Bulldog Weekly Report (May 10)

By Jacob Knabel on May. 10, 2016 in Athletic Announcements

*This is the final weekly report of the 2015-16 athletic year

News and notes:

Registration open for Bulldog Golf Classic: The 23rd annual Bulldog Golf Classic is set for Friday, July 22 at Woodland Hills Golf Course in Eagle, Neb. Team payment and registration is due by July 8. Teams can be registered by clicking HERE.

Concordia finishes as runner up in 2015-16 GPAC All-Sports standings: A year after winning the GPAC All-Sports Trophy for the third time in school history, Concordia moved back one spot to No. 2 in 2015-16. The Bulldogs racked up 156 points in the standings. This marks the first time since the 2001-02 and 2002-03 academic years that Concordia has placed in the top two of the standings in consecutive years. For more details, click HERE.

Explosiveness, improved passing focus of volleyball spring: Coming off its first-ever national tournament appearance, the Concordia volleyball team placed emphasis upon two key areas during this past spring season. One method for improving explosiveness involved working with head baseball coach Ryan Dupic. For more on the Bulldog volleyball team’s spring season, click HERE.

New-look men’s soccer squad retools in spring: Following its GPAC tournament championship run this past fall, Concordia men’s soccer returned to exhibition action this spring with a new-look team. Said head coach Jason Weides, “(Winning the GPAC title) was a great accomplishment for the team, but we’re preparing for next year. Last year was last year.” For more on the spring season, click HERE.

Young women’s tennis squad shows growth: A youthful women’s tennis team came of age during a recent run of five-straight wins over GPAC opponents. The late-season run helped propel the Bulldogs to a third-place regular-season finish. For more on head coach Joel Reckewey’s young group, click HERE.

Fall schedules announced: Fall 2016 schedules have now been announced for the sports of football, men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball. For complete schedules, click below.
-Football
-Men’s Soccer
-Women’s Soccer
-Volleyball

Omaha World-Herald NAIA All-Nebraska teams announced: A total of seven Bulldog men’s and women’s basketball players were named to NAIA All-Nebraska teams selected by the Omaha World-Herald. Both Chandler Folkerts and Quinn Wragge were tabbed to the first team. Mary Janovich earned second team distinction and Becky Mueller, Jamie Pearson, Robby Thomas and Eli Ziegler were each named honorable mention.

Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 4 p.m. CT: New this year is the Bulldog Coaches Show, which runs for a half hour every Thursday beginning at 4 p.m. CT on KOOL 103.5 FM. The show can also be heard live via 104.9 Max Country’s website or by downloading the TuneIn Radio app and then searching “KOOL.” Throughout the 2015-16 season, Bulldog football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball contests were 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.

