Bulldog Weekly Report (Jan. 24)

By Jacob Knabel on Jan. 24, 2017 in Athletic Announcements

Bulldog Athletic Association Athletes of the Week

Female: Philly Lammers, Basketball

Lammers, an Omaha native, put up 18 points and eight rebounds at College of Saint Mary and then went for 14 points and nine rebounds versus No. 11 Morningside over last week’s pair of wins for the second-ranked Bulldogs. Lammers paces the team in scoring, rebounding, blocks and field goal percentage as just a freshman.

Male: Lucas Wiechman, Track & Field

Wiechman, who hails from Pilger, Neb., continued an impressive start to his senior season at last week’s Prairie Wolf Invite. In his latest outing, Wiechman turned in automatic national qualifying marks in the pole vault (16’ 2 ¾”) and the 60 meter hurdles (8.25). He also collaborated on a first-place performance in the 4x400 meter relay.

Bulldogs set to host 2017 Concordia Invitational Tournament: The Concordia Invitational Tournament makes its return to Seward in 2017. Defending champions of both the men’s and women’s 2016 events, the Bulldogs will welcome Concordia-Ann Arbor, Concordia-Chicago and Concordia-Wisconsin to Walz Arena, which will host a total of eight basketball games Jan. 27-28. For more information on #CIT2017, click HERE.

Basketball Madness kicks off CIT week: Head women’s basketball coach Drew Olson has masterminded the Basketball Madness rally that will take place Tuesday (Jan. 24) at 9:30 p.m. CT inside Walz Arena. All students, staff, Bulldog fans and community members are encouraged to attend. There event will include the finals of the Bulldog 3-Point Challenge, games, prize giveaways and free T-shirts for the first 200 students.

Daberkow fills offensive/defensive coordinator roles on staff: Head coach Patrick Daberkow and the Concordia football program have announced the addition of Thomas Byrd as offensive coordinator and the promotion of Corby Osten to defensive coordinator. Byrd most recently worked as the offensive line coach NCAA Division II New Mexico Highlands University. Meanwhile, Osten just completed his ninth season as an assistant for the Bulldogs. Osten graduated from Concordia in 2003. For more on the staff changes, click HERE.

Baseball/softball teams picked third in the GPAC: Third-year head coach Ryan Dupic’s baseball squad and fourth-year head coach Todd LaVelle’s softball team have both been picked by league coaches to finish third in the GPAC preseason polls. The Bulldog baseball team is coming off a fourth-place finish in 2016. Meanwhile, Concordia softball placed in a tie for fifth in the conference standings last season. Both teams are scheduled to begin their 2017 campaigns in February.

How to purchase Cultivating Men of Faith and Character: The book, Cultivating Men of Faith and Character: The History of Concordia Nebraska Football, remains available for purchase online HERE. For more than 90 years, the Concordia football program has cultivated men of faith and character. This journey through the program’s entire history takes a narrative, coach-by-coach approach in bringing back to life the memorable plays, players and moments in Bulldog football history. Win or lose, Christian character has guided a storied football tradition in Seward, home to the “college in the cornfield.”

Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 6 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is in its second year of existence. The show airs live for a half hour every Thursday beginning at 6 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 TuneIn Radio app and searching “Max Country.” Throughout the 2016-17 season, Bulldog football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball contests will be aired live on Max Country.

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.

