Bulldog Athletic Association Member (BAAM) Athletes of the Week
Male: Creighton Baughman, Wrestling
A graduate student from Papillion, Neb., Creighton Baughman won the 141-pound conference title at the 2025 GPAC Championships. Baughman went 4-0 with two wins over nationally ranked opponents as part of his conference tournament run. Baughman has qualified for NAIA nationals for the third-straight year.
Female: Adrianna Rodencal, Track & Field
A junior from Lincoln, Neb., Adrianna Rodencal earned GPAC Outstanding Athlete of the Meet and GPAC Women’s Athlete of the Year honors as a result of her efforts at the conference championships. Rodencal won conference titles in the 60 hurdles (GPAC record), 200 meters and 4x400-meter relay while placing second in the 60 meters.
2024-25 BAAM Athletes of the Month
January – Adrianna Rodencal (track & field) / Tristan Smith (basketball)
December – Gabi Nordaker (volleyball) / Tristan Smith (basketball)
November – Austin Jablonski (football) / Kristin Vieselmeyer (basketball)
October – Carson Fehlhafer (football) / Kierstynn Garner (soccer)
September – Mark Arp (football) / Gabi Nordaker (volleyball)
2024-25 BAAM Athletes of the Week
Feb. 18 – BAAM luncheon canceled
Feb. 11 – Jonny Jurchen (track & field) / Abi Wohlgemuth (track & field)
Feb. 4 – Abby Krieser (basketball) / Noah Schutte (basketball)
Jan. 28 – Makynna Robbins (basketball) / Tristan Smith (basketball)
Jan. 21 – Megan Belt (basketball) / Tristan Smith (basketball) / Abi Wohlgemuth (track & field)
Jan. 14 – Raelyn Kelty (basketball) / Tristan Smith (basketball)
Dec. 17 – Adrianna Rodencal (track & field) / Tristan Smith (basketball)
Dec. 10 – Creighton Baughman (wrestling) / Gabi Nordaker (volleyball)
Dec. 3 – Vaughn Hendrickson (cross country) / Kristin Vieselmeyer (basketball)
Nov. 19 – Daylon Henson (football) / Addie Kirkegaard (volleyball)
Nov. 12 – Keegan Beisel (cross country) / Vaughn Hendrickson (cross country)
Nov. 5 – Angela Banks (soccer) / Austin Jablonski (football)
Oct. 29 – Kierstynn Garner (soccer) / Devin Harris (shooting sports)
Oct. 22 – Taylor Hedke (weightlifting) / Austin Jablonski (football)
Oct. 15 – Kierstynn Garner (soccer) / Hugo Garrote (soccer)
Oct. 8 – Carson Fehlhafer (football) / Kaylee Hinton (shooting sports)
Oct. 1 – Carter McKenna (shooting sports) / Kya Scott (volleyball)
Sept. 24 – Ishane Derman (tennis) / Daylon Henson (football)
Sept. 17 – Mark Arp (football) / Ella Waters (volleyball)
Sept. 10 – Hannah Beintema (cross country); Trey Robertson (cross country)
Sept. 3 – Nolan Fuelberth (soccer); Gabi Nordaker (volleyball)
Aug. 27 – Martin Herrera (soccer); Ashley Keck (volleyball)
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.
Thirty-nine Bulldogs named NAIA Scholar-Athletes for winter sports: A total of 39 Concordia student-athletes were recognized on Feb. 19 as 2024-25 Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes. For complete lists of honorees by sport, click the links below.
--2024-25 NAIA Scholar-Athletes: Men’s Basketball | Women’s Basketball | Cheer | Dance | Wrestling.
Shooting sports resumes 2024-25 season with Concordia Invitational: The Concordia University, Nebraska Shooting Sports program is preparing to host the ninth annual Concordia Bulldog Sporting Invitational. In a departure from previous years, the event will be held during the spring semester. The 2025 edition of the event is set to run Friday-Saturday (Feb. 28-March 1) at Oak Creek Sporting Club in Brainard, Neb., where action will begin at 9 a.m. CT both days. Oak Creek Sporting Club serves as the home range for the Bulldogs, who first put on this event in 2016. Since then, the Bulldog Sporting Invitational has routinely hosted more than 100 collegiate and high school competitors each year. For more information on the Concordia Invitational, click HERE.