Baseball

  • A record-breaking 2016 season came to an end over the weekend for second-year head coach Ryan Dupic’s squad. Concordia made a strong push to come out of the Midland Bracket of the GPAC tournament, but fell twice to regular-season champion Midland on May 7 and was eliminated from postseason play. The Bulldogs had put themselves in the driver’s seat by beginning the league tourney with wins over Northwestern, 12-0, and Midland, 6-4. After coming up empty on day three of the postseason, Concordia closes 2016 at 28-27 overall. To read recent recaps, click HERE.
  • The 2016 team broke numerous program single-season records, including standards for wins (28), runs scored (395), home runs (38), pitcher strikeouts (295) and postseason wins (2). Last week’s blowout of Northwestern gave the program its first conference tournament victory since 2005. In addition, Concordia’s fourth-place tie in the regular season marked its highest GPAC finish since the league’s formation in 2000-01. The Bulldogs continue to seek their first conference title since the 1986 squad won the NIAC regular-season championship.
  • The 2016 squad joined the 2000 and 2002 Concordia editions as the only teams in program history to have three players hit at least seven home runs. The Bulldogs got long ball happy at the GPAC tournament with six over the four-game run in Fremont. All of them were accounted for by three players: Jake Adams, Alex Alstott and Christian Montero. A native of the Dominican Republic, Montero ended up leading the team with nine home runs, tied for third most ever by a Bulldog. In addition, Alstott and Kaleb Geiger added seven big flies apiece.
  • Lefty Josh Prater emerged as the team’s most effective pitcher down the stretch. He ended the season with a consecutive scoreless innings streak of 20.2 after his second-straight outing of more than seven innings without surrendering a run. The native of Colorado Springs used 138 pitches to navigate eight shutout frames versus Northwestern last week. He allowed three hits and four walks while striking out three. He finished the season with a 3-0 record and team best 2.87 ERA over 37.2 innings.
  • With Prater leading the way, Concordia hurlers opened up the conference tournament 15-straight scoreless innings. The pitchers included in that run, in addition to Prater, were Ben Kruse, Mark Harris and Tanner Wauhob. Harris walked six hitters but still managed to keep Midland off the board through 4.2 innings of work. He completed his senior season with a 4-4 record and a team high 50 strikeouts in 57.2 innings pitched.
  • Serving as the team’s Nos. 3 and 4 hitters for nearly every game, Geiger and Montero knocked home 50 runs apiece. They were both just a single RBI short of the program single-season record held by Jarrod Pimentel, who knocked in 51 runs in 2000. Meanwhile, Geiger equaled Zak Goodrich’s record of 48 runs scored in a single year. In addition, Geiger and Montero were just short of Goodrich’s doubles record (17 in 2010). Geiger recorded 16 two-baggers while Montero had 15.
  • The 2016 team doubled the program’s number of all-time GPAC tournament wins, which had stood at two prior to last week. Concordia registered one conference tournament win in 2004 and 2005, but had gone 0-2 in each of its other four appearances in the GPAC bracket (2001, 2010, 2011, 2012). The 2016 season also marked the first time the Bulldogs have ever defeated every team in the GPAC at least once.
  • The large majority of Concordia’s regular contributors this season were underclassmen. The headlining seniors that will move on are Alstott (center/right field), Alex Cargin (second base), Taylor Dudley (outfielder) and Harris (pitcher). Six of the nine position players who started the final game of the season were freshmen through juniors. Among them are standouts Geiger and Montero as well as Adams, who delivered the game-winning grand slam in the 6-4 victory over Midland on May 6.

Softball

  • For the first time in head coach Todd LaVelle’s three seasons at the helm of the program, Concordia will not advance to the opening round of the national tournament. The 2016 campaign ended last week with a 3-1 loss to Hastings in a GPAC tournament elimination game played in Sioux City, Iowa. It was the first time LaVelle has ever lost a conference tournament elimination contest since his arrival in 2014. The 2016 squad concluded the year at 30-18 overall. Just three GPAC teams posted a higher overall winning percentage. To read recaps of recent action, click HERE.
  • The 30 wins marked the sixth-highest single-season total in program history and were two shy of the high-water mark (32-16 in 2014) under LaVelle. The 2005 squad that went 36-19 overall and won the GPAC regular-season title stands as the winningest team in school history. LaVelle’s three seasons as head coach have seen Concordia tie the program record for most wins in a three-year stretch (91). The 2003 – 2005 squads posted a combined 91 wins as well.
  • Sophomore third baseman Autumn Owens completed a monster 2016 season by tying Clarissa Eloge’s school single-season record of nine home runs. Owens blasted No. 9 in the 10-9 loss to Hastings in the opening game of the conference tournament. The native of Henderson, Nev., topped Concordia in batting average (.392), home runs, RBIs (45), total bases (99) and slugging percentage (.692) on the season. Her RBI total ties for the third most in a season by a Bulldog hitter.
  • Just as she did a year ago, Michaela Woodward started every game in the circle at the GPAC tournament. After allowing six runs in the 10-9 loss, she responded by tossing the final 13 innings of the tournament while surrendering only four runs on 13 hits and three walks. She also struck out nine hitters during that same stretch. The native of Cortland, Neb., went 11-6 with a 4.56 ERA and team high 78 strikeouts in 149 innings. With Kylie Harpst joining the pitching staff this year, Woodward threw 45.2 fewer innings compared to her freshman season.
  • Behind a powerful offense, Concordia outscored its opponents by nearly 100 runs (295-197) during the 2016 season. Four different regulars finished the campaign with batting averages above .350: Harpst (.392), Owens (.392), Woodward (.380) and Taylor Huff (.355). The four aforementioned players combined for 23 of the team’s 28 total home runs. Harpst topped the team with 62 hits, sixth most by a Bulldog in a single season. Harpst also led the squad with 14 stolen bases. She was caught only once.
  • Second baseman Leah Kalkwarf ended her freshman season with a hot bat. She produced the only Concordia run in the 3-1 season-ending loss to Hastings with a fourth-inning homer, the first of her collegiate career. Over her last nine games, Kalkwarf went 11-for-24 (.458) with a home run, five doubles, eight runs and five RBIs. She ended up with a .310 batting average for the year. She also swiped 13 bases and posted a .950 fielding percentage.
  • Over the past three seasons, Concordia has gone a combined 32-28 (.533) during GPAC regular-season play. Over that same time period, the Bulldogs are 11-5 in conference tournament games. They have cleaned up against non-league foes, going 48-24 in such contests since the start of the 2014 season.
  • The bulk of Concordia’s key players are set to return in 2017. The Bulldogs say goodbye to a group of five seniors. Among them, Julia Tyree earned the highest accolades having produced a first team all-conference season in 2015. The native of Benicia, Calif., hit .397 with seven home runs and 11 doubles last year as a junior. For her career, she hit .314 with 11 home runs. The other seniors on this year’s roster were NiCole Dobernecker, Danny Harstad, Bri Liebelt and Amanda Snider.

