Bulldog Athletic Association Athletes of the Week: Due to the absence of the weekly BAAM meetings, Athletes of the Week will not be announced. When it is determined that BAAM meetings can resume, members will be notified.
News and notes:
Fall All-GPAC teams announced: Last week the GPAC began to announce all-conference teams for fall sports. In the sports of men’s soccer, women’s soccer and volleyball, a combined 18 Bulldogs were honored with some form of All-GPAC recognition. The conference will unveil the football all-conference teams this week. Concordia representatives to earn first team All-GPAC mention include Tara Callahan (volleyball), Mikeila Martinez (women’s soccer) and Grace Soenksen (women’s soccer). For complete All-GPAC information, check out the links below.
-Men’s Soccer
-Women’s Soccer
-Volleyball
Women’s Soccer adds to spring 2021 schedule: The Concordia Women’s Soccer program has announced schedule additions for the spring of 2021. Head Coach Thomas Goines’ squad will play three nonconference varsity games and two reserve games during the month of March 2021. Those contests will precede the start of the GPAC tournament in April. For more details, click HERE.
A look at the Women’s Basketball poll streak: For the first time in nearly 10 years, the Concordia Women’s Basketball program is unranked in the official NAIA coaches’ poll. Prior to last week, Head Coach Drew Olson’s Bulldogs had been included in 97-straight national polls, dating back to October 2011. During the run, Concordia appeared at No. 1 a total of 16 times while the program claimed 11 GPAC championships. For more on the poll streak, click HERE.
Update to fan attendance policy: As of Nov. 11, the fan attendance policy regarding indoor sporting events has changed at CUNE. In accordance with Directed Health Measures released by the state of Nebraska, Concordia is limiting fan attendance in indoor facilities to 25 percent capacity. Please note that spectators will not be permitted to attend indoor track and field meets (per GPAC policy). For additional details on how to purchase tickets to Bulldog Athletic events, see the paragraph below regarding HomeTown ticketing.
HomeTown Ticketing and Fan protocols for home events: Fans who plan to attend Concordia Athletics home events are advised to read through our protocols HERE. All fans are expected to self-screen and are required to wear masks while viewing contests in either Bulldog Stadium or Walz Arena. Non-family members are welcome to be present on our campus during these contests. Fans are also encouraged to order advance tickets through HomeTown Ticketing. By purchasing tickets online, fans are guaranteed entrance on game days. Concordia is allowing 75 percent capacity in outdoor venues and 25 percent capacity in indoor venues.
Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is underway in its fifth 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 2020-21 season, Bulldog football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball contests will be aired live on Max Country. Evan Jones 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 sixth 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. For more details on this change, click HERE. Check team schedules/results pages for webcast dates. Scrimmages, exhibitions and junior varsity events are not broadcasted.
Wrestling
· After a stretch of eight days without a competition, the Bulldogs returned to action on Dec. 19 when they hosted the Concordia Bulldog Duals, the largest collegiate wrestling event on campus since the 2016 GPAC Championships. Concordia went 1-3 on the day while earning a 27-24 win over Oklahoma Wesleyan University. The losses came at the hands of Arizona Christian University, 27-14, No. 15 Montana State University-Northern (MSUN), 41-3, and Texas Wesleyan University, 39-6. Those results put third-year Head Coach Levi Calhoun’s squad at 3-5 overall (2-1 GPAC) in duals. For more information on Bulldog Wrestling, click HERE.
· The Concordia Bulldog Duals took the place of a trip the program has regularly made the weekend prior to Christmas. For example, Calhoun took his teams to Chandler, Ariz., in 2018 and to Las Vegas in 2019. Many such events have been canceled this season due to COVID-19. The Bulldog Duals served as a fine substitution. The event attracted teams from Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. The Bulldog Duals included a total of eight NAIA teams and 16 duals.
· Concordia claimed 11 individual wins this past Saturday. A good chunk of those came from junior Mario Ybarra alone. The star 133-pounder went 4-0 at the Bulldog Duals with his run including a win by forfeit (Oklahoma Wesleyan), a major decision over Bryce Bernard (Arizona Christian), a decision over Carl Cronin (MSUN) and a pin of Jacob Garcia (Texas Wesleyan). Ranked fourth in the NAIA at 133, Ybarra (12-1) has won 12-straight matches since a loss in his first match of the season. The native of Scottsbluff, Neb., has run his career record to 59-23.
