Bulldog Weekly Report (May 8)

By Jacob Knabel on May. 8, 2018 in Athletic Announcements

Bulldog Athletic Association Athletes of the Week

Female: Alison Ebel, Tennis / Kennedy Mogul, Track & Field

Ebel, who hails from Billings, Mont., went a combined 3-0 in singles and doubles matches at last week’s GPAC tournament in Fremont. Ebel won singles matches at the No. 5 spot over opponents from both Doane and Midland while leading the Bulldogs to the GPAC semifinals.

Mogul, who calls York, Neb., home, placed third at last week’s GPAC championships in both the heptathlon and the 400 meter hurdles, accumulating 12 team points. Her time of 2:23.08 in the 800 meters broke a GPAC meet record for the heptathlon. She ranks 15th nationally in the heptathlon.

Male: Cody Williams, Track & Field

Williams, a native of Imperial, Neb., notched the first GPAC title of his career by amassing 6,239 points in the decathlon. He also placed eighth in the 110 meter hurdles. Williams is an automatic national qualifier in the pole vault and currently ranks 10th nationally in the decathlon.

Previous athletes of the week
April Athletes of the Month: Luke Zoller (tennis) / Hhana Haro (softball)
May 1 – Nick Little (baseball) / Grace Bernhardt (softball)
April 24 – Tucker Platt (track & field) / Thomas Sautel (baseball) / Hhana Haro (softball)
April 17 – Scott Johnson (track & field) / Luke Zoller (tennis) / Adrianna Shaw (track & field)
April 10 – Ben Pratt (track & field) / Murphy Sears (golf)
March Athletes of the Month: Wade Council (baseball) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
April 3 – Scott Johnson (track & field) / Hhana Haro (softball)
March 27 – Cade Moring (baseball) / Mackinsey Schmidt (softball)
March 20 – Wade Council (baseball) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
March 13 – Cody Williams (track & field) / Samantha Liermann (track & field)
February Athletes of the Month: Deandre Chery (wrestling) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
Feb. 27 – Nick Little (baseball) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
Feb. 20 – Deandre Chery (wrestling) / Samantha Liermann (track & field)
Feb. 13 – Jerry Stepps III (wrestling) / McKenzie Gravo (track & field)
Feb. 6 – Michael Duffy (wrestling) / Colby Duvel (basketball)
January Athletes of the Month: Kyle Pierce (basketball) / Dani Hoppes (basketball)
Jan. 30 – Kyle Pierce (basketball) / Anna Baack (track & field)
Jan. 23 – Jacob Cornelio (track & field) / Dani Hoppes (basketball)
Jan. 16 – Josiah McAllister (track & field) / Brenleigh Daum (basketball)
Jan. 9 – Jared Woods (wrestling) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
December Athletes of the Month: Cordell Gillingham (basketball) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
Dec. 12 – Cordell Gillingham (basketball) / Taylor Cockerill (basketball)
Dec. 5 – Brevin Sloup (basketball) / Sydney Feller (basketball)
November Athletes of the Month: Tarence Roby (football) / Quinn Wragge (basketball)
Nov. 28 – Jake Hornick (basketball) / Quinn Wragge (basketball)
Nov. 14 – Cameron Devers (wrestling) / Jeannelle Condame (soccer)
Nov. 7 – Tarence Roby (football) / Emily Deschaine (cross country)
October Athletes of the Month: Ryan Durdon (football) / Lindsey Carley (soccer)
Oct. 31 – Ryan Durdon (football) / Kaitlyn Radebaugh (soccer)
Oct. 24 – Marcelo Hernandez (soccer) / Lindsey Carley (soccer)
Oct. 17 – Carlos Ferrer (soccer) and Grady Koch (football) / Sami Birmingham (soccer)
Oct. 10 – Micah Lehenbauer (soccer) / Kaitlyn Radebaugh (soccer)
Oct. 3 – Micah Lehenbauer (soccer) / Maria Deeter (soccer)
September Athletes of the Month: Tarence Roby (football) / Lindsey Carley (soccer)
Sept. 26 – Kordell Glause (football) / Emily Deschaine (cross country)
Sept. 19 – Lewis Rathbone (soccer) / Victoria Cera (soccer)
Sept. 12 – Tarence Roby (football) / Murphy Sears (golf)
Sept. 5 – Jack Bennett (soccer) / Lindsey Carley (soccer)

