Bulldog Weekly Report (Dec. 5)

By Jacob Knabel on Dec. 5, 2017 in Athletic Announcements

Bulldog Athletic Association Athletes of the Week

Male: Brevin Sloup, Basketball

Sloup, a Seward native, played a starring role in last week’s 85-80 win at Dordt. The sophomore guard topped the Bulldogs with 17 points on 5-for-9 shooting in the team’s lone outing last week. The point total was a career best for conference games. The Bulldogs moved to 8-2 overall.

Female: Sydney Feller, Basketball

Feller, who hails from Papillion, Neb., was nearly perfect from 3-point range (7-for-9) while totaling 27 points over last week’s victories over College of Saint Mary and Dordt. Feller is averaging a career best 10.2 points per game this season for undefeated and second-ranked Concordia.

Previous athletes of the week
Nov. 28 – Jake Hornick (basketball) / Quinn Wragge (basketball)
Nov. 14 – Cameron Devers (wrestling) / Jeannelle Condame (soccer)
Nov. 7 – Tarence Roby (football) / Emily Deschaine (cross country)
October Athletes of the Month: Ryan Durdon (football) / Lindsey Carley (soccer)
Oct. 31 – Ryan Durdon (football) / Kaitlyn Radebaugh (soccer)
Oct. 24 – Marcelo Hernandez (soccer) / Lindsey Carley (soccer)
Oct. 17 – Carlos Ferrer (soccer) and Grady Koch (football) / Sami Birmingham (soccer)
Oct. 10 – Micah Lehenbauer (soccer) / Kaitlyn Radebaugh (soccer)
Oct. 3 – Micah Lehenbauer (soccer) / Maria Deeter (soccer)
September Athletes of the Month: Tarence Roby (football) / Lindsey Carley (soccer)
Sept. 26 – Kordell Glause (football) / Emily Deschaine (cross country)
Sept. 19 – Lewis Rathbone (soccer) / Victoria Cera (soccer)
Sept. 12 – Tarence Roby (football) / Murphy Sears (golf)
Sept. 5 – Jack Bennett (soccer) / Lindsey Carley (soccer)

News and notes:

Wrapping up the 2017 football season: The first season of Patrick Daberkow’s tenure as head football coach resulted in a 6-4 overall record and a third-place GPAC finish, the program’s highest since 2002. A homecoming victory over then seventh-ranked Doane and a late four-game winning streak highlighted the 2017 campaign. For a closer look at the football season, check out our season wrap up HERE.

20 Bulldogs honored as NAIA Scholar-Athletes: A combined 20 student-athletes represented Concordia’s men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball teams with Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete recognition, as announced by the NAIA last week. The women’s soccer and volleyball programs both ranked third nationally within their sports for largest number of Scholar-Athletes. Concordia is the all-time national leader in Scholar-Athletes.

Evan Asche competes at Blue-White meet: Junior Evan Asche competed at last week’s Warrior Half Marathon and clocked in at 1:14:50 on the 13.1-mile course. That time represented a ‘B’ standard national qualifying mark and a personal best by two minutes. Asche was attempting to qualify for the 2018 NAIA outdoor track and field national championships.

2018 baseball schedule unveiled: The 2018 Bulldog baseball schedule is now public. The varsity team is scheduled to play a total of 50 regular-season games. Once again, the slate includes 14 GPAC doubleheaders. The defending GPAC regular-season champions are set to open up the new year at Evangel University on Feb. 23. To review the entire schedule for head coach Ryan Dupic’s squad, click HERE.

Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is underway in its third 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 2017-18 season, Bulldog football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball contests will be aired live on Max Country. Tyler Cavalli serves as the host of the coaches’ show as well as the play-by-play voice for football and basketball. Frank Greene is again calling volleyball action.

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.