· Freshman heavyweight Jacob Telles had the opportunity to wrestle in front of his parents at the Bulldog Duals. Now a nationally-ranked competitor, Telles put together a solid performance that saw him win two of three matches. Telles pinned Oklahoma Wesleyan’s Aaron Lopez and took a 5-2 decision from Arizona Christian’s Elliott Simpson. A native of Albuquerque, N.M., Telles (18-5) paces the team with 18 victories on the season. He’s now the second-rated heavyweight in the GPAC.
· In the win over Oklahoma Wesleyan, freshmen Jeaven Scdoris (pin at 149), Mason Garcia (decision at 197) and Telles (pin at 285) each claimed contested victories. The Eagles also forfeited the 125 and 133 matches. OKWU rallied to take a 24-21 lead heading into the heavyweight bout. The lineup against the Eagles featured six freshmen. The Bulldogs were without veteran stalwarts in junior Issiah Burks (reigning GPAC Wrestler of the Week) and senior Gabe Crawford (returning GPAC champion).
· A new set of conference and NAIA national ratings were released last week. At the conference level, eight Concordia grapplers appear among the top six of their respective weight classes. Ybarra remains No. 1 in the GPAC at 133 while Telles made a significant jump up to No. 2 at heavyweight. Meanwhile, Burks bumped up to No. 2 at 157. As a team, the Bulldogs are listed fourth in the GPAC behind Doane, Briar Cliff and Morningside. A trio of Concordia wrestlers boast national rankings: Ybarra (fourth at 133), Crawford (20th at 165) and Telles (16th at 285). The Bulldogs are listed eighth in the “receiving votes” category of the team national rankings.
· As mentioned, Telles tops the team with 18 victories. Seven other Concordia competitors have claimed at least five wins this season: Ybarra (12-1), Burks (12-5), Mason Garcia (12-6), Scdoris (10-9), TJ Huber (8-12), Jose Sanchez (6-10) and Carter Willis (6-13). The team pins leaders are Burks (seven), Garcia (six) and Telles (six).
· The Bulldogs will wait until the calendar flips to 2021 before resuming action. Concordia is slated to be at the Hastings College Cusatis Open on Saturday, Jan. 9. To date, the Bulldogs have participated in eight duals and three tournaments. The next scheduled dual is set for Jan. 16 when Concordia will be at Northwestern.
Men’s Basketball
· A December filled with mostly away games continued last week with trips to Fremont, Neb., and Jamestown, N.D. A sterling offensive performance spurred the Bulldogs to a 95-81 win at Midland on Dec. 15. Three days later, Concordia fell just short in an 89-87 overtime defeat at Jamestown. With a break for Christmas, the Bulldogs have managed to complete half their GPAC regular-season slate. Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad stands at 10-4 overall and at 7-3 in the GPAC (fourth place). For more information on Concordia Men’s Basketball, click HERE.
· By a number of measures, the outing at Midland represented the Bulldogs’ best effort offensively so far this season. Concordia turned in season highs of 60.7 percent (34-for-56) from the field and 50 percent (16-for-32) from 3-point range. Impressively, nine different Bulldogs knocked down at least one shot from beyond the arc. The three-ball has increasingly become a more critical ingredient of the program’s success. The 2019-20 GPAC tournament championship squad broke the program single-season record by making 382 3-point field goals. That team’s season high for treys in a game was 19 versus Dakota State University (S.D.).
· Junior Carter Kent came through with a fine offensive week that saw him score 21 at Midland and 17 at Jamestown while going a combined 12-for-23 (.522) from the field and 10-for-12 (.833) from the foul line. The Crete High School product is beginning to creep closer to 1,000 career points. He’s now scored 943 points over 79 games wearing the navy and white. Kent is averaging a career best 13.7 points per game. His current season shooting percentages of 37.1 from the field and 29.2 from 3-point range figure to improve based on his career output.
· Few guards are scoring as efficiently as junior Justin Wiersema, who has extended his streak of consecutive games with at least 11 points to 16. The native of Loveland, Colo., posted 33 points last week on a combined shooting effort of 14-for-25 (.560) from the field. On the season, Wiersema is shooting 60.5 percent from the field and 44.0 percent from beyond the arc. Wiersema owns the top field goal percentage among GPAC guards (fifth overall in the conference). He also ranks fifth in the GPAC in scoring average (17.3).
