Bulldog Athletics Association Member (BAAM) Athletes of the Week
Female: Katie Welker, Shooting Sports
A senior from Hamill, S.D., Katie Welker cleaned up at the 2026 ACUI National Championships as she was named an All-American while winning the doubles trap national title (HOA/Open) and placing third in doubles skeet. Welker shot 544/600 HOA in San Antonio, Texas. She is a Biology major.
Male: Nick Velders, Tennis
A senior from Gelderland, The Netherlands, Nick Velders went 3-0 in both singles and doubles last week as the Bulldogs concluded nonconference play. Velders owns a spotless 13-0 singles record on the season while playing mostly at No. 2. Concordia stands at 12-3 as a team. Velders is an Exercise Science major.
2025-26 BAAM Athletes of the Month
February – Jonny Jurchen (track & field) / Adrianna Rodencal (track & field)
January – Hayden Kluthe (track & field) / Adrianna Rodencal (track & field)
December – Brooks Kissinger (basketball) / Adysen McCarter (track & field)
November – Ava Greene (volleyball) / Brooks Kissinger (basketball)
October – Kierstynn Garner (soccer) / Adam Van Cleave (football)
September – Carson Fehlhafer (football) / Katie Welker (shooting sports)
2025-26 BAAM Athletes of the Week
March 17 – Ben Chisholm (men’s tennis); Taylor Larsen (dance)
March 3 – Raelyn Kelty (women’s basketball); Brooks Kissinger (men’s basketball)
Feb. 24 – Adysen McCarter (track & field); Cal Price (wrestling)
Feb. 17 – Mary Beth Hart (softball); Jonny Jurchen (track & field)
Feb. 10 – Gabe Lujan (wrestling); Adrianna Rodencal (track & field)
Feb. 3 – JJ Jones (basketball); Hayden Kluthe (track & field)
Jan. 27 – Zac Kulus (basketball); Adrianna Rodencal (track & field)
Jan. 20 – Hayden Kluthe (track & field); Adrianna Rodencal (track & field)
Jan. 13 – Cole Price (wrestling); Ayla Roth (women’s basketball)
Dec. 16 – Jonny Jurchen (track & field); Adysen McCarter (track & field)
Dec. 9 – Ashley Keck (volleyball); Brooks Kissinger (basketball)
Dec. 2 – Brooks Kissinger (basketball); Kristin Vieselmeyer (basketball)
Nov. 18 – Oliver Benson (soccer); Braxtyn Koch (football); Kristin Vieselmeyer (basketball)
Nov. 11 – Ava Greene (volleyball); Brooks Kissinger (basketball)
Nov. 4 – Kierstynn Garner (soccer); Hugo Garrote (soccer)
Oct. 28 – Keeli Green (cross country); Vaughn Hendrickson (cross country)
Oct. 21 – Addie Kirkegaard (volleyball) / Taylor Slaymaker (soccer); Adam Van Cleave (football)
Oct. 14 – Oliver Benson (soccer); Kierstynn Garner (soccer)
Oct. 7 – Carlos Collazo (football); Katie Welker (shooting sports)
Sept. 30 – Hugo Fuentes & Nick Velders (tennis) / Peyton Atwood (football); Sadie Mares (soccer)
Sept. 23 – Oliver Balazs (soccer); Katie Welker (shooting sports)
Sept. 16 – Carson Fehlhafer (football); Ella Waters (volleyball)
Sept. 9 – Sam Blevins (shooting sports); Molli Martin (volleyball)
Sept. 2 – Emery Custer (golf); Slade Leicht (soccer)
Aug. 26 – Kierstynn Garner (soccer); Ashley Keck (volleyball); Sean Stratman (soccer)
News and notes:
BAAM luncheons are held every Tuesday (when classes are in session) 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.
Concordia Athletics mourns the loss of Matthew Wing: A tragic car accident took the life of Concordia student-athlete Matthew Wing on the night of March 13. Concordia Athletics offers heartfelt condolences to his wife, family, friends, classmates and teammates while also continuing to pray for all others affected by the accident. Concordia Athletics posted a photo montage in honor of Wing to social media HERE.
Weides shifts to Director of Soccer Operations, head women’s soccer coach; Ochoa takes reins of men’s soccer program: Both Concordia Soccer programs have undergone a change in the head coaching role. After 18 seasons leading the men’s soccer program, Jason Weides has assumed the title of Director of Soccer Operations / Head Women’s Soccer Coach of the Bulldogs. Meanwhile, Concordia has appointed Concordia Athletics Hall of Famer Bernie Ochoa as Head Men’s Soccer Coach. The personnel announcement was made official by Concordia Athletics on March 9. For additional details, check out the press release HERE.