Wrestling

  • The conference dual season is underway for the 20th-ranked Bulldogs, who took care of Dakota Wesleyan in impressive fashion on Nov. 30. Concordia blanked the visiting Tigers, 55-0, while racking up five pins. Two days later, a group of 12 Bulldogs competed at the Buena Vista University Open in Storm Lake, Iowa, and combined for eight place finishes. Concordia grapplers have taken part in four tournaments this season. For more information on Bulldog wrestling, click HERE.
  • In his first season as head coach, Andrew Nicola kept the engine humming as Concordia earned GPAC dual and postseason championships for the third year in a row. Last week’s victory over Dakota Wesleyan ran the program’s GPAC dual win streak to 22. During that stretch, the Bulldogs have outscored their conference rivals by a collective total of 757-186 and have won 169 of 220 individual bouts. The program’s most recent conference dual loss occurred at Hastings on Feb. 13, 2014.
  • Sophomore Cam Devers began a wave of pins in the season’s opening dual that began at 141 pounds. After a takedown and four near fall points, the native of Holly Springs, N.C., wiped out Brandon Scharmer in 1:44. It was a continuation of an impressive start to the season for Devers, who is now 9-1 overall and ranked sixth in the GPAC in his weight class. Devers was the lone freshman to earn a spot on Concordia’s GPAC tournament roster last season. He has already topped the eight wins he had during his entire rookie year.
  • Devers’ teammates followed suit. After eight bouts, Concordia led by the largest possible margin (48-0) thanks to five falls and three forfeits. During that stretch, the Tigers (0-2, 0-2 GPAC) failed to register even a measly escape. As a team, the Bulldogs outnumbered Dakota Wesleyan 15-2 in takedowns and 14-0 in near fall points on the evening. Four pins in a row at 165, 174, 184 and 197 demoralized the Tigers. After 16th-ranked 165-pounder Jon Lado took care of Alex Osborne in 5:19, Walker Fisher (174), No. 9 Josh Nelsen (184) and No. 12 Alexander Reimers (197) each broke their opponents in the first period. Reimers needed only 1:19 to put away Nick Woslum.
  • Ranked 12th nationally at 133 pounds, Giovanni Castillo got a run for his money from the only Dakota Wesleyan wrestler that appears in the GPAC rankings – Stas Sutera. Castillo had to overcome a first period deficit to claim a narrow 5-4 decision. A native of Ontario, Calif., Castillo got his season off to a rousing start by winning the 133-pound bracket at the Dan Harris Open hosted by Baker University on Nov. 5. Castillo has run his overall season record to 5-2.
  • Eight of the 12 Bulldogs to compete at the Buena Vista Open produced place finishes in their respective brackets. Concordia turned in a combined record of 21-21. After a loss to a NCAA Division II opponent, Chris Kimball responded by winning his final three bouts of the day at 149 pounds. He wrapped up a first place consolation bracket finish with a victory over Brandon Crews of Morningside. Both Lambert (149) and Jorgensen (174) were runner ups in consolation action. Meanwhile, additional place finishes were recorded by Kyle Carey (fourth at 141), Kirk Kaliszewski (sixth at 165), Castillo (third at 174), Harrell (third at 133-B) and Chase Ryan (sixth at 165-B).
  • Three Bulldogs tied for a team high with three wins at the tournament: Blake Castillo (3-1), Kaliszewski (3-2) and Kimball (3-1). Ten Concordia grapplers registered at least one win. A GPAC champion last season, Kaliszewski bounced back after early knockouts in the season’s first three tournaments. He is expected to be part of this week’s dual lineup. Kaliszewski has posted a record of 5-8 on the year.
  • Blake Castillo (10-7) and Lambert (12-8) became the first Bulldogs to crack double digit win totals this season. Lambert has wrestled at all four of the team’s tournaments and was credited with a forfeit victory in last week’s dual. Several others are closing in on the 10-win mark: Devers (9-1), Deandre Chery (9-7), Nelsen (8-5) and Darin Miller (8-7).
  • Concordia will return to action on Friday when it welcomes Northwest Kansas Technical College to Walz Arena for a 7 p.m. CT dual. It’s a rematch of last season’s meeting that resulted in a 38-8 Bulldog victory. Then on Saturday, Concordia will compete at the Doane Open in Crete. The Oklahoma City Duals on Dec. 17 will wrap up the first semester schedule.