Track and Field

  • Another successful conference meet took place over the weekend as Concordia’s No. 2 nationally-ranked squads both finished as runner ups at the GPAC outdoor meet hosted by Hastings (May 6-7). Seven Bulldogs combined for 11 individual conference championships. Four of them won two events: Liz King, Josh Slechta, Lucas Wiechman and Kim Wood. Other conference champs were McKenzie Gravo, Jacob Kettner and Kali Robb. The outing marked the final conference meet as head coach for Kregg Einspahr, who is completing his 24th year at the helm of the program. For more on Concordia track and field, click HERE.
  • While Concordia had hoped to leave Hastings with another GPAC title, its consolation prize were two runner-up claims that extended streaks of top-two finishes at the conference outdoor meet to five years on the women’s side and four years on the men’s side. The Bulldog men attempted to defend their GPAC outdoor titles from 2014 and 2015, but finished 26 points short of champion Doane. The Concordia women have been the outdoor runner up four-straight years since their 2012 title. They also shared the championship with Doane in 2010.
  • Josh Slechta put together an impressive weekend in claiming titles in both the hammer throw and the discus. His toss of 208’ 4” in the hammer broke the GPAC meet record and outdistanced second-place finisher and teammate Zach Lurz by 18 feet. Slechta then broke his own school record in the discus with a throw of 180’ 4.” The 2015 national champ in the weight throw, Slechta is the current NAIA leader in the hammer (210’ 10”). He also ranks No. 2 in the discus.
  • GPAC titles have become the norm for Wood, a senior from Greeley, Neb. Back in February she won four GPAC titles (three in meet record times) as part of an unprecedented performance. This past weekend she added her 11th and 12th career individual conference titles by out-legging the competition in the 800 and 1,500 meter races. She’s also been a four-time All-American in individual events while serving on two All-American 4x800 meter relays.
  • Liz King’s career has been equally as impressive as that of Wood. A native of Billings, Mont., King has now won each of the last four GPAC titles in the javelin. Over the weekend she not only came out on top in the javelin, but also took first in the hammer for the second-straight year. King is the GPAC outdoor meet record holder in both events. She also has a 2014 javelin national title to her credit.
  • King was the ringleader for a Bulldog women’s hammer throw crew that held down each of the top five spots at the GPAC championships. Beyond having GPAC titlists in five throwing events, Concordia long tossers accounted for 93 of 164 team points on the women’s side and 78 of 177 team points on the men’s side. Concordia went 1-2-4-6-7-8 in the men’s hammer and 1-2-4-6 in the men’s discus.
  • Wiechman, a junior from Pilger, Neb., scored the most individual team points with 30. Twenty of those came from wins in the decathlon and the 110 meter hurdles. His time of 14.60 in the 110 meter hurdles produced one of two fresh automatic qualifying marks on the weekend. He also placed third in the pole vault and fifth in the 400 meter hurdles.
  • Concordia has now won each of the last five GPAC women’s pole vault titles. Gravo swept conference pole vault championships in 2016, achieving the feat accomplished in 2015 by then senior Cassie Starks. Shelby Yeldon also won the 2014 GPAC outdoor pole vault title. Gravo currently ranks in a tie for fourth on the NAIA national pole vault leaderboard.
  • Below is the list of 33 automatic national qualifying marks (does not include multi events) and nine ‘B’ standard marks turned in by Bulldog athletes through all competitions this outdoor season. This past week marked the first meet of the season that included multi events. Benjamin Schulteis turned in a fresh automatic national qualifying mark in the hammer throw. That pushes the number of national qualifying marks by Bulldog throwers to 27.
    • Adam Aschenbrenner – hammer (B, 168’ 1”)
    • Trey Barnes – shot put (A, 55’ 6 ½”); discus (A, 164’ 11”)
    • Allison Brooks – pole vault (B, 11’ 5 ¾”)
    • Kattie Cleveland – discus (A, 149’ 10”); hammer (A, 181’ 9”)
    • Stephanie Coley – shot put (A, 46’ 6 ¾”); discus (A, 160’ 3”); hammer (A, 181’ 11”)
    • McKenzie Gravo – pole vault (A, 12’ 1 ½”); long jump (B, 18’ 1 ¾”)
    • Jacob Kettner – triple jump (B, 47’ 2 ½”)
    • Liz King – hammer (A, 183’ 9”); javelin (A, 154’ 1”)
    • Philip Kreutzer – shot put (A, 51’ 4 ½”); hammer (A, 177’ 3”)
    • Samantha Liermann – shot put (A, 46’ 6 ¾”); hammer (B, 156’ 4”)
    • Zach Lurz – shot put (A, 59’ 1 ¼”); discus (A, 175’ 11”); hammer (A, 194’ 7”)
    • Sydney Meyer – hammer (A, 175’)
    • CJ Muller – 200 meters (B, 21.54); 400 meters (B, 48.40)
    • Nicole Perry – hammer (A, 165’ 4”)
    • Kali Robb – shot put (A, 49’ 5”); hammer (A, 172’ 7”); discus (B, 139’ 11”)
    • Jose Rojas – shot put (A, 52’ 9 ½”); discus (A, 162’ 7”); hammer (A, 195’ 2”)
    • Benjamin Schulteis – hammer (A, 172’ 9”)
    • Josh Slechta – discus (A, 180’ 4”); hammer (A, 210’ 10”)
    • Jan Steinbrueck – discus (A, 144’ 5”)
    • Katricia Svoboda – discus (A, 158’); javelin (A, 135’ 3”); hammer (B, 163’ 6”)
    • Lucas Wiechman – pole vault (A, 15’ 11”); 110 meter hurdles (A, 14.60); ranks No. 6 nationally in the decathlon (6,400 points)
    • Kim Wood – 1,500 meters (A, 4:38.12); 800 meters (A, 2:10.56)
  • The Bulldogs will compete in one additional meet before the 2016 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships take place May 26-28. Next up is the Prairie Wolf Invitational (May 13) hosted by Nebraska Wesleyan. The event schedule can be viewed HERE.