Women’s Basketball

  • Another week brought two more blowout wins for second-ranked Concordia. In last week’s action, the Bulldogs went on the road and toppled College of Saint Mary, 101-77, on Jan. 18 before cruising to a 90-60 home win over No. 11 Morningside on Jan. 21. Eleventh-year head coach Drew Olson’s squad sits at 20-1 overall and at 13-0 in conference action. The only team in program history with a longer unbeaten run to begin league play was the 2002-03 squad that went a perfect 16-0 in GPAC regular-season action. For more information on Bulldog women’s basketball, click HERE.
  • Concordia continues to state its case as the most dominant team in NAIA Division II. Of the team’s 20 wins, 18 have come by double-digit margins. Fourteen victories have come by a spread of at least 20 points. The Bulldogs rank third nationally in scoring margin (plus-27.6). In last week’s battle with Morningside, Concordia found itself trailing by double digits (21-11) for the first time since its season-opening loss to No. 1 Marian University (Ind.).
  • Now winners of 20-straight games, the 2016-17 Bulldogs are the third team during Olson’s tenure to put together a win streak of at least 20. The 2014-15 national runner-up squad won 23-consecutive games to set a new Olson-era standard, besting the 21-game streak rattled off by the 2011-12 edition that reached the national semifinals. The school record win streak of 33 belongs to the 2002-03 team that began that season with a 33-0 mark. The 02-03 squad also reached the national semifinals.
  • It’s difficult to top what freshman Philly Lammers is doing on a per-minute basis. The Omaha native played 42 minutes over last week’s wins and totaled 32 points and 17 rebounds while going 13-for-21 from the field. She continues to lead the team in scoring (13.1), rebounding (6.5), blocks (1.0) and field goal percentage (.613). She ranks sixth nationally in field goal percentage.
  • It was a big week off the bench for senior Erin Vieselmeyer, who went for 11 points and six rebounds at College of Saint Mary and then added 12 points and eight rebounds in the win over Morningside. Vieselmeyer is one of many significant contributors that can spell the starting five. The native of Holyoke, Colo., has seen action in all 21 games. So have eight other Bulldogs. Vieselmeyer is one of 12 players on the team averaging more than 10 minutes per game.
  • Concordia has now beaten six teams that were ranked at the time it matched up. The top-25 victims include No. 1 Dakota Wesleyan, No. 8 College of the Ozarks, No. 9/11 Morningside, No. 17 Indiana Tech and No. 25 Haskell Indian Nations University (Kan.). The Bulldogs also earned a regular-season sweep of Northwestern, which is currently ranked 25th. Based on the rankings prior to the poll set to be released Jan. 24, Concordia has three regular-season games remaining versus ranked foes: two with No. 7 Hastings and one contest at No. 9 Dakota Wesleyan.
  • The wealth of blowout wins has allowed for plenty of resting of the starting five, which have essentially account for half of the total minutes played this season. Quinn Wragge (21.8) is the team leader in minutes per game. She’s followed in that category by Shelby Quinn (21.4), Mary Janovich (20.2), Dani Andersen (19.3) and Lammers (18.7). Sydney Feller (16.2) has seen the most action off the bench.
  • Janovich continues to be one of the nation’s most efficient scorers in the backcourt. Last week she made 9-of-11 shots from the field and dropped in 27 points over the two wins. The native from Gretna, Neb., does everything well. Not only does she average 11.3 points and shot 54.1 percent from the field, she also averages 3.3 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 2.7 steals. Her assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.88 ranks sixth best among all NAIA Division II players.
  • The 2014-15 Bulldogs are the only team in school history to force more than 1,000 turnovers in a season. That squad flustered its opponents into an average of 26.7 turnovers per game. This year’s team has forced an average of nearly a full turnover per game more (27.5). Through 21 contests Concordia foes have turned it over 578 times. In contrast, the Bulldogs have committed only 372 turnovers.
  • A three-games-in-four-days stretch awaits. In a clash between the top-two teams in the league standings, Concordia hosts seventh-ranked Hastings (18-4, 11-2 GPAC) at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday. Then on Friday, the 66th annual Concordia Invitational Tournament gets underway. In the opening round of CIT, the Bulldogs will take on Concordia University-Wisconsin (13-3) at 6 p.m. CT. CUNE defeated CUW in last year’s CIT championship game in River Forest, Ill. The Bulldogs will then play at either 12 p.m. (consolation) or 5 p.m. (championship) on Saturday.

