Bulldog Weekly Report (March 7)

By Jacob Knabel on Mar. 7, 2017 in Athletic Announcements

*Due to spring break at Concordia, the Bulldog Athletic Association did not hold its regularly scheduled Tuesday luncheon. Athletes of the week will return on March 14.

Women’s basketball takes national tourney stage on Wednesday: The 38th national tournament game in the history of the Concordia women’s basketball program will get underway at 12 p.m. CT on Wednesday when the No. 1-seeded Bulldogs (31-2) take on eighth-seeded Bryan College (Tenn.) (18-14). All 31 games of the tournament will take place at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa. For more details, click HERE.

Concordia climbs to No. 2 in GPAC All-Sports Trophy Standings: Concordia athletics moved from No. 6 after the conclusion of the fall season, to No. 2 in the GPAC All-Sports Trophy Standings that were released by the conference last week. The Bulldogs made a jump thanks to GPAC titles produced by women’s basketball and wrestling and conference runner-up finish from men’s indoor track and field. Concordia enters the spring with 83.5 points. For complete standings, click HERE.

All-GPAC basketball teams announced: A total of nine Bulldog basketball players earned some form of all-conference honors, as announced by the GPAC last week. The list of honors included several major awards for Concordia. On the women’s side, Drew Olson was named GPAC coach of the year while Mary Janovich (defensive player of the year) and Philly Lammers (freshman of the year) also raked in accolades. On the men’s side, Chandler Folkerts was named the GPAC defensive player of the year and a first team all-conference selection for the third time.
--All-GPAC men | All-GPAC women

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.

Track & Field

  • By the time the dust settled, the weekend haul for the Concordia track and field programs included one Outstanding Performer of the Meet (Lucas Wiechman), three individual national titles, three national runner ups, 14 total All-America performances and team finishes of second on the men’s side and seventh on the women’s side. First-year head coach Matt Beisel’s squad traveled 19 athletes to the 2017 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships, which took place March 2-4. The meet capped off the 2017 indoor season. For more on information on Bulldog track and field, click HERE.
  • Wiechman has polished off an incredible senior indoor season. After earning the GPAC Male Most Outstanding Performer of the Meet, the native of Pilger, Neb., earned the same title at the indoor national championships. This indoor season, Wiechman won individual conference championships in the heptathlon, 60 meter hurdles and pole vault and was part of the conference champion 4x400 meter relay. Wiechman then collected All-America awards in the same events at the national championships. By totaling 5,112 points in the heptathlon, Wiechman record what was the 22nd individual indoor men’s national title in program history.
  • The 23rd and 24th indoor men’s national championships were delivered by Cody Boellstorff (weight throw) and Zach Lurz (shot put). Lurz rose to the occasion with a season best toss of 58’ 7” in the shot put. The Chadron, Neb., native now owns four national titles and 14 All-America awards in his distinguished career. He has won the indoor shot put title three-consecutive years. He will have a chance this outdoor season to sweep shot put national championships for the second year in a row. Additionally, Lurz outperformed his eighth-place ranking in the weight throw. He finished third with a mark of 63’ 11 ½.”
  • Boellstorff is quite accomplished in his own right. He defended his 2016 national title in the weight throw by posting a mark of 67’ 9 ¼.” A year earlier, Boellstorff won the national competition with a still standing school record weight throw of 69’ 9.” In his career Boellstorff has collected six All-America awards and three national titles (one also came in the hammer throw at the 2015 outdoor national championships).
  • Behind the likes of Boellstorff, Lurz and Wiechman, the Concordia men have put together a remarkable run at national championship meets. Over the last five national championships (three indoor, two outdoor), the Bulldogs have placed second, second, third, first and fifth, respectively. The ‘first’ was the program’s first-ever team national title and came at the 2015 outdoor national championships. On the women’s side, Concordia has placed inside the top 10 in four-straight national championship meets. That run includes its 2016 outdoor national title.
  • Throwers totaled two national titles, two national runner-up claims, a total of eight All-America plaques and 41 team points at last week’s championships. In addition to the efforts of Boellstorff and Lurz, All-American throwers were Samantha Liermann (shot put, 5th), Sydney Meyer (weight throw, 5th), Kali Robb (weight throw, 2nd; shot put, 8th) and Adrianna Shaw (shot put, 2nd). Among current Concordia female athletes, Robb’s nine career All-America awards rank No. 1. Meyer and Shaw were first-time All-Americans.
  • Senior CJ Muller is the team’s biggest star on the track. He has now claimed All-America honors in the 600 meters in three-consecutive years. His time of 1:19.26 placed him as the national runner up and was a new personal best. That time puts him No. 2 on the program’s all-time list. Muller was also the anchor leg for Concordia’s All-America 4x400 meter relay that finished sixth in a season best time of 3:16.90.
  • A national qualifier in both the high jump and the pole vault, sophomore Allie Brooks picked up her first career All-America award by clearing 12’ 2 ½” in the pole vault. The Seward High School product won the GPAC title in the event and held the nation’s No. 1 ranking in the pole vault at times this season. Brooks came off a torn ACL her senior year of high school and still managed to qualify for the indoor and outdoor national championships as a freshman. Brooks is the school indoor record holder in the pole vault and high jump.
  • Beisel’s squads now have a break before officially opening up the outdoor season March 24-25 at the Wildcat Classic hosted by Wayne State College. During the 2016 outdoor season, Concordia placed second in the GPAC for both men and women. The women then won the outdoor national title and the men placed runner up.