Golf

  • The 2015-16 golf season reached the endpoint on Monday with the men’s GPAC Qualifier No. 4 held at Two Rivers Golf Club in North Sioux City, S.D. Concordia carded its lowest conference score of the season with a 296, placing fourth on the day. On the year, the Bulldogs placed seventh with a four-round total of 312-316-319-296–1,243. The Bulldog women ended their season exactly a week earlier (May 2). They placed sixth in the GPAC (354-348-379-348–1,429). For more on head coach Brett Muller’s golf programs: MEN | WOMEN.
  • The cumulative total of 1,243 actually represented a 12-stroke improvement from the 2014-15 season when the Bulldogs placed sixth among the 11 men’s golf programs in the GPAC. Prior to Monday, Concordia’s lowest ever score in a GPAC qualifier was a 300, which came at the first conference meet of the 2014-15 campaign. Over 15 rounds in 2015-16, the Bulldogs averaged a score of 310.3.
  • Freshman Nolan Zikas enjoyed an impressive spring season. He shot an even-par 70 at the GPAC qualifier on Monday. Over his final three events of the season, the native of La Vista, Neb., placed first, third and first, respectively. He tied for the lead at both GPAC Nos. 3 and 4 for his first career tournament wins at the collegiate level. With a spring average of 74.8, Zikas lowered his season mean score to 77.1 (second best on the team). Zikas put together a four-round conference total of 79-79-74-70–302, putting him a tie for eighth overall (all-conference territory).
  • The 296 was the second lowest single-round score in school history. It came on the same golf course as the best round in program annals – a 291 on April 19 of this spring. This year’s squad shot below a 300 three times. All three rounds came in under the school record (300) entering 2015-16. Zikas and company carded a 310 or lower a total of six times this season.
  • Joining Zikas at GPAC No. 4 were junior Reid Wiebe (73), sophomore Russell Otten (75), senior Sam Simonson (78) and sophomore Tyler Ehresman (81). Other than Zikas, the three additional Bulldogs to qualify for the overall individual GPAC leaderboard were Otten (76-77-84-75–312; 21st), Wiebe (84-82-75-73–314; T-23rd) and Ehresman (73-80-87-81–321; T-30th).
  • Wiebe (76.4), Zikas (77.1) and Otten (77.9) were the three Bulldogs to finish with season averages in the 70s. Five others checked in under 83 for the season: Ehresman (80.4), Knoepfel (81.2), Court Croghan (82.1), Matt Otten (82.3) and Simonson (82.4). Eleven different Concordia golfers competed in at least one varsity event during the 2015-16 season. Individual low rounds of 69 were recorded once by both Wiebe and Zikas.
  • Of the five Bulldogs who competed on Monday, just one is a senior (Simonson). Each of Concordia’s top-six golfers, in terms of season average, are underclassmen.

