Bulldog Weekly Report (Jan. 31)

By Jacob Knabel on Jan. 31, 2017 in Athletic Announcements

Bulldog Athletic Association Athletes of the Week

Male: Dmitri Smith, Wrestling

Smith, a native of Beaumont, Calif., went 3-0 at last week’s GPAC duals while improving his record against conference opponents to a perfect 7-0. Included in his day was a 5-4 upset of No. 1-ranked 125-pounder Hugo Perez, a 2016 NAIA national runner up. Smith and the Bulldogs are 5-0 in conference duals.

Female: Allie Brooks, Track & Field

Brooks, who hails from Seward, continued a big sophomore season by breaking the program record in the women’s indoor pole vault record. Her clearance of 12’ 6 ¾” at the Concordia Classic ranks No. 3 on the NAIA national list. She is also qualified for nationals in the high jump.

Bulldogs sweep CIT titles for 21st time: Both Bulldog basketball teams have won exactly 27 Concordia Invitational Tournament championships. The 2017 CIT, hosted inside Walz Arena, marked the 21st time in the event’s history that CUNE has swept men’s and women’s titles. In last week’s championship games, the Bulldog women defeat Concordia Ann-Arbor, 89-62, prior to the Bulldog men handling CUAA, 85-58.

Dance/cheer compete for first time in 2017: First-year head coach Mandi Maser took her dance and cheer teams into competition for the first time in 2017 when they both went head-to-head with Hastings last week as part of the Concordia basketball doubleheader. The Bulldog cheer team defeated the Broncos, 74.4 to 71.85. Meanwhile, the Concordia dance team fell by a score of 75.7 to 74. The dancers will also take on Doane at halftime of the Bulldog women’s basketball home game on Feb. 8.

Boellstorff garners national honor: Following his NAIA leading weight throw toss (65’ 5”) at the Prairie Wolf Invitational on Jan. 20, senior Cody Boellstorff collected both GPAC and NAIA national men’s field athlete of the week accolades. The native of Waverly, Neb., continues to lead the nation in the weigh throw on the heels of another season best performance at the Concordia Classic on Sunday. Boellstorff is the defending national champion in the event.

Tennis opens spring season on Saturday: Head coach Joel Reckewey’s tennis squads open up their spring seasons on Saturday when they play Baker University (Kan.) inside the Abbott Sports Complex in Lincoln. First serve is set for 12 p.m. CT. Last season the Concordia men finished 7-12 overall (1-4 GPAC) and the women went 8-15 (5-3 GPAC).

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.

Men’s Basketball

  • The Bulldogs dominated the 66th annual Concordia Invitational Tournament as part of a 3-0 week at home. Fourth-year head coach Ben Limback’s squad held off a late push from Hastings in a 78-76 victory on Jan. 25. Then at CIT, CUNE blew away Concordia-Chicago, 104-82, and Concordia-Ann Arbor, 85-58, behind tournament MVP Chandler Folkerts. Now 11-3 at home this season, the Bulldogs sit at 15-8 overall and at 5-7 in conference play (seventh place). For more information on Bulldog men’s basketball, click HERE.
  • CUNE has been the dominant program at the Concordia Invitational Tournament. The Bulldogs boast an event-leading 27 CIT titles in program history. Limback has guided his teams to five CIT titles. He led Concordia-Ann Arbor to its first two CIT championships in school history and has won three CIT titles in his first four years leading the Bulldogs. Twenty-five of the program’s event record 27 titles have come since 1983. The Bulldogs have twice put together streaks of seven-consecutive CIT titles. The most recent such string occurred between 1999 and 2005 under head coach Grant Schmidt.
  • Last week CUNE returned to its offensively explosive ways. The Bulldogs shot 50.7 percent from the floor while averaging 89.0 points per game over the trio of wins inside Walz Arena. Additionally, CUNE made at least 10 treys in each contest. Entering this week, the Bulldogs sport national rankings of second in field goal percentage (.519), third in 3-point field goal percentage (.419), 12th in 3-point field goals per game (10.3), 17th in free throw percentage (.754) and 25th in scoring offense (87.0).
  • Folkerts collected CIT MVP honors for the second year in a row. It was also the third time in his four seasons that he has appeared on the CIT all-tournament team. In the 2017 event, Folkerts totaled 31 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists and three blocked shots. In his eight career CIT games, Folkerts has averaged 17.0 points. The Milford native has led the Bulldogs to a CIT record of 7-1 over the past four years with the only loss coming to Concordia-Ann Arbor in the 2015 championship game.
  • Freshman Tanner Shuck joined Folkerts on the CIT all-tournament team. After going through a three-game stretch in which he went 1-for-14 from 3-point range, the Grand Island native heated back up at CIT. He totaled 15 points and went 4-for-7 from beyond the arc in the victory over CU-Chicago. On the weekend, he averaged 11.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
  • Limback got quality minutes off the bench all weekend from the likes of senior Justin Damme and junior Kyle Pierce. Over the two wins, Pierce recorded 18 points and Damme added 17 points. Additionally, freshman Clay Reimers chipped in eight points in the Friday win over CU-Chicago.
  • With Saturday’s championship win, Limback’s coaching record with the Bulldogs edged back over .500 at 57-56. CUNE has steadily improved during the alum’s tenure. In order to continue the trend of posting improved records every season, the Bulldogs will have to top their 18-12 mark from last season. The program is seeking its first 20-win season since the 2008-09 squad went 20-12 overall under previous head coach Grant Schmidt. It will also take a late-season run to reach the national tournament for the first time since the 2004-05 team finished as the national runner up.
  • Senior sharpshooter Eli Ziegler is nearing the top 10 on the program’s all-time list of made 3-point field goals in a single season. The native of Littleton, Colo., has canned 73 triples this season, putting him three away from John Puelz (1989-90) for 10th place. Puelz also holds down the No. 1 spot courtesy of his 113 3-point field goals in 1990-91. Puelz is one of only three Bulldogs to make 100 or more treys in a single season. Puelz accomplished that feat twice. Bret Walter also reached the century mark in two seasons.
  • The Bulldogs are back to a normal Wednesday-Saturday slate this week. They will host Grace University (12-11) at 7 p.m. CT on Wednesday in their final nonconference contest of the regular season. They will then trek to Yankton, S.D., on Saturday for a matchup with Mount Marty (4-17, 0-12 GPAC) at 4 p.m.

