Bulldog Weekly Report (May 7)

By Jacob Knabel on May. 7, 2019 in Athletic Announcements

Bulldog Athletic Association Athletes of the Week

Male: Cody Williams, Track & Field

A native of Imperial, Neb., Williams earned the GPAC Outstanding Athlete of the Meet award at the conference outdoor championships while winning individual GPAC titles in the 110 hurdles and long jump. He also placed second in the high jump and third in the long jump. As a team, the Concordia men placed third in the GPAC.

Female: Tori Homolka, Softball

Homolka, who hails from Swanton, Neb., finished her sophomore season by going 7-for-13 (.538) with two runs, a home run and two RBIs during GPAC tournament action last week. For the season, Homolka batted .400 with seven home runs and 34 RBIs.

Previous Athletes of the Week
April 30 – Sasha Jabusch (baseball) / Marlene Maier (tennis)
April 23 – Cody Williams (track & field) / Jessica Deterding (track & field)
April 16 – Jason Munsch (baseball) / Hhana Haro (softball)
April 9 – Cody Williams (track & field) / Kirsten Wagner (tennis)
April 2 – Wyatt Hambly (shooting sports) / Erin Lokke (shooting sports)
MARCH Athletes of the Month: Wyatt Hambly (shooting sports) / Grace Barry (basketball)
March 26 – Jesse Garcia (baseball) / Tori Homolka (softball)
March 17 – Grace Barry (basketball)
March 3 – Alberto Garcia (wrestling) / Jacee Pfeifer (track & field)
FEBRUARY Athletes of the Month: Josiah McAllister (track & field) / Taylor Cockerill (basketball)
Feb. 26 – Wade Council (baseball) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
Feb. 19 – Josiah McAllister (track & field) / Jacee Pfeifer (track & field)
Feb. 12 – Isaac Howes (tennis) / Quinn Wragge (basketball)
Feb. 5 – Cam Devers (wrestling) / Taylor Cockerill (basketball)
JANUARY Athletes of the Month: Brevin Sloup (basketball) / Taylor Grove (track & field)
Jan. 29 – Mario Ybarra (wrestling) / Taylor Grove (track & field)
Jan. 22 – Michael Stann (wrestling) / Addie Shaw (track & field)
Jan. 15 – Brevin Sloup (basketball) / Leah Larson (track & field)
Jan. 8 – Zack Moistner (wrestling) / Mackenzie Koepke (basketball)
DECEMBER Athletes of the Month: Tanner Shuck (basketball) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
Dec. 31 – Brevin Sloup (basketball) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
Dec. 18 – Taylor Cockerill (basketball) / Michael Stann (wrestling)
Dec. 11 – Deandre Chery (wrestling) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
Dec. 4 – Tanner Shuck (basketball) / Taylor Grove (track & field)
NOVEMBER Athletes of the Month: Alberto Garcia (wrestling) / Quinn Wragge (basketball)
Nov. 27 – Alberto Garcia (wrestling) / Taylor Grove (cross country) / Quinn Wragge (basketball)
Nov. 13 – Zac Walter (football) / Grace Barry (basketball)
Nov. 6 – Jack Bennett (soccer) / Tori Cera (soccer)
OCTOBER Athletes of the Month: Carlos Ferrer (soccer) / Maria Deeter (soccer)
Oct. 30 – Carlos Ferrer (soccer) / Taylor Cockerill (basketball)
Oct. 23 – Josiah McAllister (cross country) / Jenna Habegger (volleyball)
Oct. 16 – Carlos Ferrer (soccer) / Maria Deeter (soccer)
Oct. 9 – Kordell Glause (football) / Brynn Suddeth (soccer)
Oct. 2 – Zac Walter (football) / Maria Deeter (soccer)
SEPTEMBER Athletes of the Month: Ryan Durdon (football) / Emmie Noyd (volleyball)
Sept. 25 – Roger de la Villa (soccer) / Erin Lokke (shooting sports)
Sept. 18 – Lane Napier (football) / Emmie Noyd (volleyball)
Sept. 11 – Ryan Durdon (football) / Marissa Hoerman (volleyball)
Sept. 4 – JP Verissimo (soccer) / Lauren Martin (soccer)
Aug. 28 – Garrett Perry (soccer) / Jenna Habegger (volleyball)

News and notes:

2019 women’s tennis sets new standard for program: Led by star Marlene Maier at the top of the lineup, the 2019 Concordia women’s tennis team broke the school record for most wins in a single season while setting a new standard for the program. Head coach David DeSimone’s squad advanced to the GPAC championship match and came up a hair short of a conference title and automatic berth to the national championships in what resulted in a 5-4 loss to Hastings. For an in-depth look at how the season transpired, click HERE.