Tennis

  • The second season of Concordia tennis under head coach Joel Reckewey concluded last week at the 2016 GPAC championships held at Fremont High School Tennis Complex in Fremont, Neb. The campaign ended in the morning for the fifth-seeded men, who fell, 5-4, at the hands of Midland in a conference quarterfinal match. On the other hand, the women advanced to the semifinals by getting past Hastings, 6-3, in the quarters. Top-seeded Morningside then eliminated the Bulldogs, 5-0. The men ended the season with an overall record of 7-12. The women went 8-15 overall. For more on Reckewey’s tennis programs: MEN | WOMEN.
  • The women moved their win streak against conference opponents to five via a second-straight win over the Broncos. Concordia’s doubles teams (12-3 during the streak) again got off to a strong start in earning wins at Nos. 1 (Hailey Lemos/Annie Horn) and 2 (Katelinn Wurm/Kayla Smock). The Bulldogs proceeded to get singles victories from Lemos (No. 1), Horn (No. 2), Hannah Boe (No. 5) and Smock (No. 6).
  • Horn and Smock both enjoyed success while up against GPAC singles opponents this season. Smock went 5-2 versus GPAC foes while Horn went 5-3. Smock was especially effective when she moved to the No. 6 position. Though 8-10 overall, Smock went 6-1 while at No. 6. Horn found her sweet spot at No. 2, going 5-2 in seven matches at that position.
  • During its five-match win streak against conference opponents, Concordia defeated Midland, Northwestern, Mount Marty and then Hastings twice. The Bulldogs turned things around after beginning the year at 3-13 overall and 1-3 in conference play. At 5-3 in league play, the Bulldogs tied for third in the regular-season standings.
  • Overall in 2016, the Concordia women were a combined 44-89 in singles matches and 23-43 in doubles play (16-14 versus GPAC opponents). The Bulldogs went through 19 different doubles combinations before honing in on the right pairs. Four individuals posted six or more singles wins: Horn (9-11), Smock (8-10), Wurm (6-16) and Boe (6-14). In addition, four players had five or more wins in doubles play: Horn (9-13), Wurm (7-15), Lemos (6-6) and Boe (5-13). The duo of Horn and Lemos went 6-3, including 6-2 against conference foes.
  • In its narrow GPAC tournament loss to host and fourth-seeded Midland, Concordia fell behind early by dropping two of three doubles matches. Needing four singles wins for a team victory, the Bulldogs mustered three. They came from Willy Pardos (No. 1), Thomas Greeff (No. 2) and Gabe Poling (No. 4). Pardos and Javier Moreno (No. 1) were the only doubles combo to claim victory for the Bulldogs.
  • Despite the team loss, Pardos finished up a stellar freshman season. He went 12-6 overall while competing all year at No. 1 singles. He lost just once while up against GPAC opponents and made waves early in the year when he upset a nationally-ranked opponent. The native of Pamplona, Spain, also put together a solid 9-8 overall mark at No. 1 doubles.
  • Overall this past season, the Concordia men went 47-67 in singles play and 19-35 in doubles competition. Freshmen dominated the individual leaderboards with Pardos and fellow rookie Poling (12-7) tying the team high for singles wins. Another freshman, Greeff, tied for third on the team with eight wins. Moreno also had eight singles wins in his junior season. Five Bulldogs had at least five doubles wins: Pardos (9-8), Moreno (9-9), Greeff (6-12), Patricio Esquivel (5-13) and Poling (5-13).
  • Concordia will return a lot of familiar faces in 2016-17. Out of 22 total men’s and women’s players, none are seniors. An overwhelming number – 13 – are freshmen for programs that at times experienced growing pains in 2016. Both squads employed a freshman at the No. 1 spot (Pardos and Lemos).