Women’s Basketball

  • The second-ranked Bulldogs continue to impose their will upon their opponents. Last week brought three more wins by margins greater than 20 points. After running away in the fourth quarter for a 68-47 win over ninth-ranked Hastings on Jan. 25, 11th-year head coach Drew Olson’s squad breezed through the Concordia Invitational Tournament, earning wins over Concordia-Wisconsin, 107-65, and Concordia-Ann Arbor, 89-62, in the championship game. The Bulldogs stand at 23-1 overall and own a three-game lead atop the GPAC standings with a perfect 14-0 league mark. For more information on Bulldog women’s basketball, click HERE.
  • CUNE has come to expect championships at CIT. The Bulldogs have won the tournament four years in a row and in eight of Olson’s 11 seasons at the helm of the program. The Bulldogs have won 25 of the last 31 tournaments and 27 all-time for an event record.  From 1996 to 2006, CUNE won 11-straight CITs while under the direction of three different head coaches (Mark Lemke, Micah Parker and Todd Voss).
  • Sophomore Quinn Wragge has been a force in her first two CITs. The native of Crofton, Neb., took home MVP honors for the second-straight year. She racked up a season high 22 points in the championship win over CU-Ann Arbor. Over the weekend, Wragge put up 36 points, 12 rebounds and seven steals while making 16-of-25 (.640) shots from the field. As a freshman last season, Wragge totaled 35 points and 12 points over CUNE’s two CIT wins at Concordia-Chicago.
  • During Olson’s 11 seasons, the Bulldogs have put together win streaks of 20 or more games three times. The active 23-game win streak equals an Olson-era best. The 2014-15 national runner-up squad also triumphed 23 times in a row. The 2011-12 national semifinalist won 21-straight games. The school record for the longest winning streak belongs to the 2002-03 team that opened up the season at 33-0. This year’s squad holds the longest active win streak in NAIA Division II. No. 1 St. Francis (Ill.) sits at 22-0.
  • Freshman Philly Lammers enjoyed another big week. She terrorized Hastings with career highs of 23 points (9-for-10 from the field) and 14 rebounds. She posted another double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds) in the CIT championship game. The Millard West High School product is averaging 17.0 points over the past six contests. She continues to lead the team in scoring (13.5), rebounding (6.9), blocks (1.1) and field goal percentage (.619).
  • Junior guard Mary Janovich also found her way onto the CIT all-tournament team. She equaled a season high with 19 points in the victory over Concordia-Wisconsin. She torched the Falcons by making all three of her attempts from 3-point range. She then went for eight points and dished out seven assists in the title game. Janovich sports season averages of 11.7 points, 3.4 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 2.6 steals.
  • The defensive numbers, week after week, have been staggering for CUNE. In last week’s action, the Bulldogs held their three foes to respective shooting percentages of 34.0, 41.8 and 29.1. CUNE also forced nearly 30 turnovers per game. The Bulldogs rank 16th nationally in field goal percentage defense (.355). Opponents are also shooting just 26.2 percent from 3-point range.
  • CUNE ranks fourth nationally in scoring margin (plus-27.9). Rarely have the Bulldogs faced serious threats. Twenty-one of their 23 victories have come by margins of at least 10 points. Of those 21, 17 have been decided by 20-point spreads. It hasn’t mattered whether CUNE has played GPAC or nonconference opponents. In GPAC games only, the Bulldogs have defeated foes by an average of 85.8 to 58.1.
  • Olson’s bunch has time to rest up following last week’s three-games-in-four-days stretch. The Bulldogs are off until Saturday when they will travel to Yankton, S.D., to take on Mount Marty (11-13, 5-9 GPAC). Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CT. CUNE defeated the Lancers, 75-65, in Seward earlier this season.