News and notes:

Bulldogs finish 2017-18 athletic year at No. 6 in GPAC all-sports race: After placing either first or second in the GPAC All-Sports Trophy Standings for three-straight years, Concordia athletics slipped back to No. 6 in the final standings for 2017-18. The standings are tabulated based upon final regular-season conference finishes for each of the 21 sports officially recognized by the GPAC. Cheer and dance counted towards the standings beginning this year. For the complete 2017-18 GPAC All-Sports Standings, click HERE.

Women’s soccer remains motivated after 2017 GPAC title: The Concordia women’s soccer program returned to the practice fields this spring, not far removed from winning the GPAC regular-season title. For an ultra-competitive bunch, the sour ending to an otherwise thrilling season hasn’t set well. The team that showed up this spring had the look one of another Bulldog edition with championship aspirations. For a spring update on head coach Greg Henson’s program, click HERE.

Seasons conclude for bulk of Concordia spring sports: The spring seasons have concluded for all but the track and field programs at Concordia. GPAC championships were held over the weekend for baseball, softball, tennis and track and field. Both the baseball and softball squads went 0-2 in their postseason efforts. Meanwhile, women’s tennis had its run end in the GPAC semifinals while the men fell in the quarterfinals. In track and field, Bulldog squads placed third on the women’s side and sixth on the men’s side.

Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is underway in its third 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 2017-18 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 called volleyball action again this past fall.

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

  • The Bulldogs were unable to put together a postseason run that they had hoped of after reaching the GPAC tournament championship game in 2017. A year later, Concordia went 0-2 and was eliminated on the second day of the conference tournament. The Bulldogs suffered postseason losses by scores of 12-7 to Doane and 9-3 to Mount Marty. Fourth-year head coach Ryan Dupic’s squad finished the year at 25-22 overall and in sixth place in the league standings. For more on Concordia baseball, click HERE.
  • Last week’s results were a reversal from the strong GPAC tournament runs made by the 2016 and 2017 teams. The 2016 squad ended the campaign with some momentum after coming up one win short of reaching the GPAC championship game. The 2017 conference regular-season championship team then hosted the conference final as the No. 1 seed. In three trips to the GPAC tournament, Dupic’s postseason record stands at 5-5.
  • It wasn’t the ending to the season that sophomore Nick Little expected (five earned runs allowed on 10 hits in the loss to Doane), but the final numbers remain sterling. The native of Lithia, Fla., now owns program single-season records for innings pitched (91.1), wins (nine) and complete games (eight). He completed the year with a 2.36 ERA to go along with 90 strikeouts (third most in a season in school history). He allowed 81 hits and walked 23. Little covered at least seven innings in 11 of his 12 starts.
  • Little and the pitching staff keep re-setting the program’s single-season record for most opposing strikeouts. Cade Moring shattered the individual single-season strikeout record with 109 in 2018. He accounted for nearly 29 percent of the team’s record total of 382 punch outs. The previous team record was 361 strikeouts by the 2017 team. As far as data goes back, Moring is the GPAC record holder for highest strikeout rate with an average of 15.2 per nine innings. Moring is one of only 14 NAIA pitchers with at least 100 K’s this season.
  • Despite battling a hamstring injury over the final few weeks of the season, star second baseman Christian Meza kept on hitting. He went 3-for-6, with a run scored, three RBIs, a double and two walks over last week’s two GPAC tournament games. Those efforts were enough for the Lakeside, Calif., native to maintain a season batting average above .400. With a .405 clip, Meza became the first Concordia baseball player since 2007 to hit .400 or better. Meza’s 68 hits rank third best in school history for a singles season, behind Casey Berg (72) and Zak Goodrich (69). With a full season left, Meza ranks ninth in program history with 156 career hits.
  • The team’s biggest source of power this season was leadoff hitter Wade Council, who topped the Bulldogs in home runs (six), doubles (15) and slugging percentage (.548). It has not been unusual for the team’s top power hitter to hold down the leadoff spot during Dupic’s tenure. In fact, the leadoff hitter has led the club in homers in three of Dupic’s four seasons: Alex Alstott (five in 2015), Berg (tied team high with seven in 2017) and Council (six in 2018). The highest individual home run total under Dupic’s watch was nine by Christian Montero in 2016.
  • The 2018 Concordia squad never did figure out how to tighten things up defensively. It committed seven more errors last week, including five in the season-ending loss to Mount Marty. The Bulldogs’ 89 errors are the most in the GPAC and their fielding percentage of .942 ranks ninth among the 10 conference teams. For whatever it’s worth, Concordia went only 7-8 in its 15 error-free games this season.
  • Moring and Thomas Sautel are two prime examples of Bulldogs who blossomed in 2018 while taking on much larger roles than they had in 2017. A junior from Littleton, Colo., Sautel transferred to Concordia via Indiana Wesleyan University after his freshman season. Sautel will carry a 10-game hitting streak into 2019. Sautel especially caught fire in April. From April 17 through the remainder of the season, he raised his batting average from .312 to .371 (second on the team to Meza). Sautel produced a fine slash line of .371 / .428 / .548 and delivered five home runs and 40 RBIs.
  • In terms of accolades and statistical measures, Kaleb Geiger and Moring were the most high profile seniors on the roster. Geiger leaves as the school’s career record holder for doubles (44), RBIs (146) and putouts (838). Moring’s 109 strikeouts this season shattered a program record. Together they helped the Bulldogs produce a combined 113 wins over the past four seasons. The 34 victories attained by the 2017 squad are a school standard. The senior class also included contributors such as Neil Ryan, Wyatt Weller and Drew Woods.