Wrestling

  • Andrew Nicola’s first season as head coach concluded last week at the 2017 NAIA Wrestling National Championships. As a team, Concordia placed 15th nationally with 33 points and put two individuals on the podium: seniors Ceron Francisco and Ken Burkhardt Jr. Nicola’s 2016-17 team captured GPAC dual and postseason titles and finished with dual records of 11-4 overall (7-0 in the GPAC). For more information on the Concordia wrestling program, click HERE.
  • The Bulldogs have now strung together four-straight top 25 team national finishes. The program best national finish was eighth at the 2016 event. In the years prior, Dana Vote led Concordia to a 12th-place finish in 2015 and a 22nd-place claim in 2014. During that stretch, 10 of the program’s 13 all-time All-Americans have been produced. The Bulldogs’ first-ever All-Americans were delivered at the 2012 championships.
  • Francisco became just the second Bulldog ever to reach the national finals. Concordia’s star heavyweight made his way to the 285-pound championship match by toppling Warner Pacific’s Stephen Wilbert, 4-2, Campbellsville’s 11th-seeded Terrell Moore, 3-2, before landing in the semifinals, where he eked by Grand View’s second-seeded Jacob Laden, 3-2 (TB-1). Francisco was upended in the championship match, 10-2, by fifth-seeded Demetrius Miller of Williams Baptist.
  • The semifinal victory over Laden gave Francisco exactly 100 wins for his career. The two-time All-American from Fayetteville, N.C., improved steadily throughout his career. He went from 13-18 as a freshman to 31-17 as a sophomore to 30-15 as a junior to 26-3 as a senior. Francisco qualified for nationals three times, garnered three first team All-GPAC awards, won two NAIA North Qualifier titles and was named the 2016-17 GPAC wrestler of the year.
  • Meanwhile, Burkhardt Jr. leaves as the program’s winningest wrestler of all time. He went 122-59 over his four seasons. He’s also the program’s only three-time All-American. His national place finishes were eighth as a sophomore, seventh as a junior and sixth as a senior. In each of his final three seasons, Burkhardt Jr. piled up more than 30 wins. His 36 victories as a senior were a career high.
  • Concordia qualified nine wrestlers for the national championships. They combined for 12 national tournament wins. Burkhardt Jr. and Francisco won three apiece. Kodie Cole and Dmitri Smith, also seniors, both went 2-2 at the national tournament. Kirk Kaliszewski and Josh Nelsen notched one win apiece.
  • Seventeen Bulldogs piled up at least 10 wins this season (see list below). Concordia was topped by the 36 from Burkhardt Jr. Francisco (26-3) boasted the team’s best winning percentage. Burkhardt Jr. placed at all seven tournaments that he competed in. He took first at both the Doane and Grand View Opens, second at the NAIA North Qualifier, third at the Missouri Valley Invite, fourth at the Dakota Wesleyan Open, sixth at the UNK Open and sixth at the national championships. Francisco (three), Burkhardt Jr. (two), Nate Bennett (one) and Kaliszewski (one) each won at least one tournament title.
    • Ken Burkhardt Jr. (197): 36-11
    • Ceron Francisco (285): 26-3
    • Josh Nelsen (184): 22-19
    • Kodie Cole (133): 21-14
    • Kirk Kaliszewski (165): 20-16
    • Alexander Reimers (197): 19-16
    • Dmitri Smith (125): 18-12
    • DJ McIntyre (285): 17-12
    • Jon Lado (157): 16-11
    • Kolton Larsen (157): 16-12
    • Foster Bunce (149): 14-11
    • Gabe Crawford (157): 13-10
    • Walker Fisher (174): 13-16
    • Deandre Chery (174): 12-12
    • Darrin Miller (174): 12-12
    • Cooper Bailey (133): 11-10
    • Kyle Carey (141): 10-13
  • Nicola will move the program forward without an 11-member senior class that has helped make the program a conference and regional power and national player. The seniors lost only two GPAC duals during their four years that have produced the most successful seasons in program history. Of the team’s nine national qualifiers, six were seniors.

