Bulldog Athletic Association Athletes of the Week: Due to the absence of the weekly BAAM meetings, Athletes of the Week will not be announced. BAAM meetings have now been canceled for the remainder of the 2020-21 academic year.
News and notes:
Dance continues competition season with win over College of Saint Mary: The Concordia Dance team resumed the competition season on Jan. 28 and earned a victory over College of Saint Mary in a dual that took place in conjunction with women’s basketball that night. The final scoring showed the Bulldogs winning, 68.35 to 56.6. The results so far have been evidence of cheer and dance programs on the rise under Head Coach Mandi Maser. At the Friends University Day of Duals on Jan. 23, the dance team came away with a runner up trophy with a combined score of 153.34 over its two performances. Meanwhile, the cheer squad placed third with a total score of 153.20. The Bulldogs competed against rival Hastings and a field made up mostly of Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference teams. In one of the highlight events of the season, the program will host the Concordia Cheer & Dance Invitational this Saturday. The dance competition is slated to begin at 10 a.m. CT with cheer to follow at 11:45 a.m. For more information on the cheer and dance programs, click the following links: Cheer | Dance.
Previewing the 2021 Concordia Baseball season: The Concordia Baseball program looks ahead to a 2021 season filled with promise. Talent and depth abound for the Bulldogs, who return a bevy of veteran performers, including a number of student-athletes who are back for their fifth year in the program. Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad opens the 2021 season as the GPAC favorite. Said Dupic, “We like what we have here. We’re doing good things. We have good connections within our guys. We have a strong culture and really believe in what we’re doing.” For a preview of the baseball season, click HERE.
Tennis teams picked third in GPAC preseason polls: Both Concordia University Tennis teams appeared at No. 3 in the GPAC preseason rankings that were released last week by the NAIA. Head Coach David DeSimone’s squads posted 2020 records of 6-3 on the women’s side and 6-4 on the men’s side before the campaign was cut short. The 2020-21 season is slated to resume on Feb. 20 with matches at Sterling College (Kan.).
Update to fan attendance policy (enacted in late December): As of late December 2020, 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 has increased fan attendance in indoor facilities to 50 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 50 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
· The GPAC dual schedule is now in the books for the Bulldogs, who wrestled against four conference opponents in Jamestown, N.D., on Jan. 30. Concordia went 1-3 at the GPAC Duals with the victory coming in the form of a 23-22 decision over Jamestown. As part of the day, the Bulldogs endured losses to Briar Cliff, 34-7, No. 9 Doane, 36-3, and Hastings, 27-24. Those results mean that Head Coach Levi Calhoun’s squad will finish anywhere from fourth to sixth in the final GPAC regular-season standings. Concordia is 3-5 in GPAC duals (5-10 overall). For more information on Bulldog Wrestling, click HERE.
· Calhoun knew it would be a challenge to remain at the top of the GPAC this season after the program said goodbye to six of its eight 2020 national qualifiers. Coming into the 2020-21 campaign, Concordia had gone a combined 41-4 in GPAC duals since the start of the 2014-15 season. That run included conference regular-season titles in 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2018-19 and 2019-20 for a total of five in a six-year span. Calhoun was named the GPAC Coach of the Year last season when the Bulldogs went a perfect 8-0 in the conference (13-2 overall).
· In last week’s win over Jamestown, Concordia managed to overcome the gaps in its lineup at 125 and 149. The Bulldogs claimed six of the eight contested matches and were awarded the team victory based on criteria (more match wins). With Concordia trailing 22-16 in team scoring, senior Oscar Ramirez-Garcia pulled out a critical 5-4 decision over Ivan Vargas at 197. Freshman Jacob Telles followed at heavyweight with a 3-1 win over Ian Howell. That left the team score knotted, 22-22. A tiebreaker point was added for the Bulldogs based on criteria. Other contributors to the team victory included freshman Jeaven Scdoris (major decision at 141), junior Issiah Burks (decision at 157), Tavoris Smith (decision at 165) and TJ Huber (pin at 174). Huber posted one of the team’s two pins on the day.