Profiling Concordia student-athletes: A series of recent features have profiled standout Concordia Bulldogs student-athletes who have excelled at a high level in their careers. To read more about men’s soccer’s Iker Casanova, softball’s Megan Eurich, baseball’s Ty Nekoliczak and track & field’s Adrianna Rodencal, check the feature stories linked below. The latest feature on Rodencal walks through her day at the 2025 GPAC Indoor Track & Field Championships.
--Feature profiles: Rodencal | Casanova | Eurich | Nekoliczak.
University Weightlifting Nationals begin Thursday: A group of Bulldogs are bound for Columbus, Ohio, where the 2025 University Weightlifting National Championships will take place this Thursday through Sunday. Head Coach Freddie Myles will travel 13 individuals to the national stage. Junior Evan Fukuhara is a reigning national champion. As for powerlifting, the national championships are coming up April 3-6 and will be held in Oklahoma City, Okla. For a preview of weightlifting nationals, click HERE.
Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is underway in its 10th 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 2024-25 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 completed his 10th 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 with the 2023-24 academic year, Concordia Athletics began a partnership with Hudl for live video 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 on the Concordia Sports Network.
Wrestling
· Final dual record: 6-2, 6-2 GPAC (finished tied for second).
· Last week:
o Placed third at the 2025 GPAC Wrestling Championships on Feb. 21-22.
· Links: 2024-25 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA National Rankings
· Notable: In another marker of the program’s upward trajectory, the Bulldogs emerged from the 2025 GPAC Wrestling Championships with eight automatic national qualifiers (most for the program since 2020). Head Coach Josh Watts’ squad placed third in the GPAC with 149.5 team points, which were racked up by 11 individuals who placed in the top five of their respective weight classes. Creighton Baughman won the 141-pound title, marking the 20th individual GPAC championship in program history. Baughman will be joined at the national tournament by teammates Steven Barnes (149), Hagen Heistand (149), Cole Price (157), Barret Brandt (184), Hunter Weimer (184), Torrance Keehn (197) and Mason Garcia (285). Baughman and Garcia will be repeat qualifiers while the others will make an appearance at NAIA nationals for the first time in their careers. Baughman’s title run was a dominant one as he pinned his first two opponents, then earned a technical fall over No. 25 Noah Parmelee in the semifinals before taking a 5-3 decision from 15th-ranked Devin Avedissian. Three other Concordia competitors also reached the finals in their weight classes: Heistand (149), Price (157) and Tommy Wentz (165). All three ended their tournaments with runner-up finishes. Wentz did not receive an auto bid due to the nature of the NAIA allocation system. The eight Bulldog qualifiers will attempt to achieve the program’s first NAIA All-America award since Mario Ybarra in 2021. This will be an off week before the 2025 NAIA Wrestling National Championships take place in Park City, Kan., March 6-8.
· For additional news and notes on the wrestling program, click HERE.
· Up next:
o 2025 NAIA Wrestling National Championships (March 6-8) in Park City, Kan.
Men’s Basketball
· Current record: 23-5, 16-4 GPAC; ranked No. 12 in the NAIA coaches’ poll.
· Last week:
o Won vs. Doane, 89-59, on Feb. 19.
o Won at Mount Marty, 88-74, on Feb. 22.
· Links: 2024-25 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA Coaches’ Poll
· Notable: The regular season wrapped up in winning fashion as the Bulldogs defeated Doane, 89-59, at home and then went on the road to topple Mount Marty, 88-74. Those results allowed Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad to lock up the No. 2 seed for the GPAC tournament that opens on Wednesday. The 2024-25 team also broke a program record for conference wins in a single season (16) and is 16-1 since late December. The success continued last week despite the absence of Noah Schutte, who was a late scratch this past Wednesday after enduring an injury during warmups. In his absence, five Bulldogs averaged in double figures over the two wins: Tristan Smith (16.0), Jaxon Stueve (14.0), Brad Bennett (13.0), Brooks Kissinger (12.5) and Zac Kulus (12.0). Smith nearly went for a triple-double at Mount Marty – 13 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Concordia limited Doane/Mount Marty to a combined 39.5 percent shooting and blistered the nets to the tune of 62.9 percent shooting on the offensive end. No matter the results in the GPAC tournament, the Bulldogs are a lock to make the program’s 14th all-time national tournament appearance. As the league’s No. 2 seed, Concordia will host seventh-seeded Midland in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The winner will draw either Northwestern or Briar Cliff in the semifinals. Under Limback, the Bulldogs have won two GPAC tournament championships (2020 and 2022). They were eliminated in the semifinals in both 2023 and 2024.