Volleyball embraces ‘this is us’ theme this spring: The Bulldog volleyball program continues to embrace the idea of behaving like champions before becoming champions on the court, but it also has a new theme for 2019 – “this is us.” We’ll let head coach Ben Boldt explain it. Says Boldt, “It speaks to the standard at which we want to do things. We’re still setting the tone as coaches. We’re still trying to grow in the area where players are holding each other accountable. We’re setting a standard where if we’re working at this work rate, this is who we are. This is us. Wherever we are at that moment in time, we have to own who we are. That’s where we’re at.” For a rundown on the spring practice season for Concordia volleyball, click HERE.

Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is underway in its fourth year of existence. 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 2018-19 season, Bulldog football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball contests will be aired live on Max Country. Tyler Cavalli serves as the host of the coaches’ show as well as the play-by-play voice for football and basketball. Frank Greene is in his fourth season calling Concordia volleyball.

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

  • Graduation weekend was an important for the Bulldogs, who competed in the GPAC outdoor championships in Yankton, S.D., May 3-4. It became a celebratory weekend for the women’s team, which completed a sweep of 2019 indoor/outdoor GPAC titles. Four individual GPAC champions helped the Concordia women rack up 200 team points, 51.5 more than second place Hastings. On the men’s side, the Bulldogs placed third with 101.5 points. Thirty-four of those points came from sophomore Cody Williams alone. For more on Concordia track and field, click HERE.
  • Through the six weeks of the outdoor season action, Bulldogs athletes have totaled 25 automatic national qualifying marks and 16 ‘B’ standard marks (see list below). Of the 41 marks put on the national board, 19 have been achieved by throwers. Familiar names in Samantha Liermann, Addie Shaw, Carley Weisser and Cody Williams lead the way with two automatic marks apiece. In addition, several Bulldog women have met the minimum qualifying standard in the heptathlon, including school record holder Jessica Deterding.
    • Men’s 4x400 meter relay – (B, 3:16.02)
    • Women’s 4x400 meter relay – (A, 3:54.44)
    • Men’s 4x800 meter relay – (A, 7:38.73)
    • Women’s 4x800 meter relay – (B, 9:24.90)
    • Evan Asche – marathon (A, 1:13:30 in half)
    • Allie Brooks – pole vault (B, 11’ 7”)
    • Jacob Cornelio – hammer throw (A, 202’ 5”); discus (B, 158’)
    • Claire Cornell – long jump (A, 18’ 10 ¾”)
    • Morgan De Jong – discus (B, 141’ 7”)
    • Gavin DeHaai – pole vault (A, 15’ 7”)
    • Jessica Deterding – ranked No. 3 in NAIA in heptathlon; long jump (B, 18’ 9”)
    • Jazzy Eickhoff – javelin (A, 134’ 1”)
    • McKenzie Gravo – pole vault (A, 12’ 2 ¾”)
    • Taylor Grove – marathon (A, 1:25:04 in half)
    • Liam Hennessy – hammer throw (A, 175’ 3”); shot put (B, 51’ 3 ½”)
    • Mackenzie Koepke – high jump (A, 5’ 5 ¾”)
    • Leah Larson – triple jump (A, 38’ 3 ½”)
    • Wyatt Lehr – marathon (B, 1:14:12 in half)
    • Samantha Liermann – shot put (A, 50’ 6 ¼”); hammer throw (A, 177’ 10”); discus (B, 141’ 9”)
    • Erin Mapson – pole vault (A, 12’ 5 ½”)
    • Josiah McAllister – 800 meters (B, 1:53.58)
    • Tristen Mosier – pole vault (A, 11’ 9 ¾”)
    • Renato Oyarzun – hammer throw (B, 166’ 9”)
    • Johanna Ragland – hammer throw (A, 175’); shot put (B, 43’ 9 ¼”)
    • Ryan Sanchez – hammer throw (A, 175’ 4”)
    • Adrianna Shaw – hammer throw (A, 183’ 4”); discus (A, 154’ 9”); shot put (B, 44’ 3 ½”)
    • Bethany Shaw – discus (A, 147’ 2”)
    • Sam Sisco – pole vault (B, 15’ 3”)
    • Carley Weisser – discus (A, 150’ 3”); hammer throw (A, 166’ 9”)