· When the dust settled this past Saturday, a quartet of Bulldogs had each notched two wins at the GPAC Duals: Burks, Huber, Ramirez-Garcia and Telles. Five Concordia wrestlers were credited with one victory apiece: senior Gabe Crawford, senior Cyrus Marshall, Scdoris, sophomore Tavoris Smith and freshman Carter Willis. Telles did his part in the loss to Hastings with a pin the first period. The rally came up just short against the Broncos, who had built a 24-0 lead to begin the dual.
· Doane (7-0) and Briar Cliff (6-2) have proven to be two of the top teams in the GPAC. The ninth-ranked Tigers (guided by former Concordia and Midland head coach Dana Vote) won all but one match over the Bulldogs. Willis eked out a 5-3 triumph in sudden victory at 133 to avoid a blanking. In the loss to the Chargers, Burks (major decision at 157) and Huber (decision at 174) put wins on the board for Concordia. Doane and Morningside (7-0) will go head-to-head this week in a battle for the outright GPAC title.
· Six Concordia wrestlers have accumulated 10 or more wins this season: Telles (25-10), Burks (21-7), Mason Garcia (15-9), Scdoris (13-15), Huber (13-17) and Mario Ybarra (12-1). Ybarra is ranked sixth in the NAIA at 133 and owns an active 12-match win streak. The native of Scottsbluff, Neb., has not wrestled since the Concordia Bulldog Duals. In addition to Ybarra’s national ranking, Telles is ranked 17th in the NAIA at 285 and Burks (20th at 157) also appeared in the latest rankings.
· In addition to the win over Jamestown, the Bulldogs own dual victories this season over Dakota Wesleyan, Midland, Oklahoma Wesleyan University and Waldorf University (Iowa). At times this season, the dual lineup has been greatly affected by injuries, as it was for the Concordia Bulldog Duals, a series of three duals at Northwestern and the GPAC Duals. If healthy, the Bulldogs can put together a solid tournament team that would include returning GPAC champions in Crawford and Ybarra and highly rated conference competitors in Burks and Telles (both ranked No. 2 in the GPAC).
· The final action of the regular season will take place this week as Concordia hosts York College for a dual at 7 p.m. CT on Thursday. The Bulldogs will also compete at the Dave Edmonds Open hosted by Morningside on Saturday. Concordia hopes to avenge the 30-19 loss it suffered to begin the season at York on Oct. 30. The GPAC Championships are coming up Feb. 19-20.
Track & Field
· Meet No. 4 of the indoor season took place last weekend (Jan. 29-30) as the Bulldogs competed at the Fred Beile Classic hosted by Doane. The meet yielded nine total event championships, a 13-foot pole vault performance by Josie Puelz and school record equaling efforts by Wyatt Loga and Cody Williams, among other strong results. Head Coach Matt Beisel’s squads will spend the entire indoor regular season at either their own home facility or at Doane. For more information on Concordia Track & Field, click HERE.
· The first NAIA national rankings of the 2021 indoor season were released last week by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The Bulldogs appeared at No. 2 on the women’s side and at No. 4 on the men’s side. At the time the rankings were calculated, the Bulldogs had posted 36 total marks that ranked inside the top 10 of the NAIA national performance lists. Based on the early returns, the Concordia women may be a national championship contender. The Bulldogs earned a trophy at the 2020 NAIA Indoor National Championships by placing fourth.
· At the Early Bird meet (Dec. 4-5), Concordia athletes combined for what were classified at the time as nine automatic national marks, nine ‘B’ standard national marks and five marks that met the minimum national standard in the heptathlon/pentathlon. Since that meet, the NAIA announced that the national championships would simply include the top 16 in each event. Bulldogs who are currently in the top 10 nationally (as of Sunday) of their respective events are listed below. There are 38 total marks listed.