· For additional news and notes on the men’s basketball program, click HERE.
· This week:
o GPAC Quarterfinals – Wednesday, Feb. 26 vs. Midland (12-16, 7-13 GPAC), 7 p.m.
o GPAC Semifinals – Saturday, March 1 vs. Northwestern / Briar Cliff, 3 p.m. (if win on Wednesday).
Women’s Basketball
· Current record: 14-14, 9-13 GPAC.
· Last week:
o Won vs. Doane, 71-61, on Feb. 19.
o Lost at Mount Marty, 68-66, on Feb. 22.
· Links: 2024-25 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA Coaches’ Poll
· Notable: The regular season concluded this past week as the Bulldogs earned a home win over Doane, 71-61, before dropping another heartbreaker, 68-66, at Mount Marty. Head Coach Drew Olson’s squad will enter the postseason at .500 overall and will be the No. 8 seed in the GPAC tournament. The victory over Doane was a feel-good moment for three Concordia veterans who played their final career game inside Friedrich Arena: Kendal Brigham, Abby Heemstra and Abby Krieser. In that win, Kristin Vieselmeyer led the team with 14 points while Juliana Jones and Makynna Robbins added 10 apiece. Defensively, the Bulldogs held the Tigers to just 35.2 percent shooting. The loss at Mount Marty was a frustrating one in that Concordia jumped out to an 18-6 lead and then struggled in the second quarter and later let a six-point fourth quarter lead slip away. Brigham and Jones paced the Bulldogs with 12 points apiece. It was another bitter pill to swallow in a season that has included seven losses that were decided by three points or less or in overtime. Though an at-large bid to nationals may be unlikely at this point, Concordia gets another shot at making a run as the GPAC tournament gets started on Wednesday. As the league’s No. 8 seed, the Bulldogs will be headed to top-ranked Dordt for the quarterfinals. The Defenders twice got past Concordia in overtime during the regular season. If the Bulldogs manage to pull the upset, they would then play at either Hastings or Northwestern in the semifinals on Saturday.
· For additional news and notes on the women’s basketball program, click HERE.
· This week:
o GPAC Quarterfinals – Wednesday, Feb. 26 at No. 1 Dordt (26-2, 20-2 GPAC), 6 p.m.
o GPAC Semifinals – Saturday, March 1 at Hastings / Northwestern, time TBA (if win on Wednesday).
Indoor Track & Field
· GPAC Finishes: women – 3rd | men – 4th
· Most recent:
o Competed at the 2025 GPAC Indoor Track & Field Championships on Feb. 14-15; Concordia women placed third and men placed fourth.
· Links: 2024-25 Schedule | Roster | TFRRS Performance Lists
· Notable: All that remains in the 2025 indoor season is the national meet. The 2025 GPAC Indoor Track & Field Championships played out the weekend of Feb. 14-15 on the campus of Dakota Wesleyan in Mitchell, S.D. When the dust settled, the Bulldogs placed third on the women’s side with 141.5 points and fourth on the men’s side with 91 points. Concordia athletes combined to win seven GPAC event championships. For her efforts, Adrianna Rodencal was named the 2025 GPAC Women’s Indoor Championships Outstanding Athlete of the Meet. Rodencal won GPAC titles in the 60-meter hurdles (8.49) and 200 meters (25.32) and as part of the 4x400-meter relay (3:56.66). Rodencal also placed second in the 60-meter dash (7.66). The Lincoln Lutheran alum picked up her third career GPAC Outstanding Athlete of the Meet award. She was joined on the championship 4x4 by Trinity Tuls, Isabelle Salters and Kayla Kirchner. Other individual GPAC champions were Carson Fehlhafer in the shot put (52’ 7 ½”), Abby Gerber in the shot put (48’ 4”), Jonny Jurchen in the 3,000-meter race walk (14:15.64) and Mayson Ostermeyer in the pole vault (16’ 2 ¾”). Conference runner-up placements were also claimed by Abi Wohlgemuth in the weight throw (58’ 11 ¼”), Adysen McCarter in the triple jump (37’ 10 ½”) and Addie Reimer in the pentathlon (3,108 points). This past week, Head Coach Matt Beisel’s programs announced an NAIA national qualifying roster of 24 athletes (12 men and 12 women). The list of Concordia qualifiers can be found HERE. Those athletes departed for Gainesville, Fla., on Tuesday (Feb. 25) for the national meet, which will get underway on Thursday. At the 2024 NAIA indoor national meet, the Bulldogs emerged with place finishes of third for women and eighth for men.
