handed out to the top three finishers in each weight class at the Midwest Regionals. The four Bulldogs to reach the podium were Rylee Ladd (first at 52 kg), Pryce Ostermeier (second at 90 kg), Rylee Kara (third at 67.5 kg) and Hunter Powers (third at 75 kg). In addition, Kara and Dax Davis added their names to the team’s list of national qualifiers (and Ladd qualified in a second class). A native of Chetek, Wis., Ladd was able to outmuscle Midland’s Sindy Aguilera at 52 kg, 320 to 305. A detailed recap of the meet can be found HERE. For more details on the program, click HERE.
Wrapping up fall sports seasons: Each Concordia fall sport is now officially in the books. We began wrapping up those seasons with season-in-review articles for football and women’s soccer (see the links below). Similar articles will be released in the coming days for men’s soccer and volleyball. It’s worth noting that the women’s soccer program will have a new head coach for the 2023 season. Thomas Goines announced his resignation last week after three seasons leading Concordia Women’s Soccer.
--Football
--Women’s Soccer
--Men’s Soccer
--Volleyball (coming soon)
All-America honors handed out to four Bulldogs: NAIA All-America honors were handed out last week to four Bulldogs. In volleyball, All-America status was earned by Gabi Nordaker (second team), Camryn Opfer (second team) and Bree Burtwistle (honorable mention). In men’s soccer, Max Bisinger (honorable mention) became the program’s first All-American since Arturo Vega in 2007. As for Opfer, she is now a two-time NAIA All-American having been named an honorable mention choice in 2021.
Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is underway in its eighth year of existence. The show airs live for a half hour every Thursday beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT on KTMX-FM 104.9 Max Country. The weekly feature can also be heard live via 104.9 Max Country’s website or by downloading the Max Country app. Throughout the 2022-23 season, Bulldog football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball contests will be aired live on Max Country. Parker Cyza serves as the host of the coaches’ show as well as the play-by-play voice for football and basketball. Frank Greene is in his eighth season calling Concordia volleyball.
Concordia Sports Network: Live webcasts for most home varsity contests can be accessed by visiting https://www.cune.edu/athletics/watch-bulldogs at game time. Beginning in 2019-20, Concordia Athletics partnered with PrestoSports for live video and statistical streaming. Live webcast links for away contests are publicized in sport specific releases that preview action for that particular week. Scrimmages, exhibitions and junior varsity events are not broadcasted.
Track & Field
· The indoor season got underway over the weekend (Dec. 9-10) as the program hosted the Concordia Bulldog Early Bird Meet. The Bulldogs welcomed opposing squads from eight institutions for a two-day meet that included pentathlon and heptathlon competitions. Concordia emerged from the meet with four automatic national qualifying marks, 10 ‘B’ standard national marks and 14 Early Bird event championships. This marks the start of year seven for Head Coach Matt Beisel leading his alma mater. For more information on Concordia Track & Field, click HERE.
· The ‘A’ standards at the Early Bird were delivered by Chase Berry (15’ 7” in the pole vault), Josie Puelz (12’ 6 ¼” in the pole vault), Adrianna Rodencal (8.97 in the 60 meter hurdles) and Chris Wren (61’ 10 ½” in the weight throw). The likes of Berry, Puelz and Wren have combined for 10 career All-America awards. There are always high expectations for Puelz, who has won each of the last four NAIA pole vault national championships. Meanwhile, Rodencal was a highly touted recruit who won four individual state championships her senior year at Lincoln Lutheran High School. Rodencal placed first in each of her three events at the Early Bird.
· The haul of 10 ‘B’ standard marks came courtesy of the women’s 4x800 meter relay, Jenna Esch in the 600 meters, Abby Gerber in the weight throw, Rylee Haecker in the 1,000 meters, Alli Owings in the weight throw, Hannah Newton in the high jump, Maddie Robinson in the shot put and weight throw, Myles Sadd in the high jump and Abi Wohlgemuth in the weight throw. In her debut outing as a Bulldog, Robinson won the weight throw competition (53’ 11 ¼”) and placed second in the shot put. Of the names mentioned, each of them has prior experience at nationals with the exception of the freshman Sadd.