Wrestling

  • First-year head coach Andrew Nicola’s squad knew all along that its performances on Jan. 28 would go a long ways towards deciding the GPAC championship dual race. The 11th-ranked Bulldogs have put themselves in great position after earning weekend victories over No. 20 Northwestern, 27-12, No. 17 Morningside, 30-9, and No. 15 Midland, 38-4. Concordia improved to 9-4 overall and remains perfect in conference duals at 5-0. The Bulldogs are the only GPAC team left without a conference loss. For more information on the Concordia wrestling program, click HERE.
  • The Bulldogs have made it nearly three full years since they last suffered a GPAC dual loss (Feb. 13, 2014). Concordia won conference championships in 2014-15 and 2015-16 with perfect 7-0 GPAC records. The program’s conference dual win streak has grown to 19. So far this season, Concordia has outscored conference opponents by a combined total of 169-47. Last week the Bulldogs won 22 of 30 individual matches.
  • Senior Dmitri Smith produced the most significant individual highlight when he upset Midland’s No. 1-ranked Hugo Perez, 5-4, as part of the rout of the Warriors. Smith went 3-0 on the day while also claiming decisions over Northwestern’s Austin Boles and Morningside’s Devin Phaly. Smith owns a near perfect 9-1 dual record. He is 7-0 against GPAC opponents.
  • Junior Kirk Kaliszewski turned in a monster Saturday of his own. He went 3-0 and recorded pins of Northwestern’s Brock Brenneman and Morningside’s Alias Starkovich. He ended his day with a 4-0 victory over David Moran of Midland. In his first season competing for the Bulldogs, the native of Ramona, Calif., owns a record of 14-13. He is 8-5 in dual meets.
  • The Bulldogs also went 3-0 at the heavyweight position, which was split between No. 5 Ceron Francisco and DJ McIntyre. Francisco improved to 17-2 overall with his 7-2 decision over Midland’s Aaron Rafalko. McIntyre notched a pin and a win by decision. Josh Nelsen also went 3-0 at 184 and Kolton Larsen (157) punctuated the victory over Northwestern with a pin the dual’s final bout. Gabe Crawford (157) did the same to close out the dual with Midland in a final that was stunningly lopsided. In all, 14 different Bulldogs posted at least one win on the day.
  • Francisco recorded his 91st career victory last week. His bid to join teammate Ken Burkhardt Jr. (115) as the only wrestlers in program history to reach 100 career wins continues. The native of Fayetteville, N.C., improved significantly after going 13-18 his freshman season. He then went 31-17 as a sophomore and 30-15 as a junior. His chances at a third-straight 30-win season took a hit when he missed time earlier this season due to injury.
  • Fifteen Bulldogs have piled up at least 10 wins this season (see list below). Concordia is topped by the 29 from Burkhardt Jr. Francisco (17-2) boasts 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): 29-7
    • Ceron Francisco (285): 17-2
    • Kodie Cole (133): 17-8
    • Kolton Larsen (157): 16-11
    • Alexander Reimers (197): 15-11
    • Josh Nelsen (184): 15-15
    • DJ McIntyre (285): 14-8
    • Kirk Kaliszewski (165): 14-13
    • Dmitri Smith (125): 13-7
    • Jon Lado (157): 13-9
    • Cooper Bailey (133): 11-10
    • Walker Fisher (174): 11-14
    • Foster Bunce (149): 10-7
    • Gabe Crawford (157): 10-8
    • Darrin Miller (174): 10-10
  • The Bulldogs are finally back at home this week. They will entertain the crowd at Walz Arena on Thursday when Briar Cliff (3-5, 3-3 GPAC) visits Seward for a 7 p.m. CT dual. Only two GPAC duals remain on the schedule for Concordia, which is aiming for a GPAC three-peat. The Bulldogs will also host Hastings (10-4, 4-1 GPAC) on Feb. 9.