· For additional news and notes on the track & field programs, click HERE.
· This week:
o Feb. 27 – March 1: 2025 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships in Gainesville, Fla.
Cheer / Dance
· Cheer Season Scoring Average: 75.11
· Dance Season Scoring Average: 83.39
· Last week:
o Cheer:
§ Placed 8th / 10 (63.43) at the Dordt Invitational on Feb. 22.
o Dance:
§ Placed 5th / 10 (75.2) at the Dordt Invitational on Feb. 22.
· Cheer Links: 2025 Schedule | Roster
· Dance Links: 2025 Schedule | Roster
· Notable: The 2025 season carried on this past Saturday at the Dordt Invitational, which featured 10 cheer and 10 dance squads. The Bulldogs did not meet their expectations while posting scores below their season averages. In dance, Concordia placed fifth with a score of 75.2. In cheer, the Bulldogs placed eighth with a score of 63.43. On a positive note, dance beat out a couple of GPAC rivals, including Doane. Head Coach Mandi Maser’s dance team remains ranked in the top 10 nationally in terms of average competition score. Prior to the Dordt Invite, Concordia Dance had scored 80.75 or better in each official competition. It won trophies for placing second at the MidAmerica Nazarene Duals and third at the York Crown Classic. Coaches Maser and Emilie Ashenbach will regroup with their teams while preparing to host the 2025 GPAC Championships the weekend of March 7-8. It will mark the first time the program has ever hosted the conference championships.
· For additional news and notes on the cheer and dance programs, click the following links: Cheer | Dance.
· Up next:
o Friday-Saturday, March 7-8: 2025 GPAC Championships hosted by Concordia.
Tennis
· Current records: 3-4 men | 3-1 women.
· Last week:
o W – Won vs. Ottawa, 5-2, on Feb. 21.
o M – Lost vs. Ottawa, 4-3, on Feb. 21.
o M – Lost vs. Quincy, 6-1, on Feb. 22.
o M – Won at Central, 5-2, on Feb. 22.
· Men’s Links: 2024-25 Schedule | Roster | Statistics
· Women’s Links: 2024-25 Schedule | Roster | Statistics
· Notable: The action heated up over the weekend, especially for a men’s squad that played three matches in a two-day span. The women won their lone outing of the week, 5-2, over Ottawa University (Kan.). Meanwhile, the men’s squad lost to Ottawa, 4-3, and NCAA Division II Quincy University (Ill.), 6-1, before closing the weekend with a 5-2 win over NCAA Division III Central College (Iowa). On the women’s side, Ottawa brought a shorthanded squad to Lincoln. Ishane Derman took a contested win at No. 3 singles to highlight Concordia’s efforts. In the Bulldog men’s win over Central (played in Pella, Iowa), singles victories were delivered by Nick Velders at No. 1, Ben Chisholm at No. 3, Joseph Melzer at No. 5 and Michael Bedrosian at No. 6. Concordia swept through doubles play over the Dutch. Head Coach Lisa Hart’s squads sport overall records of 3-1 on the women’s side and 3-4 on the men’s side. Both teams are scheduled to play once this week as they will host Baker University (Kan.) inside the Walz Fieldhouse on Saturday. Conference play will get underway later on in March.
· For additional news and notes on the tennis programs, click the following links: Men | Women.
· This week:
o M / W – Saturday, March 1 vs. Baker University (Kan.), 1 p.m.
Baseball
· Current record: 5-2; ranked No. 20 in the NAIA coaches’ poll.