Women’s Basketball

  • The one outing last week for second-ranked Concordia was a heart stopper. The Bulldogs survived two shots in the final seconds and held off No. 9 Dakota Wesleyan, 78-77 in overtime, in the GPAC tournament championship game. Eleventh-year head coach Drew Olson’s program is the conference regular season and postseason champ for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign. Concordia will enter the national tournament with an overall record of 31-2. For more information on Bulldog women’s basketball, click HERE.
  • Concordia is getting set to make its 16th all-time appearance at the national tournament. Nine of those appearances have come during Olson’s 11 years at the helm of the program. Named GPAC coach of the year for the second time in his career, Olson has guided the Bulldogs to the national semifinals twice. The 2014-15 squad made it all the way to the national title game where it came up just short of the program’s first-ever national championship. Olson owns a national tournament record of 11-8, giving him the most national tournament wins among all coaches in school history.
  • Concordia avenged one of its two regular-season losses by squeaking past Dakota Wesleyan last week. Both meetings between the two sides that took place inside Walz Arena were nailbiters. The Bulldogs defeated the Tigers, 85-82, on Dec. 3 in a game that also saw Dakota Wesleyan hoist a shot in the final seconds. In the latest matchup, Concordia won despite relinquishing an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter. The deciding points were scored in the final minute of overtime when Philly Lammers knocked down two free throws to turn a one-point deficit into a one-point lead. Quinn Wragge had a monster game for the Bulldogs. She tallied 18 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks and three steals.
  • Postseason honors rolled in for Concordia last week. Not only was Olson named the conference coach of the year, Mary Janovich picked up GPAC defensive player of the year honors and Lammers was tabbed the conference freshman of the year. Janovich, also the 2014-15 GPAC freshman of the year, gives the Bulldogs their fourth conference defensive player of the year award in six seasons. In recent years, Tracy Peitz (2013-14) and Katie Rich (2011-12 and 2012-13) were responsible for three GPAC defensive awards.
  • The Bulldogs have reached the 30-win mark for the third time under Olson and for the fifth time in program history. Each of the 30-win seasons have come since 2002-03. The top five winningest teams in school annals are 2002-03 (36-2), 20014-15 (35-3), 2011-12 (34-3), 2016-17 (31-2) and 2004-05 (31-5). Concordia would have to win out to equal the program record 36 wins produced by the athletic hall of fame ’02-03 squad that reached the national semifinals.
  • Entering the national tournament, Lammers continues to pace the team in scoring (13.3), rebounding (6.7), blocks (1.21) and field goal percentage (.570). Her efforts are reminiscent of what Wragge did as a rookie last season. In 2015-16, Wragge topped the Bulldogs in scoring (14.8), rebounding (6.6), steals (1.84), blocks (0.59) and field goal percentage (.585). Prior to Wragge, no freshman had led the team in scoring since Sarah Harrison in 2001-02.
  • As announced on March 1, Concordia has drawn Bryan College (Tenn.) for its first-round matchup at the national tournament. The game will take place at 12 p.m. CT on Wednesday at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa. The two schools also went head-to-head in the first round of the 2015 national tournament. The Bulldogs won going away, 76-35, on their way to the national championship game. Bryan sat at 13-14 overall before its current five-game win streak. The Lions earned an automatic bid to nationals by winning the Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament.
  • The winner of Wednesday’s game will have Thursday off before playing in the second round against either fourth-seeded IU Northwest (Ind.) (25-6) or fifth-seeded Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) (24-6) at 10:15 a.m. on Friday. In the Liston Bracket, where Concordia is the top seed, the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds are Davenport (Mich.) (30-3) and Jamestown (N.D.) (25-5). The complete bracket can be viewed HERE.