· Below is a complete listing of Concordia athletes who possess marks meeting either the ‘A’ or ‘B’ national reporting standard. The tally after the Early Bird meet includes four ‘A’ standards and 10 ‘B’ standards. In addition, Amy Richert currently leads the NAIA in the pentathlon.
o Women’s 4x800m Relay, B (9:39.96)
o Chase Berry – Pole Vault, A (15’ 7”)
o Jenna Esch – 600 Meters, B (1:37.19)
o Abby Gerber – Weight Throw, B (52’ 1”)
o Rylee Haecker – 1,000 Meters, B (3:00.01)
o Hannah Newton – High Jump, B (5’ 4 ½”)
o Alli Owings – Weight Throw, B (52’ 6”)
o Josie Puelz – Pole Vault, A (12’ 6 ¼”)
o Amy Richert – No. 1 in NAIA in pentathlon (3,487)
o Maddie Robinson – Shot Put, B (42’ 11 ½”); Weight Throw, B (53’ 11 ¼”)
o Adrianna Rodencal – 60 Hurdles, A (8.97)
o Myles Sadd – High Jump, B (6’ 7”)
o Abi Wohlgemuth – Weight Throw, B (53’ 2 ¼”)
o Chris Wren – Weight Throw, A (61’ 10 ½”)
· Coach Ed McLaughlin looks to again have a deep crew of weight throwers, as evidenced by the list above. The auto mark is no surprise for Wren, who is a three-time All-American who placed fourth nationally in the weight throw in 2022. On the women’s side, Maddie Robinson will give the group a boost. She was a three-time NAIA All-American during her time at Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) and is using her last season of eligibility. In addition, Gerber is a returning national qualifier from the 2022 indoor season. The top Bulldog in the men’s shot put this past weekend was Darien Semedo, who placed second.
· As for the relays, not everything has come together just yet. With Freiberg held out, the 4x8 of Haecker, Rhaya Kaschinske, Hannah Beintema and Julie McIntyre placed first in a time of 9:46.64, which converted to a ‘B’ standard. McIntyre was a winner in the 3,000 meters. The women’s top 4x4 featured Esch, Rodencal, Trinity Tuls and Emily Loseke. They combined to run a time of 4:06.26. Meanwhile, Tuls also ran a 59.96 in the open 400 meters (second place). In the men’s 4x4, Colton Meyer ran the anchor after following three freshmen: Liam Fagan, Gage Fries and Kameron Farmer. They ran 3:28.2 and placed second. Meyer ran 50.20 in the open 400 meters (second place).
· The Bulldogs will take a break as the first semester comes to a close at Concordia. The indoor season will resume on the weekend of Jan. 13-14 when Bulldog athletes will compete at both the Graduate Classic hosted by the University of Nebraska and the Scott Nisely Memorial Classic hosted by Doane. The next home meet on the slate is the Concordia Polar Dog Invite set for Jan. 21. Beisel and company are excited to host the 2023 GPAC indoor championship meet slated for Feb. 17-18.
Women’s Basketball
· The rate of growth has accelerated over the past couple of weeks. It’s showing up in the results as the Bulldogs earned two wins last week by double-digit margins: 91-48 over Mount Marty on Dec. 7 and 70-57 at Hastings on Dec. 10. Concordia has won three of its last four and has been victorious in back-to-back conference road games while moving to 6-4 overall (4-4 GPAC). Head Coach Drew Olson’s squad will play one more GPAC game this month before dipping back outside of league action. For more information on Concordia Women’s Basketball, click HERE.
· The Bulldogs fell off the ratings radar when polls were released in late November, but the hope is to get back into that territory with further growth. Massey Ratings lists Concordia as the No. 16 team in the NAIA and rates the schedule as having been the third toughest in the nation to this point. The Bulldogs have put a couple of quality wins on the board having beaten No. 25 Morningside and Dakota State University, a squad that continues to receive votes nationally. On the national leaderboard, Concordia ranks fourth for made 3-point field goals per game (9.8) and 17th for fewest turnovers committed per game (13.3).