· Since last week:
o Lost vs. Jamestown, 11-9, on Feb. 23.
o Won vs. Jamestown, 10-4, on Feb. 23.
o Won vs. Jamestown, 11-2, on Feb. 24.
o Lost vs. Jamestown, 16-3, on Feb. 24.
· Links: 2025 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA Coaches’ Polls
· Notable: The Bulldogs escaped last week’s bitter cold conditions and made their way to Piedmont, Okla., for a four-game series with Jamestown. The two sides settled for a split as No. 20 Concordia won games two and three in warm and sunny conditions. In the games Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad won, it got strong pitching as senior Christian Gutierrez worked eight innings with three earned runs allowed and freshman Micah Sweeton logged 4.2 innings without surrendering an earned run. At the plate, four Bulldogs homered at least once in the series: Jaidan Quinn (twice), Jaeden Jordahl, Matt Rhoades and Michael Welch. Additionally, leadoff hitter Ty Nekoliczak became the eighth player in program history to reach 200 career hits. Nekoliczak notched three hits in the first game of the series and Welch did the same in game three. From a pitching perspective, Braxton Greenburg and Kade Spomer also made starts in Piedmont. Concordia had been idle since going 3-0 during its stay in Oklahoma City the weekend of Feb. 7-8. The Bulldogs are scheduled to play four times this coming weekend at Homefield Baseball Complex in Kansas City, Kan., where they will take on William Penn University (Iowa) and Dickinson State University (N.D.).
· For additional news and notes on the baseball program, click HERE.
· This week (all games in Kansas City, Kan.):
o Friday, Feb. 28 vs. William Penn, 12:30 p.m.
o Friday, Feb. 28 vs. Dickinson State, 3 p.m.
o Saturday, March 1 vs. Dickinson State, 10 a.m.
o Saturday, March 1 vs. William Penn, 3 p.m.
Softball
· Current record: 5-3.
· Most recent (all games in Sioux Center, Iowa):
o Lost vs. Bellevue, 6-0, on Feb. 16.
o Won vs. No. 18 Benedictine, 4-3 (9 inn.), on Feb. 16.
o Won vs. Bellevue, 9-4, on Feb. 17.
o Lost vs. No. 18 Benedictine, 7-3, on Feb. 17.
· Links: 2025 Schedule | Roster | Statistics
· Notable: The schedule over the past few weeks has been shuffled due to cold and wintry weather throughout the Midwest. Head Coach Brock Culler’s program managed to find four on Feb. 16-17 at the American State Bank Sports Complex in Sioux Center, Iowa. In action in Sioux Center, the Bulldogs won twice and lost twice (scores above) while up against two quality opponents in No. 18 Benedictine College (Kan.) and Bellevue University, which received votes in the NAIA preseason poll. In the 4-3 nine-inning win over Benedictine, sophomore Kaylei Denison threw every inning and allowed two earned runs on four hits and nine walks. She earned credit for the win after Aubrey Bruning walked it off with an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth. In the Feb. 17 win over Bellevue, Concordia hammered out 15 hits with three coming from Hanna Bowers and two apiece from Taryn Ganstrom, Aubriana Krieser and Kylie Shottenkirk. Bowers and Delanie Voshell both knocked in two runs. Ganstrom came in as a relief pitcher and picked up the win after firing 3.2 innings. Ganstrom also led the team at the plate over the past four games with six hits (two doubles and two triples). Jennifer Katz reached 100 career hits on Feb. 17 (combining her totals from junior college and Concordia). As for Denison, she is 3-0 with a 1.73 ERA on the season. The Bulldogs are 5-3 with all eight of their games having been played at the dome. After having last week off, Concordia is scheduled to play six times this weekend at the Top Gun NAIA Invite hosted by University of Saint Mary (Kan.) in Shawnee, Kan. (see schedule below).
· For additional news and notes on the softball program, click HERE.
· This week (Saint Mary Top Gun NAIA Invite in Shawnee, Kan.):
o Friday, Feb. 28 vs. MidAmerica Nazarene, 1:30 p.m.
o Friday, Feb. 28 vs. Peru State, 4 p.m.
o Saturday, March 1 vs. Benedictine, 1:30 p.m.
o Saturday, March 1 vs. Baker, 4 p.m.
o Sunday, March 2 vs. Graceland, 10 a.m.
o Sunday, March 2 vs. Park, 12:30 p.m.