GPAC All-Conference honors announced for winter sports: The final GPAC All-Conference announcements for winter sports came in early March at the GPAC Cheer & Dance Championships. Complete all-conference listings can be found via the links below. In addition to the all-conference honors earned by Concordia athletes, Josh Watts was named GPAC Coach of the Year for men’s wrestling.
--Men’s Basketball
--Women’s Basketball
--Cheer
--Dance
--Track & Field
--Wrestling
Powerlifting, Weightlifting teams gearing up for nationals: Both the Concordia Powerlifting and Weightlifting teams have competed in one event during the spring semester. Head Coach Freddie Myles’ squads are gearing up for national championship competitions in Apri. The 2026 USA Powerlifting Collegiate National Championships will take place in Kenner, La., April 9-12. Meanwhilie, the 2026 University Weightlifting National Championships will be staged in Salt Lake City, Utah, April 9-12. For additional details on the two programs, check out the following links: Powerlifting | Weightlifting.
Profiling standout Concordia student-athletes: Concordia Athletic Communications frequently highlights student-athletes and their unique stories. In recent feature releases, the journeys of seniors Ashley Keck, Taylor Larsen and Mariana Molano have been detailed. Recently, a feature on the successful season for women’s basketball was released. Links to recent feature stories can be found below.
--WBB: ‘Press’
--Ashley Keck
--Taylor Larsen
--Mariana Molano
--Men’s Tennis Seniors
Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show has returned for an 11th year. 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 2025-26 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, basketball and volleyball. In addition, Eric Allgood will call select volleyball matches in place of Cyza.
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 via the Hudl account. For select JV streams, check out that specific sport’s Facebook page.
Shooting Sports
· Last week:
o Placed 7th/12 at the 2026 ACUI Collegiate Clay Target National Championships in San Antonio, Texas (National Shooting Complex), March 17-21.
· Links: 2025-26 Schedule | Roster
· Notable: The Bulldogs spent the past week in San Antonio, Texas, site of the 2026 ACUI Collegiate Clay Target National Championships. Concordia placed seventh HOA (high over all) with 2,687 targets cracked towards the team leaderboard in the Division 2 breakdown. Three senior athletes came away with major awards. The haul for Katie Welker included national championships in doubles trap (HOA and open), women’s open doubles skeet third place and an All-America honor. Additionally, Devin Harris was named an All-American and Kaylee Hinton claimed the women’s open skeet national championship. The team’s top 10 from an HOA standpoint were Harris (555), Welker (544), Jerry Kaibel (515), Hinton (509), Delayna Rife (502), Sam Blevins (501), Clayton Gellerman (496), Colby Gaines (490), Faith Ritchie (488) and Jaggar Luetje (487). Four Bulldogs busted 98 targets each in trap: Blevins, Harris, Hinton, and Brianna Helsene. Other team leaders by category were Hinton in skeet (98), Harris in doubles skeet (96), sporting clays (84) and super sporting (93) and Welker in doubles trap (96). By discipline, Concordia turned in team scores of 483 in skeet, 455 in doubles skeet, 488 in trap, 459 in doubles trap, 370 in sporting clays and 432 in super sporting. Head Coach Dylan Owens’ program has placed seventh at nationals in three straight seasons. The national championships were a wrap on the 2025-26 season for the Bulldogs. The Concordia Bulldog International Tournament that had been scheduled for April 11-12 has been canceled.
Cheer / Dance
· Cheer Season Scoring Average: 67.27
· Dance Season Scoring Average: 87.57
· Most recent:
o Cheer:
§ Placed 8th/8 (76.73) at the 2026 GPAC Championships on March 6.
o Dance:
§ Placed 3rd/9 (87.99) at the 2026 GPAC Championships on March 7.
· Cheer Links: 2026 Schedule | Roster
· Dance Links: 2026 Schedule | Roster
· Notable: One final competition remains on the 2026 schedule as Concordia Dance has made history by qualifying for the NAIA National Championships. The event is scheduled to take place this Friday and Saturday at the Stormont Vail Events Center in Topeka, Kan. The competition is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday (prelims) and 2:30 p.m. (finals) on Saturday. Head Coach Mandi Maser’s program has qualified for the first time in program history. The Bulldogs were one of 12 qualifiers announced during the NAIA’s selection show on March 16. Concordia earned an at-large bid after ranking in the top 10 nationally in scoring average. The most recent outing for the Bulldogs was the GPAC Championships that saw them place third in dance and eighth in cheer. For more details about this week’s national championships, click the link HERE. A feature on the dance team’s 2026 journey can be found HERE.
· For additional news and notes on cheer and dance programs, click the following links: Cheer | Dance.
· This week:
o 2026 NAIA Cheer and Dance National Championship in Topeka, Kan., March 27-28.