o Men’s 4x400 meter relay, 2nd (3:19.01)
o Women’s 4x400 meter relay, 5th (3:58.93)
o Men’s 4x800 meter relay, 9th (8:07.06)
o Women’s 4x800 meter relay, 4th (9:37.74)
o Men’s distance medley relay, 5th (10:23.22)
o Women’s distance medley relay, 1st (12:24.63)
o Anna Baack – pole vault, 4th (11’ 8”)
o Rachel Battershell – 400 meters, 2nd (56.71); 600 meters, 3rd (1:35.93)
o Zach Bennetts – pole vault, 3rd (15’ 8 ¼”)
o Chase Berry – pole vault, 5th (15’ 3”)
o Jamey Broman – long jump, 9th (18’ 5”)
o Olivia Buschow – weight throw, 10th (51’ 8 ¼”)
o Amira Cummings – pole vault, 8th (11’ 7 ¾”)
o Morgan De Jong – weight throw, 3rd (56’ 10’ ¾”)
o Abigail Gerber – shot put, 8th (42’ 3 ¼”)
o Rylee Haecker – 1,000 meters, 6th (3:02.15)
o Sarah Lewis – 60 hurdles, 5th (8.93); 400 meters, 7th (58.31)
o Wyatt Loga – high jump, 4th (6’ 9”)
o Emily Loy – pentathlon, 6th (3,188)
o Elle Luehr – shot put, 5th (42’ 7”)
o Colton Meyer – 400 meters, 8th (48.91); 60 hurdles, 10th (8.17)
o Kennedy Mogul – pentathlon, 10th (3,133)
o Jacee Pfeifer – 600 meters, 5th (1:36.75)
o Josie Puelz – pole vault, 1st (13’ 1 ¾”)
o Sarah Ragland – weight throw, 4th (54’ 4 ½”)
o Jeremiah Reeser – heptathlon, 8th (4,473)
o Amy Richert – high jump, 3rd (5’ 5 ¼”); pentathlon, 9th (3,158)
o Xavier Ross – 400 meters, 4th (48.09)
o Katie Severt – long jump, 8th (18’ 7 ¼”)
o Cody Williams – heptathlon, 1st (5,030); high jump, 4th (6’ 9”); pole vault, 5th (15’ 3”)
o Chris Wren – weight throw, 10th (58’ 2 ½”)
o Zach Zohner – pole vault, 9th (14’ 10 ¼”)
· Named the GPAC Women’s Field Athlete of the Week last week, sophomore Josie Puelz has put herself in elite company. She won the pole vault competition at the Beile Classic by clearing 13’ 1 ¾,” making her just the second female vaulter in school history to eclipse 13 feet. The only other Bulldog to accomplish that feat was Allie Brooks, who vaulted 13’ 4 ¼” at the 2020 national championship meet. Puelz is currently the NAIA national leader in the event, just above Victoria Faber (13’ 1 ½”) of Aquinas College (Mich.). Also in the pole vault, teammate Anna Baack cleared a personal best of 11’ 8.”
· Loga and Williams have put themselves into the top five of the national list in the high jump courtesy of their leaps of 6’ 9” at the Beile Classic. That mark equaled the school record first achieved by Dave Fiala in 1997. A well-rounded athlete, Williams also boasts NAIA national rankings of first in the heptathlon and fifth in the pole vault. The native of Imperial, Neb., finished as the NAIA heptathlon national runner up in 2019.
· Based on the conversion, junior Rachel Battershell improved her time in the 600 meters while clocking in at 1:35.93 at the Beile Classic. The Wheatland, Wyo., native ranks No. 2 in the NAIA in the 400 meters and No. 3 in the 600 meters. The reigning NAIA 400 meter national champion also owns a season best time of 9.12 in the 60 meter hurdles and is fully capable of reaching nationals in the event.
· For the first time this season, the Bulldogs entered into distance medley relays. As it stands right now, Concordia owns the top-rated women’s DMR in the NAIA after clocking in at 12:32.60 (converted to 12:24.63) on the Fuhrer Fieldhouse track. The relay team included freshman Rylee Haecker, junior Sarah Lewis, freshman Grace Reiman and sophomore Kylahn Heritage. Lewis blazed to her best 400 split of the season as part of the DMR. The Bulldog men’s DMR registered a time of 10:31.68 (second place) as freshman Calvin Rohde, senior Jacob Jennings, senior Christian Van Cleave and sophomore Camden Sesna paced the track.
· Solid results came out of the throws at the Beile Classic. In the men’s weight throw, sophomore Chris Wren tossed a personal best of 58’ 2 ½” and placed fourth in a loaded field at the Beile Classic. In the women’s weight throw, Concordia performers went 1-2-4 thanks to the efforts of Morgan De Jong (56’ 10 ¾”), Sarah Ragland (54’ 4 ½”) and Olivia Buschow (51’ 8 ¼”), who each turned in season bests. The top Bulldogs in the shot put were Andy Amos (48’ 3 ¼”; fifth place) and Elle Luehr (41’ 8 ½”; third place).