Wrestling

  • The 11th-ranked Bulldogs went 15 days between competition dates before returning to action at last weekend’s Missouri Valley Invite held in Marshall, Mo. Twelve wrestlers represented Concordia, going a combined 25-23 with three place finishes at the event that included 15 of the NAIA’s top-20 ranked teams in the national poll. As a team, Concordia amassed 77.5 points and placed 11th out of the field of 33. First-year head coach Andrew Nicola’s squad carries dual records of 6-4 overall and 2-0 in the GPAC. For more information on the Concordia wrestling program, click HERE.
  • Second-ranked 197-pounder Ken Burkhardt Jr. topped the Bulldogs in both wins (6) and team points scored (21.5) at the Missouri Valley Invite. Now 28-6 overall this season, Burkhardt Jr.’s lone loss over the weekend came against 15th-ranked Eric Deluse of the University of Cumberlands (Ky). Burkhardt Jr. later avenged that loss by defeating Deluse in the 197-pound third-place bout. The native of Milford, Neb., also toppled Grand View University’s (Iowa) third-ranked Evan Hansen, 4-2, as part of his weekend. Burkhardt Jr. owned a 14-match win streak prior to his loss to Deluse in the quarterfinals.
  • Heavyweight Ceron Francisco’s second-place finish marked the highest placement of any Bulldog at the event. Francisco made his way to the title match with three-straight wins, including two over ranked opponents: No. 9 Javier Gonzalez of Menlo College (Calif.) and No. 14 Justin Smith of Missouri Valley College. In the title bout, Francisco dropped a 3-1 decision to No. 6 Jacob Laden of Grand View. Ranked fifth at 285, Francisco is 16-2 on the year and 90-52 for his career. He’s 10 wins away from joining Burkhardt Jr. as the second member of the program’s 100 wins club.
  • Concordia’s other place finisher at Missouri Valley was 157-pounder Jon Lado, who finished sixth in his bracket. Though not nationally ranked, Lado, checked in at No. 5 in the NAIA North’s 157-pound regional rankings. Lado went 4-1 on the weekend before pulling out of his final two matches. His run included a 7-6 win over Missouri Valley’s Tobias Barnes, who had defeated Lado by that identical score at the National Duals on Jan. 5. Lado is now 13-9 overall on the year.
  • Eleven Concordia wrestlers contributed to the team’s point total at Missouri Valley: Burkhardt Jr. (21.5), Francisco (17), Lado (10), Kodie Cole (6.5), Cooper Bailey (5.5), Cameron Devers (4.), Josh Nelsen (4.0), Kirk Kaliszewski (3.0), Alexander Reimers (3.0), Walker Fisher (2.5) and Dmitri Smith (0.5).
  • Nicola’s group finished above each of the other four GPAC teams in the field at Missouri Valley: Briar Cliff (12th, 74.0), Hastings (14th, 60.5), Northwestern (16th, 53.0) and Midland (22nd, 27.5). The Bulldogs also continue to lead the GPAC rankings with 177 team points. Briar Cliff comes in next with 132 points. Additionally, Concordia owns an active GPAC dual win streak of 16. It won conference dual titles in 2014-15 and 2015-16 with perfect 7-0 league records.
  • Thirteen Bulldogs have piled up at least 10 wins this season (see list below). Concordia is topped by the 28 from Burkhardt Jr. Francisco (16-2) sports the team’s top winning percentage. Burkhardt Jr. has placed at all five tournaments that he has competed in. He took first at both the Doane and Grand View Opens, third at the Missouri Valley Invite, fourth at the Dakota Wesleyan Open and sixth at the UNK Open. Francisco (two), Burkhardt Jr. (two) and Nate Bennett (one) have each won at least one tournament title.
    • Ken Burkhardt Jr. (197): 28-6
    • Ceron Francisco (285): 16-2
    • Kodie Cole (133): 15-7
    • Kolton Larsen (157): 15-10
    • Alexander Reimers (197): 14-11
    • Jon Lado (157): 13-9
    • DJ McIntyre (285): 12-8
    • Josh Nelsen (184): 12-15
    • Cooper Bailey (133): 11-10
    • Kirk Kaliszewski (165): 11-13
    • Dmitri Smith (125): 10-7
    • Darrin Miller (174): 10-10
    • Walker Fisher (174): 10-12
  • Concordia’s hopes of GPAC three-peat will depend heavily upon its results this upcoming Saturday when it duals three conference opponents in Orange City, Iowa. The Bulldogs will clash with Northwestern (6-3, 3-0 GPAC), Morningside (1-4, 1-0 GPAC) and Midland (2-4, 1-2 GPAC) on Saturday. Those duals are set to take place at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. CT. Concordia’s most recent GPAC dual loss occurred on Feb. 13, 2014, when it fell at Hastings, 21-12.