· The Bulldogs feel like they let one get away at Jamestown. They mounted a first half lead as large as 17 points and led by four in the final minute of regulation after Wiersema poured in back-to-back buckets. The Jimmies (10-3, 6-2 GPAC) made four crucial free throws to force overtime for the second-straight meeting between the two sides. Like many opponents, Concordia struggled to contain dominant post player Mason Walters, who went for 38 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. After shooting 36.7 percent in the first half, Jamestown heated up to 59.3 percent in the second half while erasing its deficit. In both games last week, the Bulldogs held first half leads of 17 points or more.
· Foul trouble for Gage Smith did not help the cause at Jamestown. The 6-foot-6 junior forward from Elizabeth, Colo., still made the most of his minutes last week. In 38 combined minutes, Smith totaled 32 points and 13 rebounds while making 12-of-21 (.571) shots from the floor. Smith is the GPAC’s third leading rebounder with an average of 9.9 per game. Smith bounced back quickly after leaving the Dec. 9 game early due to an awkward landing on his ankle. He has not missed a single game this season.
· Halfway through the GPAC regular season, Concordia’s 7-3 conference mark represents the program’s best 10-game GPAC start during Limback’s tenure and best for the program since the 2009-10 team raced out to an 11-2 league mark (8-2 after 10). The Bulldogs opened this season believing they had a shot to capture the program’s first conference regular season title of the GPAC era. There isn’t a whole lot of margin for error remaining after the loss at Jamestown. Concordia is in the mix near the top, currently settling behind Dakota Wesleyan (7-0), Morningside (6-2) and Jamestown (6-2).
· With a reduced regular season (25 games compared to the usual 30), the Bulldogs may not have enough chances to break the aforementioned school record for 3-point field goals in a season. However, Concordia currently leads all NAIA teams with 156 treys this season. What makes the Bulldogs a difficult matchup is that they frequently put five players on the court who can all make 3-pointers. Six different individuals have netted at least 16 triples this season. Wiersema leads the way with 33 3-point field goals.
· This will be a full week off from game action. Concordia is slated to play its final remaining nonconference game on Wednesday, Dec. 30 with a trip to Peru State College (6-5) at 7:30 p.m. CT. The two programs also met in late December last year with the result being a 109-60 blowout win for the Bulldogs. A difficult stretch awaits after New Year’s with road games at Northwestern (Jan. 2) and No. 18 Dakota Wesleyan (Jan. 6).
Women’s Basketball
· A string of six-straight road games concluded last week as Concordia ventured to Fremont, Neb., and to Jamestown, N.D. The Bulldogs got things done on the defensive end while emerging with a 67-59 win at Midland on Dec. 15 and a 55-50 victory at Jamestown on Dec. 18. Fifteenth-year Head Coach Drew Olson’s squad followed up back-to-back losses with back-to-back wins. Concordia (8-5 overall) is tied for second in the GPAC standings with a 7-3 league mark. For more information on Bulldog Women’s Basketball, click HERE.
· In an up-and-down first half of the season, Concordia has won a game scoring more than 100 points and has now won one scoring just 55 points. Some may recall that last season’s No. 1 ranked NAIA Division II squad claimed victory with just 53 points in a 53-46 grinder over Hastings back in February. Overall this season, the Bulldogs are averaging 76.5 points while shooting 37.4 percent from the floor. They have shown flashes of offensive brilliance, as evidenced by wins by scores of 111-52 over Doane and 99-47 over College of Saint Mary.
· Certain matchups have called for different strategies. In grind-it-out defensive battles, Concordia has played less full-court, zone defense and has gone to more half-court, man-to-man looks. At least last week, the Bulldogs were able to hang their hat on defense in the half court. Concordia’s turnovers forced (41 combined versus Midland/Jamestown) were relatively low for its standards, but it held Midland to 35.7 percent and Jamestown to 29.3 percent shooting. The Warriors went just 3-for-10 from the field in the fourth quarter and were outscored in the period, 19-7, by the Bulldogs.
· Even Olson would admit that the third quarter at Jamestown was a difficult one to watch. Both teams managed a grand total of four points. With less than two minutes remaining in the game, the Bulldogs owned a lead (44-43) despite having scored only 13 points in the second half. Over the final 20 minutes of the game, Concordia actually had more made free throws (9-for-10) than field goals (7-for-31). The foul shooting of freshman Taysha Rushton has come in handy. She went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe over the final 30 seconds at Jamestown.