· The Bulldogs will be at home for their next two meets – the Concordia Classic (Feb. 5) and the Concordia Invite (Feb. 13). Friday’s Concordia Classic is slated to get underway at 1 p.m. CT from the Walz Fieldhouse. The two home meets will lead into the GPAC indoor championship meet on Feb. 19-20.
Women’s Basketball
· In their only outing of the week, the Bulldogs dismantled College of Saint Mary, 111-52, on Jan. 28. Concordia blew away the Flames for the second time this season while forcing 36 turnovers and making 15 3-point field goals. The Bulldogs are a perfect 12-0 versus CSM as GPAC opponents (CSM joined the league prior to the 2015-16 campaign). Head Coach Drew Olson’s squad stands at 14-7 overall and at 13-5 in the GPAC (tied for second place) with four games remaining in the regular season. For more information on Concordia Women’s Basketball, click HERE.
· The Bulldogs have returned to the NAIA top 25. Concordia landed at No. 25 in the poll released on Jan. 27. Olson’s squad had received votes in the Jan. 13 poll after having dropped completely from the rankings in mid-December. The Bulldogs began this season ranked 11th in the NAIA. In an indication of the oddities of the 2020-21 season, the latest top 25 included a team that had not yet played a single game and also included one that had played one game and another that had played two games. Certain regions of the country have had more difficulty getting games in based on COVID-19 restrictions.
· Olson enters this week at 399 wins on his resume. He’s on the doorstep of becoming just the second basketball coach in school history to reach the 400-win mark. Leader of the men’s program from 1989 to 2012, Grant Schmidt won 445 games (most wins by any Concordia coach in any sport in school history). Entering this season, there were 12 active NAIA women’s basketball coaches with at least 400 wins. Only one of those coaches listed above Olson owned a better winning percentage.
· Concordia double-figure scorers versus College of Saint Mary included Taylor Farrell (18), Kayla Luebbe (16), Chaise Pfanstiel (13) and Taysha Rushton (11). Six other Bulldogs tallied at least six points: Bailey Conrad (nine), Sadie Powell (nine), Chloe Schumacher (eight), Mackenzie Koepke (seven), Rylee Pauli (six) and Faith Troshynski (six). Schumacher also grabbed eight rebounds while feeding a team advantage of 48-30 on the boards. Meanwhile, Mackenzie Toomey plucked six steals and Abby Aplaca and Powell nabbed three apiece. Conrad dished out four assists.
· The 111 points scored last week by the Bulldogs equaled a single-game season high. They posted the same total back on Nov. 18 in a blowout at Doane. Concordia currently ranks second among GPAC teams with a scoring average of 78.8 points per game. The Bulldogs put a healthy number of points on the board despite ranking seventh in the conference in field goal percentage offense (.395). Not surprisingly, Concordia averages 10.7 more field attempts per game than its opponents.
· The turnovers numbers have not been as extreme this season as Olson has often held back on the press. However, the press was on for much of the game against the Flames. The Bulldogs rank 17th nationally in turnover margin at plus-6.4. Last season Concordia led NAIA Division II with a turnover margin of plus-14.5. Though the Bulldogs have not been as dominant in terms of forcing turnovers, they remain a pesky team that averages 13.2 steals per game. Koepke tops the team with an average of 1.90 steals per contest.
· Farrell went 4-for-6 from 3-point range versus CSM while improving her season 3-point field goal percentage to 37.4. That figure ranks fifth among GPAC players. The Omaha, Neb., native has the green light to shoot from just about anywhere. In 41 career collegiate games, Farrell has gone an impressive 65-for-152 (.428) from beyond the arc. She’s averaging 8.0 points per game this season after averaging 7.5 as a freshman.
· Luebbe has been earning more minutes as an effective low post scoring option. The Seward High School product has scored in double figures in three of the past four games. Over that four-game stretch, Luebbe has gone 14-for-20 (.700) from the floor while totaling 41 points. Luebbe’s 16 points against CSM were four shy of a career high. Luebbe is shooting 63.0 percent from the floor on the season.