Track & Field

  • A week after competing at the Scott Nisely Memorial Classic (Jan. 14), the Concordia track and field programs returned to action on Jan. 20 at the Prairie Wolf Invitational hosted inside the Bob Devaney Sports Center by Nebraska Wesleyan. The Bulldogs won six event titles, posted 59 personal bests and turned in four fresh automatic national qualifying marks in their latest outing. For more on information on Bulldog track and field, click HERE.
  • Fresh automatic national qualifying marks were produced at the Prairie Wolf Invite by the following Bulldogs: Scott Johnson (long jump), Kali Robb (weight throw) and Lucas Wiechman (60 meter hurdles and pole vault). Robb and Wiechman are veterans of the national championships. On the other hand, Johnson is just now putting his sole focus on track and field after having also previously been a member of the basketball team. Johnson now ranks sixth nationally in the long jump with his mark of 23’ 5 ½” that won the event at the Prairie Wolf Invite.
  • For the second week in a row, senior Cody Boellstorff won the weight throw competition. The native of Waverly, Neb., is the defending national champion in the event and currently tops the NAIA in the weight throw with his season best toss of 65’ 5” at the Devaney Center. Boellstorff owns the school record in the weight throw with his toss of 69’ 9” that came at last year’s national championship meet.
  • The Bulldogs hold down eight additional spots among the top five in specific event categories: Robb (second in the shot put), Wiechman (second in the 60 meter hurdles and third in the pole vault), third in the men’s 4x400 meter relay, Zach Lurz (third in the shot put and fifth in the weight throw), CJ Muller (fourth in the 600 meters) and Allie Brooks (fifth in the pole vault). Lurz is the defending national champ in both the indoor and outdoor shot put.
  • Brooks has claimed event titles in the pole vault at both meets so far this season. At last week’s Prairie Wolf Invite, she cleared 11’ 10 ¾”, which eclipsed the indoor personal best she had set a week earlier (11’ 10 ½”) at Doane. The Seward native is qualified for nationals in both the pole vault and the high jump (ranked sixth in the NAIA with a jump of 5’ 5”). Brooks competed at nationals last season in the indoor and outdoor pole vault.
  • In addition to the six event titles (men’s 4x4, Boellstorff, Brooks, Johnson, Lurz, Wiechman) at the Prairie Wolf Invite, three Bulldogs posted runner-up finishes: Robb (weight throw; 54’ 4 ¾”, and shot put; 44’), Muller (800 meters; 1:56.05) and Wiechman (60 meter hurdles; 8.25). Muller’s time in the 800 was 0.7 seconds shy of the automatic national qualifying mark. The men’s 4x4 that took first place again came in under the national qualifying threshold.
  • Below is the list of 15 automatic national qualifying marks and the four ‘B’ standard qualifying marks recorded by Concordia athletes through the first two weeks of the 2017 indoor season. Of the 15 auto marks, eight have been produced by throwers. Another four have come in field additional field events.
    • Men’s 4x400m relay (A, 3:20.59)
    • Cody Boellstorff: weight throw (A, 65’ 5”)
    • Allie Brooks: high jump (A, 5’ 5”); pole vault (A, 11’ 10 ¾”)
    • Jacy Embray: shot put (B, 43’ 5 ¼”)
    • Ben Hulett: 60 meter hurdles (B, 8.41)
    • Scott Johnson: long jump (A, 23’ 5 ½”)
    • Philip Kruetzer: weight throw (A, 56’ 8 ¾”); shot put (B, 49’ 9”)
    • Zach Lurz: shot put (A, 54’ 10 ¼”); weight throw (A, 60’ 1 ¼”)
    • Sydney Meyer: weight throw (A, 53’ 3 ¾”)
    • CJ Muller: 600 meters (A, 1:20.98); 800 meters (B, 1:56.55)
    • Kali Robb: shot put (A, 46’ 2 ¾”); weight throw (A, 54’ 4 ¾”)
    • Adrianna Shaw: shot put (A, 44’ 5 ½”)
    • Lucas Wiechman: 60 meter hurdles (A, 8.25); pole vault (A, 16’ 2 ¾”)
  • The Bulldogs will make their first home appearance of 2017 on Sunday when they host the annual Concordia Indoor Classic. The meet is set to go off at 2 p.m. CT inside the Walz Fieldhouse. Head coach Matt Beisel’s programs will also stage the Concordia Indoor Invitational on Feb. 10. The event schedule for this weekend's meet can be viewed HERE.