Baseball

  • Halfway through their Tucson Invitational slate, the Bulldogs have won four of five games. That stretch included a doubleheader sweep of Grand View University (Iowa), by scores of 12-6 and 5-1, a twin bill split with 16th-ranked University of Jamestown (N.D.) and then a 31-8 drubbing of the University of Winnipeg on Monday. Third-year head coach Ryan Dupic’s squad now sits at 5-4 overall. Concordia opened its season Feb. 25-26 with a four-game series at Bethany College (Kan.). For more information on the Bulldog baseball program, click HERE.
  • The 5-1 win over Jamestown marked the first time the program has claimed victory over a nationally-ranked opponent since it beat No. 15 Sterling College, 4-0, on March 27, 2013. Concordia struggled last season to get over the hump against top 25 foes, going 0-10 against such teams. However, the Bulldogs did notch a late 2016 win over Midland, which was receiving votes at the time of the game. In a doubleheader with Jamestown last season, the Jimmies earned a sweep.
  • The 31 runs score in the blowout of Winnipeg broke a school single game runs record that had stood since 2003. The ’03 squad put up a then program record 27 runs in a 27-4 win over Nebraska Wesleyan on March 25, 2003. In Monday’s victory, Concordia recorded 18 hits and 18 walks. When Wesmen pitchers did throw strikes, Bulldog hitters pounced. Johnny May, Christian Montero and Jake Taylor all homered in the victory. In addition, Wade Council cleaned up with a 4-for-7 day that included a double, triple and five RBIs. Jason Galeano went 3-for-4 with two walks and an RBI, Christian Meza went 4-for-7 with a double and three RBIs, May was 2-for-3 with a double, a homer and three RBIs and Taylor was 2-for-3 with a double, homer, three walks and five RBIs.
  • Offensive productivity hasn’t been an issue for Dupic’s squads, which entered 2017 having broken the program runs scored record in back-to-back campaigns. Through nine games this year, Concordia has tallied 75 runs for an average of 8.3 per game. That’s an even better pace than the record setting 2016 team that piled up 395 runs while averaging 7.2 per game.
  • The Bulldogs are scheduled to play five more games before leaving Tucson. The remainder of their Arizona slate includes one nine-inning game versus NCAA Division II Malone University on Wednesday (1:30 p.m. MT / 2:30 p.m. CT), a single seven-inning game on Thursday with both Waldorf University (Iowa) (9 a.m. MT / 10 a.m. CT) and Valley City State University (N.D.) (3 p.m. MT / 4 p.m. CT) and a doubleheader on Friday with Presentation College (S.D.) (9 a.m. MT / 10 a.m. CT).