· This will be the more typical Wednesday-Saturday game week. Concordia will head to Dordt (12-9, 11-7 GPAC) on Wednesday (6 p.m. CT) for its final road game of the regular season. The Bulldogs will then host Dakota Wesleyan (13-6, 11-6 GPAC) at 4 p.m. on Saturday as part of a challenging week. Concordia will aim for a season sweep of the Defenders and a split with the Tigers.
Men’s Basketball
· It was a quite week for the Bulldogs, who have not played since their 81-58 home rout of Briar Cliff on Jan. 23. If things had gone as originally scheduled, they would have hosted the Concordia Invitational Tournament this past weekend. However, the event was wiped out to complications caused by COVID-19. Concordia did host a scrimmage against a team of alums on Jan. 30. Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad remains in the hunt as a potential top four team in the league. Concordia is currently in fifth place (14-7, 11-5 GPAC) in a tightly bunched league. For more information on Bulldog Men’s Basketball, click HERE.
· Concordia has hopes of earning a top four seed and a GPAC tournament quarterfinal home game for the second year in a row. There is still plenty of time to sort things out in a balanced league with plenty of parity. The Mustangs (14-3 GPAC) have won eight of their last nine games to move back up to the top of the league standings. Four other teams have between three and five GPAC losses: Dakota Wesleyan (12-3), Jamestown (12-4), Northwestern (12-5) and Concordia (11-5). In last week’s official GPAC poll, the Bulldogs were ranked fourth.
· After struggling to contain the perimeter shooting of Morningside a week earlier, Concordia faced another challenge while up against a Charger squad that entered the Jan. 23 game ranked No. 1 in the GPAC in terms of 3-point field goals per game. The Bulldogs answered the call on the defensive end in allowing Briar Cliff to go just 6-for-29 from 3-point range. It was a stark contrast to the first meeting in Sioux City, Iowa, that saw the Chargers knock down 18 treys. Concordia ranks sixth in the GPAC in overall field goal percentage defense (.449).
· When he’s on, Carter Kent can be really on. The Crete, Neb., native effectively bounced back by making 9-for-14 shots from the floor (6-for-8 from 3-point range) on his way to 24 points against Briar Cliff. It marked the 12th career game of 20 or more points for Kent, who poured in a career high 29 in the win at Mount Marty on Jan. 13. The outburst helped move Kent’s season field goal percentages to 39.0 from the floor and 31.5 from 3-point range. Kent is averaging a career best 15.2 points per game and has pushed his career point total to 1,071. Star backcourt teammate Justin Wiersema scored 13 points versus Briar Cliff while extending his streak of consecutive games with 10 or more points to 23.
· Only the league’s two most dominant big men – Jamestown’s Mason Walters and Morningside’s Trey Brown – rank above Gage Smith on the GPAC double-doubles leaderboard. Smith collected his seventh double-double by notching 17 points and 10 rebounds versus Briar Cliff. The native of Elizabeth, Colo., may be one of the league’s most improved players. He went from averaging 4.7 points and 4.5 rebounds last season to averages of 12.5 points and 9.0 rebounds this season. He’s also become an exceptional free throw shooter – 80 percent (52-for-65).
· A great deal of the team’s production comes from its starting five, but there are several bench performers capable of emerging on any given outing. Against Briar Cliff, that guy was AJ Watson, who put home 12 points (5-for-8 from the floor) and dished out three assists. Watson has averaged 5.2 points while playing an average of 15.1 minutes per game this season. The other regulars off the bench have been Klay Uher and Grant Wragge. It’s also worth noting that Nick Cito had a highlight reel worthy bullet of an assist versus Briar Cliff.
· From one game to the next, Concordia went from allowing a season high 95 points to Morningside to surrendering one of the lowest point totals from this season’s opponents. The Bulldogs have held four foes to below 60 points with the low being 48 scored by Emmaus Bible College (Iowa). Concordia has won all six of its games in which it has limited its opponents to fewer than 70 points. The Bulldogs rank fourth in the GPAC in scoring defense (72.7).
· Concordia will get back to a more normal week of action. The Bulldogs will hit the road for the final time this regular season when they play at Dordt (15-7, 10-7 GPAC) at 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday. Concordia won the first matchup in Seward, 82-59. Then on Saturday, the Bulldogs will get another shot at No. 16 Dakota Wesleyan (16-4, 12-3 GPAC). Tipoff from Friedrich Arena is set for 6 p.m. The Tigers took this season’s first meeting, 70-64.