Men’s Basketball

  • A rare January run of nine-straight days without a game concluded when Concordia hosted Morningside on Jan. 21. It was a rough outing for the Bulldogs, who watched the Mustangs drain 11 of their first 12 attempts from 3-point range. That hot shooting carried Morningside to an 85-65 win inside Walz Arena. Fourth-year head coach Ben Limback’s squad has dropped back-to-back home games and now sits at 12-8 overall and at 4-7 in conference play (seventh place). For more information on Bulldog men’s basketball, click HERE.
  • Concordia had been the hottest shooting team in the country and was riding a five-game win streak before its current two-game skid. The Bulldogs are a combined 9-for-43 (.209) from beyond the arc over their last two contests – losses to No. 19 Midland and Morningside (receiving votes). Concordia had a season low 59 points versus Midland and then shot a season worst 41.7 percent from the floor against Morningside. Despite those struggles, the Bulldogs rank third nationally in both 3-point field goal percentage (.418) and field goal percentage (.521).
  • Senior Chandler Folkerts has remained efficient even while the team has slumped. Over the past two games, Folkerts totaled 36 points and went 14-for-22 (.636) from the field and 7-for-9 (.778) from the free throw line. Those percentages are right in line with his season rates of .685 from the field and .746 from the charity stripe. With 10 games remaining on the regular-season slate, Folkerts has upped his career point total to 1,776.
  • Folkerts is moving up the ladder on the program’s all-time lists. On school charts, the Milford native ranks third in rebounds (775), fourth in scoring (1,776) and fourth in blocked shots (129). He needs seven more boards to pass Scott Beck (781) for second place. The program all-time leaders in scoring (Jon Ziegler, 2,099), rebounds (Matt List, 928) and blocks (Robby Thomas, 204) are likely out of reach for Folkerts.
  • If Concordia is to return to its high-scoring ways, it simply needs the likes of Tanner Shuck and Eli Ziegler to put forth performances more in line with their season norms. Over the last two games, Shuck has gone a combined 1-for-13 from the field (0-for-10 from beyond the arc). Meanwhile, Ziegler has shot 7-for-21 from the field (2-for-12 from 3-point range) during that same stretch. Nationally, Shuck and Ziegler rank 10th and 33rd, respectively, in 3-point field goal percentage.
  • The 20-point margin of defeat versus Hastings was unlike any other game this season for Concordia. Of the Bulldogs’ first seven losses, six came by margins of five points or less. Prior to last week, Concordia had not fallen by more than 10 points all season. Despite a below .500 conference mark, the Bulldogs have outscored GPAC opponents, on average, 84.2 to 82.5. In league games only, Concordia is shooting 52.4 percent from the field.
  • Based on the current GPAC standings, the Bulldogs’ schedule will be more favorable down the stretch. Concordia has two games remaining with the sixth place team (Hastings), one at home left with the eighth place team (Doane), one at home remaining with the ninth place team (Dordt) and one left with the last place team (Mount Marty). Road trips to No. 13 Dakota Wesleyan and No. 24 Briar Cliff also loom on the slate.
  • A busy week at home awaits the Bulldogs. They will host Hastings (12-11, 6-5 GPAC) at 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday in a crucial GPAC matchup. Limback’s squad will then shift focus to the 66th annual Concordia Invitational Tournament, which will play out Friday and Saturday inside Walz Arena. The Bulldogs will take on Concordia University-Chicago (4-13) at 8 p.m. CT on Friday. Depending on the result, CUNE will play at either 2 or 7 p.m. on Saturday.