Men’s Basketball

  • It was a light week for the Bulldogs, who had been off since their Thanksgiving break trip before hitting the road for a Dec. 2 trip to Dordt. Concordia found itself trailing by 15 points before rallying for an 85-80 win in Sioux Center, Iowa. It was the third true road victory of the campaign for fifth-year head coach Ben Limback’s squad, which has moved to 8-2 overall and to 3-1 in conference play. For more information on Bulldog men’s basketball, click HERE.
  • Not only is the 8-2 start the best 10-game opener to a season under Limback, it’s also the best record for the program after 10 contests since the 2010-11 team produced an identical 8-2 record out of the gate. Picked eighth in the GPAC preseason poll, Concordia’s overall winning percentage (.800) currently ranks fourth best among conference teams. Last season’s team sat at 6-4 after 10 games. The program is now 17-4 over in its last 21 outings.
  • Seward High School product Brevin Sloup entered last week’s action averaging 11.6 minutes per game. With a favorable matchup at Dordt, Sloup took advantage. He totaled a season high 17 points while seeing 25 minutes of action. He was instrumental down the stretch, draining a game-tying three and then a pair of driving layups in the final few minutes. Sloup’s career high of 21 points came last season in a victory over Oglala Lakota College.
  • Sophomore Clay Reimers continues to lead the conference in rebounding. He put up 15 points and eight rebounds in last week’s victory. On the year, the Lincoln native is averaging 17.2 points and 9.2 rebounds while shooting 63.1 percent from the field. Reimers has taken on a starring role after coming off the bench as a freshman. He averaged 7.1 points and 4.0 rebounds during his rookie season. Reimers has collected at least eight rebounds in all but one game this season.
  • Concordia won at Dordt despite its lowest number of 3-point field goal makes this season. The Bulldogs went 4-for-19 (.211) from beyond the arc, ending a run of nine games in a row with at least nine 3-point field goals. Even with that performance, Concordia sports national rankings of 20th in 3-point field goals per game (10.2) and 38th in 3-point field goal percentage (.378). In four home games this season, the Bulldogs have combined for 51 3-point goals.
  • Sophomore Jake Hornick and Northwestern’s Nathan Wedel are the only players to rank inside the top 10 of the GPAC in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. A native of Loveland, Colo., Hornick owns GPAC rankings of second in assists (5.0), eighth in rebounding (6.0), 10th in steals (1.1) and 10th in scoring (16.9). Hornick is also one of the league’s most efficient scorers, sporting shooting percentages of 53.4 from the field, 43.8 from 3-point range and 86.5 from the free throw line.
  • The Bulldogs are 3-1 to begin conference play for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign. Concordia is still seeking its first GPAC regular-season championship in a league that formed in 2000. Under former head coach Grant Schmidt, the Bulldogs won GPAC tournament titles in 2003 and 2005. The 2004-05 squad is in the discussion for the best team in school history. That group advanced all the way to the national championship game. The ’04-05 squad is also the most recent Concordia men’s basketball team to earn a national tournament berth.
  • A sophomore has led the Bulldogs in scoring in every game this season. Reimers has been the high man four times, Hornick has topped the team on three occasions, Tanner Shuck has accomplished that feat twice and Sloup paced Concordia in last week’s road win. The team’s top three scorers in terms of season average are second-year players in Reimers (17.2), Hornick (16.9) and Shuck (14.3). All three rank inside the 20 among league players in scoring.
  • This week includes just one countable contest. The Bulldogs will host Hastings (8-3, 1-2 GPAC) at 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday. Concordia will attempt to extend its active 10-game home win streak that includes the last six home outings of last season. The Bulldogs will also take on the daunting task of playing at NCAA Division I South Dakota State University on Friday. It will be an exhibition for Concordia. Tipoff from Brookings, S.D., is set for 6 p.m.