Golf
· Most recent completed tournament:
o Men – Placed 8th/19 (321-278–599) at the Doane Spring Invite on March 17-18.
o Women – Last competed at the Nebraska Intercollegiate on Oct. 6-7.
· Men’s Links: 2025-26 Schedule | Roster | Statistics
· Women’s Links: 2025-26 Schedule | Roster | Statistics
· Notable: The weather contrasted sharply between day one and day two at last week’s Doane Spring Invite. Concordia Men’s Golf took advantage of pristine conditions in round two and carded a school record 18-hole team score of two-under-par 278 at Mahoney Golf Course in Lincoln, Neb. The two-under-par team total eclipsed the previous program record of one-under-par (283) turned in at the UC Ferguson Classic in August 2022. The latest record-breaking performance pushed the Bulldogs to eighth place (out of 19 groupings) on the final team leaderboard. Impressively, three Concordia individuals shot below par in round two: seniors Jake Richmond (-3; 67) and Brock Rogers (-2; 68) and freshman Calvin Zabloudil (-1; 69). Richmond led the Bulldogs with a 16th-place finish (77-67–144) in a field of 107 golfers. Rogers (80-68–148) wound up in a tie for 29th. The varsity team average through nine events in 2025-26 now stands at 312.1. On the women’s side, Concordia will make its spring debut this weekend at the Bethel College Invite in Newton, Kan. Both of Head Coach Brett Muller’s squads will be on the course at Sand Creek Station this weekend. Emery Custer and the Bulldog women hope to pick up where they left off in the fall when they placed second at four different tournaments.
· This week:
o M/W – Saturday-Sunday, March 28-29 at Bethel College Invite (Sand Creek Station GC in Newton, Kan.).
Tennis
· Current records: men – 12-3 | women – 9-4.
· Last week:
o W – Won at No. 19 William Woods, 4-2, on March 21.
o M – Won vs. Seward County CC, 5-2, on March 19.
o M – Won at Missouri Valley, 5-2, on March 20.
o W – Lost at No. 17 William Woods, 4-2, on March 21.
· Men’s Links: 2025-26 Schedule | Roster | Statistics
· Women’s Links: 2025-26 Schedule | Roster | Statistics
· Notable: It was a solid conclusion to the nonconference portion of the regular season slate for Head Coach Lisa Hart’s squads. The men went 2-1 last week with wins over Seward County Community College (Kan.) and Missouri valley College before a tight defeat at No. 17 William Woods University (Mo.). The women were originally scheduled to play the same three foes, but two matches were wiped out due to the lack of available players for the opponents. In their one outing of the week, the women earned a 4-2 victory over No. 19 William Woods, a 2025 national qualifier. The men now stand at 12-3 in dual matches while led by All-American senior Nick Velders, who remains unbeaten in singles (13-0) on the season. Velders went 3-0 last week in both singles and doubles. The Bulldogs swept the doubles court over both Seward County CC and Missouri Valley as part of team wins. In the match at William Woods, the Owls took two of three in doubles and then clinched the win by triumphing at singles Nos. 1, 4 and 5. Concordia has shown its progress by pushing both No. 14 Missouri Baptist and No. 17 William Woods. On the women’s side, the Bulldogs picked up a road victory of major significance after dropping the doubles point. Concordia rallied with singles wins from No. 1 Mariana Molano, No. 2 Chakira Derman, No. 3 Ishane Derman and No. 5 Alexa Richert (clincher). Those results lead the Bulldogs into the start of conference play this week. Both teams will host Hastings before heading to league favorite and nationally ranked Morningside for a weekend showdown. Seniors will be honored prior to this week’s home matches. Both programs have four seniors.
· For additional news and notes on the tennis programs, click the following links: Men | Women.
· This week:
o M – Wednesday, March 25 vs. Hastings (0-10, 0-0 GPAC), 4 p.m.
o W – Thursday, March 26 vs. Hastings (6-5, 0-0 GPAC), 4 p.m.
o M/W – Saturday, March 28 at No. 14 M / No. 21 W Morningside (M – 14-4, 0-0 GPAC; W – 17-1, 0-0 GPAC), 12 p.m.
Softball
· Current record: 12-8, 1-1 GPAC.
· Last week:
o Won at Nebraska Wesleyan, 8-4, on March 20.
o Won at Nebraska Wesleyan, 8-5, on March 20.
o Won at Briar Cliff, 4-3, on March 21.
o Lost at Briar Cliff, 8-6, on March 21.