    • Cody Williams – pole vault (A, 15’ 7”); high jump (A, 6’ 9 ¾”); 110 meter hurdles (B, 14.80); long jump (B, 23’ 7 ¼”)
  • The GPAC event champions on the women’s side were Rachel Battershell (400 meters), Samantha Liermann (shot put), Erin Mapson (pole vault) and Addie Shaw (discus). This marks GPAC title No. 4 in the career of Liermann, who is also a two-time NAIA national champion. The native of Wisner, Neb., looks like a national title contender again after an indoor season (fourth in the GPAC, seventh at the national championships in the shot put) that was a bit below her lofty standards. This past weekend, Liermann broke the GPAC meet record in the shot put with her mark of 50’ 6 ¼,” which moves her to No. 1 on the NAIA national list. It was also just two inches short of her own school outdoor record.
  • The team conference title broke a seven-year drought for the women’s program, in terms of GPAC outdoor championships. The 2019 Concordia women also became the program’s first team to sweep indoor/outdoor titles since the 2010 squad accomplished the same feat. The Bulldogs have now achieved six women’s conference track and field championships – two indoor (2010, 2019) and four outdoor (1998, 2010, 2012). Though it did not win a GPAC title, the 2016 outdoor team remains the only one in school history to win a women’s NAIA national championship.
  • What Cody Williams did over the weekend was remarkable. Of course he would have been a strong challenger for the GPAC decathlon title, but the Imperial, Neb., native chose instead to focus this outdoor season on individual events. The decision paid off with Williams claiming conference titles in the 110 meter hurdles (14.88) and the long jump (23’ 7 ¼”) and place finishes of second in the high jump (6’ 7 ½”) and third in the triple jump (45’ 1 ¾”). Other Bulldog men to earn the outdoor GPAC Outstanding Athlete of the Meet honors are Lucas Wiechman (2017), Zach Lurz (2014) and Dana Schmidt (2011).
  • The women’s pole vault has been a source of many GPAC titles in recent years under the guidance of assistant coach Jason Berry. Mapson added her name to the list last week by clearing 12’ 1 ½.” Currently, Mapson is No. 2 on the NAIA national list in the pole vault (PR is 12’ 5 ½”). Mapson became the third current Bulldog to win a conference title. Allie Brooks and McKenzie Gravo own two GPAC pole vault championships apiece. Mapson, Gravo and Tristen Mosier all have automatic national qualifying marks while Brooks has a ‘B’ standard.
  • Winning the men’s hammer throw title in the GPAC is quite an accomplishment considering the competition. Jacob Cornelio actually entered the meet listed behind Nathan Houser of Midland and Grant Wickham of Hastings on the conference performance list. Cornelio was able to out-throw all of them with his personal best of 202’ 5.” Cornelio is the fourth Bulldog in program history to land a mark of 200 feet in the hammer, joining Cody Boellstorff (216’ 6”), Josh Slechta (210’ 10”) and Lurz (206’ 6”).
  • Two new automatic national qualifying marks came from the GPAC championships. Gavin DeHaai cleared 15’ 7” in the pole vault for a second place claim while the men’s 4x800 meter relay of Nathan Matters, Christian Van Cleave, Thomas Taylor and Josiah McAllister galloped to a time of 7:38.37, also second place (No. 5 in the NAIA). The Bulldogs now have either ‘A’ or ‘B’ times in both men’s and women’s 4x8 and 4x4 relays. McAllister was also part of a 4x4 that turned in a ‘B’ standard at the GPAC meet.
  • Two meets remain on the 2019 outdoor schedule. The Bulldogs will host one more time this spring when the Concordia Twilight Meet is held Friday on campus. The meet schedule can be viewed HERE. The season will conclude May 23-25 at the 2019 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships in Gulf Shores, Ala. Both Bulldog teams placed ninth in the NAIA at the most recent NAIA indoor national championships.