· The Bulldogs knocked down 21 treys in what just might have been a school record in last week’s win over Mount Marty (3-10, 1-7 GPAC). Even some of Olson’s very best teams like the editions that reached the national semifinals (2012, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019) never drained that many 3-point field goals in a single game. Kendal Brigham went 5-for-7 from long range, Megan Belt went 4-for-7 and three teammates put home three triples apiece: Sadie Powell (3-for-4), Taysha Rushton (3-for-6) and Mackenzie Koepke (3-for-7). Because of the way Concordia was defended, it attempted 47 3-point shots and only 16 two-point shots. Mackenzie Toomey added seven points and 10 rebounds in the blowout victory.
· The offense may not have operated with the same rhythm at Hastings, but the Bulldogs still managed to win comfortably. Two key spurts helped Concordia put the game away – a 13-0 run at the close of the first half and a 10-1 run in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs pushed the lead to 62-39 at one point and owned a double-digit advantage for the entire second half. Rushton put together an efficient outing in supplying 16 points on 5-for-9 shooting (4-for-6 from 3-point range) while Abby Krieser starred in posting 14 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots. The Bulldogs have won six of the last seven in the series with the Broncos (6-5, 4-3 GPAC).
· The nature of the game against Mount Marty provided a soft landing for Koepke to see her most minutes (15) so far this season. The Lincoln Lutheran High School alum missed the entire 2021-22 season due to injury and has slowly made her way back from surgery. Koepke put up 11 points and six rebounds in the win over Mount Marty. In her collegiate career, Koepke has played in 108 games and has totaled 774 points while making 186 3-point field goals. She’s earned three career all-conference awards, including a second team mention in 2019-20. Koepke was a regular in the rotation for the 2018-19 national championship team.
· The calling card for this Concordia team has been on the defensive end of the court. Its opponents are averaging 19.6 turnovers per game. Individually, Toomey swipes 1.9 steals per game. If the Bulldogs can sustain their defensive success while simultaneously growing offensively, they can be dangerous. The starkest contrast last week between Concordia and its opponents was in 3-point shooting. The Bulldogs went 31-for-76 (.408) from the perimeter and their foes went 5-for-35 (.143). Concordia’s style of play has resulted in it taking 90 more shots (631-541) than its opponents through the season’s first 10 games.
· Still in just her third collegiate season, Rushton is going to continue to rise up the program’s all-time charts. Her 1,110 career points have pushed her into a tie for No. 23 in program history. She’s also tied for eighth on the program’s list for most career 3-point field goals (166). Just above her at No. 6 is Koepke (186). Rushton is on a trajectory that could have her challenging for 2,000 points before her college career ends. Only two players in school history have ever reached 2,000 points: Bailey Morris (2,054) and Philly Lammers (2,033).
· The Bulldogs hope to continue their momentum in this week’s lone outing – a home matchup with Doane (7-4, 3-4 GPAC) at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday. The Tigers have made significant improvement over the past couple of years under Head Coach Ryan Baumgartner. Doane boasts the GPAC’s leading scorer in Mak Hatcliff (22.8 points per game). Concordia owns a 12-game win streak in the series.
Men’s Basketball
· The past couple of weeks have been a bit up and down after the 19th-ranked Bulldogs began this season at 5-0. The slate last week included an 86-64 home win over Mount Marty on Dec. 7 and a 70-68 loss at Hastings. Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad owns a record of 8-3 overall (5-3 GPAC) and is right in the middle of the jumbled GPAC standings. Eight of the league’s 11 teams have either two or three GPAC losses. Even sixth-ranked Jamestown (10-2, 4-2 GPAC) has proven prone to being upset at home. For more information on Concordia Men’s Basketball, click HERE.