· Links: 2026 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA Coaches’ Polls
· Notable: After taking the week of spring break off, the Bulldogs returned to action this past weekend with a pair of doubleheaders. In nonconference action, Concordia swept Nebraska Wesleyan, winning by scores of 8-4 and 8-5. Head Coach Brock Culler’s squad then split its GPAC opening twin bill at Briar Cliff (4-3 win and 8-6 loss). A major development of late is the red-hot hitting of sophomore Keira Farritor, who had exactly two hits in each of last week’s four games. For the week, she went 9-for-14 with three doubles and seven RBIs. Farritor’s two-run double in the seventh inning of game one at Briar Cliff proved to be the game winner. It was also a fine week for the likes of freshman Mary Beth Hart (8-for-17; .471) and junior Aubriana Krieser (7-for-14; .500). In the game one win at NWU, Tobi Topp launched a three-run homer. In the weekend’s only defeat, the Bulldogs let a 5-3 lead after four innings slip away. In the pitching circle, junior Kaylei Denison earned two wins last week. Originally scheduled to play Midland last week, Concordia pushed the doubleheader with the Warriors to April 2. This week’s slate features five total games, including a nonconference clash with Bellevue on Wednesday and home doubleheaders with GPAC foes Morningside and Dakota Wesleyan. Thursday’s action will mark the Bulldogs’ first home appearance of 2026.
· For additional news and notes on the softball program, click HERE.
· This week:
o Wednesday, March 25 at Bellevue (11-13), 6 p.m. (1 game).
o Thursday, March 26 vs. Morningside (13-11, 4-0 GPAC), 5 p.m. DH.
o Saturday, March 28 vs. Dakota Wesleyan (20-11, 3-1 GPAC), 1 p.m. DH.
Baseball
· Current record: 17-11, 5-3 GPAC; receiving votes in the NAIA coaches’ poll.
· Most recent (including spring trip):
o Won vs. No. 23 Doane, 9-8, on March 20 (Lincoln, Neb.).
o Lost vs. No. 23 Doane, 6-2, on March 20 (Lincoln, Neb.).
o Won at No. 23 Doane, 6-3, on March 21.
o Lost at No. 23 Doane, 7-6, on March 21.
· Links: 2026 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA Coaches’ Polls
· Notable: Last week brought a matchup of league heavyweights in what NAIA Ball dubbed its Big Series of the Week. Concordia and No. 23 Doane split the four-game set which played out in Lincoln and Crete. The Bulldogs won games 1 and 3 (9-8 and 6-3) and the Tigers won games 2 and 4 (6-2 and 7-6). The highlight of the first Concordia win was the pinch-hit grand slam supplied by Jack Hirchert in the fifth inning. The blast made a winner out of pitcher Alex Johnson, who went 6.1 innings with nine strikeouts (eight runs allowed). In the victory in game three of the series, both Alex Draper and Bronx Lewis homered while Carson Burnett, Jake Watson and Cade Vanis each produced an RBI single. Brody Smearer (4 IP) and Trent Schlim (3 IP) combined to log all seven innings. Lewis went 7-for-13 with two doubles, two home runs and six RBIs in the series and leads all GPAC players with 11 home runs this season. On another statistical note, Johnson pushed his career strikeout total to 256, moving him to No. 2 on the program’s all-time list. Meanwhile, Zackery Day needs one more stolen base to reach 100 for his career. Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad sports a 17-11 overall record with 11 games having been played against NAIA top 25 teams. Next up, Concordia will hit the road this weekend for doubleheaders at Waldorf and Briar Cliff.
· For additional news and notes on the baseball program, click HERE.
· This week:
o Saturday, March 28 at Waldorf (8-20, 1-7 GPAC), 12 p.m. DH.
o Sunday, March 29 at Briar Cliff (13-14, 6-2 GPAC), 12 p.m. DH.
Outdoor Track & Field
· Season opening meet: this week!
· Most recent:
o Placed T-31st on the women’s side and T-33rd on the men’s side at 2026 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships on March 5-7.
· Links: 2025-26 Schedule | Roster | TFRRS Performance Lists
· Notable: Other than a few athletes, the Bulldogs have been idle since the NAIA Indoor Championships took place March 5-7. Concordia has been preparing for a return to action at this Saturday’s UNK-Hastings Central Nebraska Challenge at Kearney High School. A large field of Bulldogs are expected to take part in the meet. This past Saturday, Concordia was represented by Jonny Jurchen at the Grand View Viking Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. Jurchen wasted no time in qualifying for nationals as he clocked a personal best 5,000-meter racewalk time of 22:28.39. Following this Saturday’s meet in Kearney, Head Coach Matt Beisel’s programs will quickly gear up to host the Concordia Invite on April 2-3. It will be one of two home meets this outdoor season for the Bulldogs. A detailed preview of the outdoor season can be found HERE.
· For additional news and notes on the track & field programs, click HERE.
· This week:
o Saturday, March 28 – UNK-Hastings Central Nebraska Challenge (Kearney High School); season’s first outdoor meet.