Baseball

  • The hunt for another championship continues for the Bulldogs, who have advanced to play in the GPAC postseason title games versus Jamestown. As the regular season champion, Concordia hosted its own bracket pod last week and went 3-0 with a 12-1 blowout victory over Doane and then two thrilling come-from-behind victories – 6-3 over Dakota Wesleyan and 6-4 over Doane. Fifth-year head coach Ryan Dupic’s squad has now won five games in a row and has moved its overall season record to 32-17. For more information on Bulldog baseball, click HERE.
  • With the GPAC championship game and NAIA opening round coming up, this 2019 Concordia team still has a shot to break the program record for wins in a season set by the 2017 squad that went 34-22 and was also the conference regular season champion. Clearly, the program is at the highest level it ever has been. Prior to Dupic’s tenure, the Bulldogs had not had an above .500 overall record since 1979 and had not won a league title since 1986. Furthermore, Concordia won a grand total of 20 games during the decade of the 1990s. Yep, this is more fun.
  • Last week was another illustration of how this Bulldog team can find different ways to win. Just about everything clicked in the thumping of Doane of the first day of the GPAC tournament. Jason Munsch did not allow a single earned run in 6.2 innings while the offense cranked out 12 hits and nine walks. It wasn’t quite so simple the next two days. Concordia defeated Dakota Wesleyan despite trailing 3-1 in the eighth inning and then knocked off Doane again after facing a 4-0 disadvantage in the eighth. A lightning delay in the latest victory seemed to favor the Bulldogs, who roared back with a five-run eighth to end Doane’s season.
  • Incredibly, the majority of teams in the GPAC failed to beat Concordia even once this season. The Bulldogs went a perfect 6-0 versus Doane (five of the games were decided by margins of either one or two runs). Dupic’s squad also navigated the 2019 season without suffering a loss to Briar Cliff, Dakota Wesleyan, Hastings, Morningside or Mount Marty. Against the three squads that were in the Concordia Bracket, the Bulldogs were a spotless 11-0.
  • The Christian Meza watch continues as his college career nears the end. He already holds the program record for career doubles (51) and has a shot to eclipse the school record for career RBIs (146). Currently, Meza sports school all-time rankings of first in doubles, second in RBIs (141), second in hits (213), seventh in batting average (.343) and seventh in runs scored (115). In last week’s win over Dakota Wesleyan, Meza came through with a clutch two-run single to tie the game in the eighth.
  • With only light winds all weekend at Plum Creek Park, Concordia hitters teed off. They combined to go deep six times. In game one, Jesse Garcia and Ben Berg both left the yard. In game two, Teyt Johnson, Beau Dorman and Luciano DePamphilis each notched a home run. Finally, Keaton Candor blasted a solo shot for an insurance run in the last contest against Doane. The weather has not always been conducive to hitting homers, but the Bulldogs now rank second among GPAC squads in that category with 38 this season.
  • The strikeouts continue to pile up for Concordia pitchers, who last week totaled 10, 11 and 16 punch outs, respectively, over the three games. They especially did a number on Doane slugger Eduardo Yanez, who struck out eight times in his nine at bats against the Bulldogs. The single season school strikeout staff record has grown to 458 (previous record was 382). Last week’s starters, Munsch, Sasha Jabusch and Jake Fosgett, combined for 28 strikeouts in GPAC postseason play.
  • All three starters put together solid outings and then handed the ball over to a bullpen that is dominating. In last week’s three games, Dylan DuRee, Thomas Otte, Ryan Samuelson and Dresden Wilson combined to throw 7.1 shutout innings in relief. DuRee earned saves in the second and third games of the GPAC tournament to run his season save count to eight. Samuelson (0.43) and DuRee (0.62) both own ERA’s south of 1.00.
  • No single position provided more offensive punch last week than catcher. The duo of Berg and Dorman combined to go 9-for-13 with four doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs last week. Berg hit the ball harder than anyone on the team. A native of Carroll, Iowa, Berg began his career struggling at the plate, but is now flashing exciting potential. Over his last six games, Berg is 10-for-19 and has raised his season batting average to .226.
  • This will be an exciting week for Concordia. Not only will they play Jamestown (34-16) at 12 p.m. CT today (May 7) in the GPAC championship game, the Bulldogs will also learn about their NAIA opening round assignment on Thursday. Many of the locations for the opening round are situated in the southeast of the country with another in Santa Barbara, Calif. A long journey will be made to begin the opening round that runs May 13-16.