Women’s Basketball

  • The second-ranked Bulldogs went over 100 points in both of last week’s blowout victories against conference opponents. Concordia cruised to a 114-56 home win over College of Saint Mary on Nov. 29 and then followed it up with a 101-55 trampling of Dordt in Sioux Center, Iowa, on Dec. 2. Only two Bulldog games this season have concluded with victory margins less than 22 points. Twelfth-year head coach Drew Olson’s unbeaten squad now stands at 9-0 overall and at 5-0 in the conference. For more information on Concordia women’s basketball, click HERE.
  • The field of undefeated teams is eight members strong in NAIA Division II women’s basketball. That number is guaranteed to drop before New Year’s Day arrives. The Bulldogs have big time road matchups looming at No. 4 College of the Ozarks (10-0) on Dec. 19 and at No. 1 Saint Xavier University (8-0) on Dec. 29. Should Concordia get through a treacherous month unscathed, it would surely rise to No. 1 in the national poll for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
  • In the first quarter of last week’s win over College of Saint Mary, junior Quinn Wragge became the 25th member of the program’s 1,000-point club. The team leader so far this season in scoring average (13.8), Wragge has tallied 1,009 points over 77 career collegiate games. Wragge could soon be joined on the 1,000-point list by teammates such as Mary Janovich (918), Dani Hoppes (860), Brenleigh Daum (719) and Philly Lammers (603). Olson has coached eight of the 1,000-point scorers.
  • Due to the lopsided nature of last week’s contests, Lammers played only a combined 33 minutes. She still managed to rack up 27 points, 18 rebounds, four blocks, four steals and four assists while going 11-for-15 (.733) from the floor. The Omaha native is one of the nation’s top players on a per minute basis. She has played an average of 22.8 minutes per game and is averaging 12.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per outing. As a freshman last season, Lammers earned second team All-America accolades.
  • Senior Sydney Feller has caught fire from 3-point range. She has moved up to 22nd nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.479) thanks to her recent outburst. During last week’s action, the Papillion, Neb., native went 7-for-9 from beyond the arc while totaling a combined 27 points. Her 10.2 scoring average is by far a career best. Feller has nailed at least one trey in all nine games this season. She’s knocked down multiple 3-point shots in seven of those outings.
  • Freshman Taylor Cockerill has yet to start a game in her collegiate career, but she essentially plays starter minutes in Olson’s frenetic system that calls for frequent substitutions. The native of Waverly, Neb., continued her solid play last week, recording 10 points and five assists versus College of Saint Mary and then a team high 14 points and three assists at Dordt. She has reached double figures in scoring in six of nine games and is averaging 11.8 points (third best on the team).
  • The seniors that began their college careers at Concordia in 2014 have now won 100 games as Bulldogs. The senior class includes Daum, Feller, Hoppes and Janovich. Daum and Janovich both saw action for the 2014-15 squad that went 35-3 and advanced to the national championship game. Since the start of the 2014-15 season, Concordia has a combined record of 100-16, has reached the national tournament three times and has won three GPAC championships (two tournament, one regular season). The current seniors have been part of a significant chuck of Olson’s 291 career victories.
  • While Wragge moved onto the 1,000-point list, Janovich is moving up the program’s all-time steals chart. Janovich pocketed three steals last week, giving her 189 for her career and moving her above Becky Mooney (188) for 17th on the school’s all-time list. Janovich should also soon pass Traci Leggett (192) while continuing her climb. A native of Gretna, Neb., Janovich collected GPAC Defensive Player of the Year honors last season.
  • This week’s lone contest will take place Wednesday when No. 19 Hastings (8-1, 3-1 GPAC) visits Walz Arena for a 6 p.m. CT tipoff. The Broncos’ lone loss was a 70-63 home defeat at the hands of Northwestern, which is currently ranked 15th nationally. Concordia already owns three wins over ranked opponents and possesses an active 26-game home winning streak.