· There’s enough parity in the league that fans and observers ought to expect the unexpected at this point. While the Bulldogs are 3-3 over their last six games, those three losses have come against teams that are a combined 29-7 overall this season. Other than Midland (0-7 GPAC), every other team in the GPAC has won at least two league games and every team has dropped at least two GPAC contests. It’s been unpredictable to the point that co-2021-22 GPAC regular season champion Briar Cliff has started out 2-4 in conference despite returning most of its pieces from last season.
· Limback will look back at both of last week’s outings and likely feel as though his team started out a bit underwhelming. In the win over Mount Marty (5-9, 2-6 GPAC), Concordia did gain some separation late in the first half. Then finally, the Bulldogs closed the game on a 15-3 run that put it out of reach. The highlight of the evening came on a Tristan Smith alley-oop dunk via a lob from AJ Watson. Tristan finished with 20 points and seven rebounds. Four teammates joined him in double figures in scoring: Noah Schutte (18), Gage Smith (14) and Watson (11). Concordia shot 53.4 percent from the floor and had its way on the boards, 38-22.
· The 13-game series win streak over Hastings has fallen by the wayside. The Bulldogs spent much of this past Saturday afternoon playing catch-up on the road. Concordia looked like it might escape with a win when Gage Smith’s three-point play made it a 68-64 lead with a minute to play. Unfortunately, the Broncos (10-2, 4-2 GPAC) made the plays down the stretch. Grady Corrigan and Phil Cisrow knocked down a trey apiece to pull it out for Hastings. Corrigan then blocked a potential game-tying shot at the buzzer. The Bulldogs fell despite 20 points from Schutte and a 14-point, eight-rebound effort from Gage Smith.
· Through 11 games, Concordia remains a statistically sound squad that shoots 46.9 percent from the floor and holds the opposition to 39.0 percent shooting. Nationally, the Bulldogs rank third in defensive rebounds per game (32.0), 16th in opponent field goal percentage (.390), 16th in opponent 3-point percentage (.272), 29th in rebound margin (plus-7.7) and 33rd in free throw percentage (.749). Four Bulldogs are scoring in double figures: Schutte (17.3), Tristan Smith (14.5), Gage Smith (12.9) and Brad Bennett (11.5) with Watson (9.7) right near that mark.
· The Laurel-Concord-Coleridge High School alum Schutte continues to perform as a model of consistency. Schutte has reached 20 points four times this season and has failed to score in double digits only once (mostly due to being held back in the blowout win over Northwestern). Schutte has notched 20 or more points 11 times in his career with his career high being 27 points in a win last season over Jamestown. Over his career, Schutte has gone from averages of 2.9 points and 1.4 rebounds as a freshman to 13.9 points and 6.2 rebounds as a sophomore to 17.3 points and 5.6 rebounds so far this season. His career totals in 63 career collegiate games are 724 points and 302 rebounds.
· Currently the GPAC’s leading rebounder at 10.3 boards per game, Gage Smith now stands alone at No. 5 in program history with 747 career rebounds (he’s also pushed his career point total to 1,108). Smith is looking up on the rebound list at Matt List (928), Chandler Folkerts (868), Scott Beck (781) and Jon Ziegler (762). It’s true that Gage is in his fifth season of college hoops, but he’s piled up the numbers in a fairly modest number of games – 115. Kind of like Schutte, Smith used his freshman season to adjust to the college game.
· The Bulldogs will attempt to get back into the win column on Thursday when they will be at home for their only outing of the week. The contest versus Doane (7-5, 4-2 GPAC) is slated to tip off at 7:45 p.m. CT. Concordia won two of the three matchups last season with the Tigers, including a 67-65 nail-biter in the semifinals of the GPAC tournament. It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster for Doane, which has already played in three overtime games and owns quality wins over teams such as Jamestown and Morningside.