Track & Field

  • For the first time in 2017, the Bulldogs played host to a meet. They welcomed a large field to Seward on Sunday for the annual Concordia Indoor Classic. Head coach Matt Beisel’s athletes combined for 48 personal records, 13 automatic national qualifying marks, five event titles and four runner-up finishes. The Concordia Classic followed the Nisely Memorial Classic (Jan. 14) and the Prairie Wolf Invitational (Jan. 20). For more on information on Bulldog track and field, click HERE.
  • Two fresh automatic national qualifying marks were turned in and another six Bulldogs improved upon already existing national qualifying marks. Both Samantha Liermann (shot put) and Tyrell Reichert (pole vault) punched their tickets to the indoor national meet. Meanwhile, the six athletes to better their national marks were Cody Boellstorff (weight throw), Allie Brooks (pole vault), Sydney Meyer (weight throw), CJ Muller (600 meters), Kali Robb (weight throw) and Adrianna Shaw (shot put).
  • Brooks stole the show at the Concordia Classic by clearing a school record height of 12’ 6 ¾” in the pole vault. That mark eclipsed the previous women’s indoor standard of 12’ 6 ¼” held by former GPAC champion and All-American Cassie Starks. Allie is the daughter of Gene Brooks, who won five pole vault national titles and owns the school men’s indoor pole vault record (18’ ½”). Allie now ranks No. 3 on the NAIA national list in the pole vault. She came up just short of clearing 12’ 11,” which would have put her atop the national leaderboard.
  • The pole vault is shaping up to be a significant area of strength for the 2017 squad. Concordia also claimed a title in the men’s pole vault at the Concordia Classic courtesy of senior Lucas Wiechman’s vault of 15’ 10.” Wiechman owns top-five national rankings in both the pole vault (third, 16’ 2 ¾”) and the 60 meter hurdles (fifth, 8.25). Reichert became the third Bulldog pole vaulter to qualify for nationals this season. Sophomore McKenzie Gravo, an All-American last year as a freshman, is red-shirting during indoor season. Gravo won indoor and outdoor GPAC titles in 2016.
  • Concordia will be aiming to win women’s GPAC pole vault titles for the sixth- and seventh-straight conference meet. Starting with Shelby Yelden at the 2014 GPAC outdoor championships, Bulldog women have claimed every conference pole vault title. The run continued with Starks sweeping pole vault championships in 2015 before Gravo did the same in 2016.
  • Though Boellstorff has come up short of his personal best weight throw mark of 69’ 9” that won him a national championship in 2016, he continues to outdistance the competition. He’s placed first in the weight throw at all three meets this season. His mark of 66’ 9 ¾” at the Concordia Classic leads the nation by more than two feet.
  • Last week the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association released its first NAIA rankings of the season. the Bulldogs checked in at No. 4 on the men’s side and at No. 12 on the women’s side. The ratings are tabulated by assigning point totals to where athletes and relay teams stand on the national leaderboards. Both Concordia teams recorded top-five national finishes at the 2016 NAIA Indoor Track and Field National Championships. The men placed third. The women finished fifth. Then at the outdoor national championships, the Concordia women won the national title and the men claimed a runner-up finish. 
  • Below is the list of 17 automatic national qualifying marks and the five ‘B’ standard qualifying marks recorded by Concordia athletes through the first three weeks of the 2017 indoor season. Of the 17 auto marks, nine have been produced by throwers. Another five have come in additional field events.
    • Men’s 4x400m relay (A, 3:20.59)
    • Cody Boellstorff: weight throw (A, 66’ 9 ¾”); shot put (B, 49’ 6 ½”)
    • Allie Brooks: high jump (A, 5’ 5”); pole vault (A, 12’ 6 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”)
    • Samantha Liermann: shot put (A, 44’ 8”)
    • Zach Lurz: shot put (A, 54’ 10 ¼”); weight throw (A, 60’ 1 ¼”)
    • Sydney Meyer: weight throw (A, 55’ 9”)
    • CJ Muller: 600 meters (A, 1:20.82); 800 meters (B, 1:56.55)
    • Tyrell Reichert: pole vault (A, 15’ 5”)
    • Kali Robb: shot put (A, 46’ 2 ¾”); weight throw (A, 56’ ½”)
    • Adrianna Shaw: shot put (A, 46’ 5 ½”)
    • Lucas Wiechman: 60 meter hurdles (A, 8.25); pole vault (A, 16’ 2 ¾”)
  • Most of the team will be headed to Doane on Saturday for the Fred Beile Invitational, which will play out inside the Fuhrer Field House. The meet is set to get underway at 10 a.m. CT. Select Bulldog athletes will compete at the Sevigne Husker Invite (Feb. 3-4) at the Devaney Center. The GPAC indoor championships are rapidly approaching. They will be hosted by Dordt on Feb. 17-18.