· Midland and Jamestown combined to go 8-for-45 (.178) from 3-point range last week against the Bulldogs. Oddly, the Warriors (9-4, 6-4 GPAC) were 6-for-9 from beyond the arc in the third quarter of that meeting. The Jimmies (6-4, 4-4 GPAC) missed their first 17 tries from 3-point range and finished 1-for-22 from long distance. The results last week helped Concordia move up to No. 5 in the GPAC in terms of field goal percentage defense (.385). A factor that continues to work in the Bulldogs favor is field goal attempts. Concordia takes an average of 12.2 more field goal attempts per game than its foes.
· From an efficiency standpoint, junior Rylee Pauli had the most success offensively last week. She provided a big shot-in-the-arm at Midland with 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the floor. She totaled 20 points (9-for-15) on the week. Rushton posted 26 points and Cockerill 24 points over the two victories. There seems to be some natural room for improvement offensively considering the conference game only shooting percentages of Rushton (.342) and Cockerill (.333), the team’s most dependable scorers.
· A run of 97-straight NAIA coaches’ poll appearances for the program has been snapped. More details on that streak can be read HERE. With the move to one division for NAIA basketball, there is more competition for placement in the top 25. It also seems clear that the GPAC does not have the number of elite teams that it has normally had each season. Currently, 14th-ranked Morningside is the lone GPAC representative in the rankings. Briar Cliff and Midland are receiving votes. Concordia was placed fourth in the official GPAC rating behind those three aforementioned squads.
· In a typical season, Olson has normally kept a mostly consistent starting five. Perhaps he has settled on a new one. Cockerill and Rushton have started all 13 games. In the matchup at Jamestown, they were joined by Mackenzie Koepke, Averie Lambrecht and Pauli in the lineup. Lambrecht has started 10-straight games due to her ability on the defensive end. In terms of minutes played, the top five have been Cockerill (29.5), Rushton (27.0), Pauli (22.5), Koepke (21.1) and Taylor Farrell (17.2).
· This will be a week off for the Bulldogs, who will enjoy some time away from the court before preparing for a home clash with Mount Marty (3-7, 1-6 GPAC) on Wednesday, Dec. 30. The two sides were originally slated to play on Dec. 9 (postponed due to COVID concerns for the Lancers). Concordia will be back on the road immediately after New Year’s to play at Northwestern (Jan. 2) and Dakota Wesleyan (Jan. 6).
Track & Field
· The track and field program has been in the midst of a scheduled break in the action since it hosted the Concordia Early Bird Meet on Dec. 4-5. The indoor season is set to resume along with the start of the second semester. Head Coach Matt Beisel’s Bulldogs came away from the Early Bird meet with 23 marks that met the criteria for inclusion on the NAIA national list. For more information on Concordia Track & Field, click HERE.
· Of those 23 marks put on the board, nine were automatic national qualifiers, another nine were ‘B’ standard national marks and five met the minimum national standard in the heptathlon/pentathlon. Those marks are listed below.
o Men’s 4x400 meter relay, B (3:19.01)
o Women’s 4x400 meter relay, B (3:58.93)
o Anna Baack – pole vault, A (11’ 6 ½”)
o Rachel Battershell – 400 meters, A (56.71)
o Chase Berry – pole vault, B (15’ 3”)
o Jamey Broman – long jump, A (18’ 5”)
o Morgan De Jong – weight throw, A (55’ 2”)
o Sarah Lewis – 60 hurdles, A (8.93); 400 meters, B (58.31)
o Emily Loy – pentathlon (3,146)
o Colton Meyer – 60 hurdles, A (8.17); 400 meters, B (48.91)
o Kennedy Mogul – pentathlon (3,112)
o Cora Olson – long jump, B (18’ 1”)
o Josie Puelz – pole vault, A (12’ 6 ¼”)
o Sarah Ragland – weight throw, B (51’ 11”)
o Jeremiah Reeser – heptathlon (4,449)
o Amy Richert – pentathlon (3,137)
o Xavier Ross – 400 meters, A (48.09)
o Katie Severt – long jump, A (18’ 7 ¼”)
o Cody Williams – pole vault, B (15’ 3”); heptathlon (5,006)
o Chris Wren – weight throw, B (53’ 5”)
· A return to action will come on Jan. 16 when the Scott Nisely Invite (hosted by Doane) and Dakota Wesleyan Invite are set to unfold. The Bulldogs will gear up to host another meet on Jan. 22 (Concordia Polar Dog Invite). Fans of Concordia Track and Field and NAIA track and field can follow nationally reported marks all season long via the TFRRS website: https://www.tfrrs.org/lists/3156.html.