Softball

  • The first season of head coach Shawn Semler’s tenure is in the books after the Bulldogs were eliminated from the GPAC tournament during pod play last week in the Morningside Bracket. Concordia never could figure out how to solve the host Mustangs, who went on to win the GPAC tournament title. In postseason play, the Bulldogs twice rallied for wins over Mount Marty and twice fell at the hands of Morningside. With its season on the line, Concordia dropped a 2-0 pitcher’s duel to the Mustangs on May 3. Semler’s squad finished at 28-12 overall. For more information on Bulldog softball, click HERE.
  • It seems very likely that this Concordia team would have easily been a 30+ win squad had it not been for rough spring weather that wiped out a significant portion of the nonconference schedule. The 28 victories are the 10th most in a single season in program history. In terms of winning percentage, the 2019 Bulldogs became the fourth team in school history to win at least 70 percent of its games. Others to accomplish that feat were the 1998 team (33-10, .767), the 2008 team (31-11, .738) and the 2017 team (34-14, .708). Seven Concordia softball teams have won 30 or more games with the high being 36 in 2005.
  • Star sophomores Hhana Haro and Tori Homolka appear to be likely first team all-conference selections for their stellar work this spring. Haro followed up a GPAC Player of the Year season in 2018 by hitting .411 with nine doubles, six home runs, 37 RBIs and a .629 slugging percentage. Meanwhile, Homolka made the biggest leap in production of anyone on the roster. She hit .400 with 10 doubles, four triples, seven home runs, 34 RBIs and a .679 slugging percentage. In GPAC tournament action, Homolka went a combined 7-for-13 with a home run.
  • One thing Semler came away encouraged by from last week was freshman Camry Moore’s ability to carry the load in the circle. The Crete, Neb., native actually threw complete games in three of the four GPAC tournament contests. She covered every inning on what ended up being the final day of the season. In a must-win against Morningside, Moore held the Mustangs to two runs on five hits in six innings. On the season, Moore threw 132.2 innings (25 appearances) with a 12-9 record and 2.85 ERA. She put together an impressive strikeout-to-walk ratio of 76-to-13.
  • Another freshman with a promising future is York, Neb., native Kylee Nixon. As the season wore on, her bat became too valuable for her to be left out of the lineup. She provided perhaps last week’s biggest thrill with a walk-off RBI single that completed a comeback from a 5-1 deficit against Mount Marty on May 3. Nixon ended up getting enough at bats to qualify for the GPAC leaderboard and ranks fourth among conference players with a .431 season batting average. Nixon went 4-for-9 in GPAC tournament games.
  • Concordia has said its goodbyes to eight seniors who were part of the program either as players or student assistants/managers. From a statistical standpoint, Brittany Woolridge may be the most difficult senior to replace. Fully healthy this spring, Woolridge went 13-3 with a 2.88 ERA (107 innings) in the circle. In addition, senior second baseman Leah Kalkwarf and senior shortstop Jamie Lefebure were a four-year contributors and transfer Elanna Osthoff played a key role in her two seasons as a Bulldog. Kalkwarf was a first team All-GPAC performer as a sophomore in 2017.
  • Semler plans to put a premium on adding speed as he continues to put a stamp on this program. The 2019 Concordia team was adept at hitting for extra bases (.462 team slugging percentage), but had most of its speed wrapped up in two starters – Homolka (15-for-17 on stolen base attempts) and MacKinsey Schmidt (12-for-14 on stolen base attempts). Even with a team built more for power, the Bulldogs managed to rank third in the GPAC in steals with 56.
  • Only one senior (Osthoff) started in the elimination game at Morningside. That means expectations will likely be high for Concordia when the spring of 2020 rolls around. The 2019 team showed it could compete against top 25 teams as it did when it beat two foes in the current national rankings: No. 7 Valley City State University (N.D.) and No. 22 Midland. After starting out 1-2 during their season opening spring break trip, the Bulldogs went on a 12-game win streak that was the longest for the program since 2008. As of right now, Massey Ratings ranks Concordia as the NAIA’s 46th best team (out of 198 squads in the nation). Considering they placed third in the GPAC this season with a fairly youthful roster, the Bulldogs seem to be a safe bet to be top three preseason pick in the 2020 conference race.