Wrestling
· After roughly a week-and-a-half between outings, Concordia got back to action with a busy weekend of Dec. 2-3 that included a Friday night home dual and a Saturday tournament close to it out. The Bulldogs won seven of 10 matches and emerged with a 36-9 win over Bethany College (Kan.) on Dec. 2 in their first home appearance of the 2022-23 season. Concordia then entered 19 wrestlers into the Doane Conner/Oppenheim Open on Dec. 3 and came away with five place finishes. It has been off from competition since then. Head Coach Chase Clasen’s squad has pushed its dual record to 4-1 (3-1 GPAC). For more information on Concordia Wrestling, click HERE.
· The matchup with Bethany went quickly as the Swedes had three open weights in their lineup. Contested victories for the Bulldogs were delivered by Thomas Ivey (major decision at 133), Issiah Burks (technical fall at 165), Jose Sanchez (decision at 174) and Stephen Duffy (pin at 184). The three Concordia wrestlers who accepted forfeit wins were Grant Wells (133), Creighton Baughman (141) and Tommy Wentz (157). The lineup also included Jeaven Scdoris (149), Clayton Laabs (197) and Jack Hedke (285). Bethany also visited Seward in February 2020 and left with a 50-0 loss.
· The large-scale tournament at Doane featured both “open” and “amateur” divisions. In highlighting the efforts of the Bulldogs, Creighton Baughman (third at 141) and Issiah Burks (sixth at 165) earned place finishes in the open division. Meanwhile, three Concordia wrestlers took home place finishes in the amateur brackets: Tommy Wentz (fourth at 157), Torrance Keehn (fifth at 174) and Garret Moser (fifth at 184). Baughman’s five wins were tied with Tommy Wentz for the most on the team at the tournament. Baughman had wrestled competitively with the University of Nebraska’s Blake Cushing before being caught and pinned late in the third period. Baughman (ranked No. 20 in the NAIA at 141) responded with four-straight contested wins, including one via fall over Hastings’ Dalton Michael. Along the way, Baughman also nipped NCAA Division II Daniel DeRosier, 2-1, of the University of Nebraska-Kearney. At 165, Burks picked up two wins to move to the semifinals before he was defeated, 6-2, by the NAIA’s top-ranked wrestler in that weight class, Marty Margolis of Grand View.
· A transfer from York College, Wentz also went on a nice run after beginning the tournament with a loss. Included in Wentz’s five wins was a pin of NCAA Division II Wayne State College’s Chase Eggleston and a tight win over teammate Kobe Lyons in the 157-pound amateur bracket. In solid showings of their own, Torrance Keehn (174) and Garret Moser (184) collected four wins apiece. Keehn notched two wins by fall and then won a 9-6 decision over Blake Daher of Benedictine College (Kan.) in the fifth-place match. The run for Moser featured a pair of victories over opponents from JUCO Indian Hills Community College. Six others turned in multiple wins at the Doane Open: Bryce Karlin (3-2 at 125), Kobe Lyons (3-2 at 157), Grant Wells (2-2 at 125), Charles Hutson (2-2 at 157), Jose Sanchez (2-2 at 174) and Cy Renney (2-2 at 285). Karlin and Renney picked up two pins apiece.
· The season to date has included five duals and four tournaments. The dual wins have come against Midland, Hastings, Dakota Wesleyan and Bethany. The one loss came at the hands of No. 12 Morningside. To this point, 23 Bulldogs have wrestled in at least one match. The following Concordia competitors own at least five wins on the season: Tommy Wentz (10-5), Creighton Baughman (9-4), Garret Moser (8-4), Grant Wells (8-5), Issiah Burks (6-5), Torrance Keehn (6-6), Bryce Karlin (5-4) and Thomas Ivey (5-7). The team pins leaders are Karlin and Wentz with four apiece.
· Concordia is getting set to host the Concordia Bulldog Duals for the third year in a row. The 2022 event will get started at 10 a.m. CT on Saturday and will feature five rounds of duals. The complete duals schedule can be found HERE. The Bulldogs will go up against Central Methodist University (Mo.), Texas Wesleyan University, Benedictine College (Kan.) and Oklahoma Wesleyan University. The Bulldog Duals will be the final outing of the calendar year for Clasen’s squad.