Softball

  • The Bulldogs have gotten off to a nice start at the Tucson Invitational, where they are 3-1. In Tucson, Ariz., Concordia has posted wins over NCAA Division III Hiram College (Ohio), 13-0, Judson University (Ill.), 6-5, and Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.), 12-7. The lone desert loss came at the hands of Madonna University (Mich.), 4-2. Fourth-year head coach Todd LaVelle’s squad now stands at 9-4 overall with five games left to play in Arizona. For more information on the Concordia softball program, click HERE.
  • The win over Olivet Nazarene, a team receiving votes in the national poll, marked the 100th career victory for LaVelle. The former head coach of Lincoln North Star High School led the Bulldogs to national tournament appearances in both 2014 and 2015. The ’15 team became the first in school history to win a game at the national tournament. Over LaVelle’s first three seasons, Concordia averaged just over 30 wins per year. It went 32-16 in 2014, 29-23 in 2015 and then 30-18 in 2016. The 32-win season marked the program’s most victories since the 2005 squad went 36-19 and won the GPAC regular-season title.
  • Among GPAC schools, Concordia’s winning percentage of .692 ranks second best. The Bulldogs’ schedule to date has included three teams listed among “others receiving votes” in the national poll. The Bulldogs have defeated two of those opponents – Oklahoma Wesleyan University and Olivet Nazarene. The loss came against Madonna. Based on the current top 25, the only ranked team Concordia will play this season is No. 9 Morningside.
  • Led by Autumn Owens’ three home runs, the Bulldogs have totaled 71 runs for an average of 5.5 per game. On the flip side, Michaela Woodward and the pitching staff have surrendered 47 runs for an average of 3.6 per game. Concordia has shut out two of its foes. Woodward blanked the University of Saint Mary (Kan.) in a 3-0 win on Feb. 25. Then on Sunday, AJ Wygant threw all five innings, allowing just one hit while striking out seven, in the 13-0 rout of Hiram.
  • The Bulldogs will finish up their run at the Tucson Invitational this week. They will play three times on Wednesday: 9 a.m. MT / 10 a.m. CT vs. William Penn University (Iowa), 11 a.m. MT / 12 p.m. CT vs. Shepherd University (Calif.) and 3:30 p.m. MT / 4:30 p.m. CT vs. Dakota State University (S.D.). Concordia will take Thursday off before playing twice more on Friday: 9 a.m. MT / 10 a.m. CT vs. Lawrence Tech (Mich.) and 11 a.m. MT / 12 p.m. CT vs. University of Jamestown (N.D.).

Tennis

  • Both Bulldog tennis teams are in the midst of their busiest stretch of the season. Both are playing on Tuesday (March 7) for the fifth-straight day. The men have gotten on a roll, having won five of their last six matches. In action since last Friday, Concordia has defeated Bethel College (Kan.), Hesston College (Kan.) and Friends University (Kan.). The Bulldog women have also found success against teams from Kansas. In recent outings, Concordia has claimed wins over Kansas Wesleyan University, Hesston and Friends. Entering Tuesday, the men were 5-6 overall while the women were 3-8. For more on the Bulldog tennis programs: MEN | WOMEN.
  • Over the past week, three Concordia men have gone 3-1 in singles play: Thomas Greeff, Gabe Poling and Lucas Zoller. Poling finally lost a singles match for the first time this year when he fell, 6-2, 6-2, to Samir Lopez of Kansas Wesleyan. Even with that defeat, Poling carries an impressive 9-1 singles mark. He’s spent most of his time at No. 4, where he is 6-1. Thanks to his recent run, Greeff has climbed above .500 at 6-5 (4-2 at No. 1). Josh Miller (4-3) and Javier Moreno (4-3) also sport winning records.
  • On the women’s side, Annie Horn and Katie Hertz own four- and three-match winning streaks, respectively, in singles play. Horn, a junior from Denver, Colo., has mostly played at No. 2, but she jumped up to the No. 1 spot on Monday and won 6-2, 6-0, over her opponent from Friends. At 6-4, Horn leads the team in singles wins. Hertz (4-6) and Kayla Smock (4-5) have four wins apiece. As a team, Concordia is over .500 at the No. 2 (6-5) and No. 6 (6-5) positions.
  • Collectively, the Concordia men have produced records of 33-33 in singles and 14-19 in doubles action. Meanwhile, the women are 28-38 in singles and 10-23 in doubles play.
  • Both teams began action at Bethany College (Kan.) at 11:30 a.m. CT on Tuesday. Once action finishes in Lindsborg, Kan., the Bulldogs will take an extended break. They will not return to the courts until March 29-30. The women will be at Nebraska Wesleyan on March 29 and the men will play at NWU the following day. Those matches are scheduled to get started at 4 p.m. CT.