Softball

  • The 2018 season came to a conclusion on May 4 with the Bulldogs getting eliminated from postseason play on the first day of the GPAC tournament. Playing as the No. 7 seed, Concordia fell to bracket host and 23rd-ranked Morningside, 7-0, and then suffered a 9-3 defeat at the hands of No. 6 seed Doane. This year’s squad was unable to capture the magic that the 2014 and 2015 editions bottled up while appearing in the championship series finals. Fifth-year head coach Todd LaVelle’s squad finished 21-21 overall. For more information on Concordia softball, click HERE.
  • This marked the first time during LaVelle’s tenure that the Bulldogs were bounced from the GPAC tournament on the opening day of the event. Concordia is now 13-9 in conference postseason games under LaVelle, who guided the program to a runner-up finish in 2014 and then a title in 2015. Those placements allowed the Bulldogs to make back-to-back appearances in the opening round of the national tournament. Concordia’s highest finish in the regular season under LaVelle was a share of second place in 2017.
  • Some growing pains were to be expected after the program graduated its top two pitchers from the 2017 squad and said goodbye to a host of regulars in the lineup. In last week’s season finale, LaVelle started seven players who just started their Concordia careers this past fall. The group of newcomers included four freshmen and three transfers. This spring, the top three Bulldog hitters (in terms of batting average) were all newcomers and the team’s top two pitchers (in terms of ERA) were also new faces.
  • Among the new faces, Hhana Haro emerged very quickly as a star. She flirted with a .500 batting average all season before settling at .494 – the third best single-season batting average in school history. Along the way, she broke program single-season standards for most hits (76) and doubles (20). She eclipsed the hits record last week by leading off the game against Morningside with a single to left. The native of Garden Grove, Calif., is certain to be a first team all-conference selection when the teams are released later this week.
  • LaVelle’s confidence in rookie pitcher Grace Bernhardt grew throughout the season – and for good reason. In GPAC games only, Bernhardt led the Bulldogs with a 5-2 record and 2.54 ERA over 52.1 innings. Bernhardt appeared to be cruising in the fourth inning of her start last week against Morningside. After a hit batter and a walk, Bernhardt allowed Jayci Hinker to get ahold of a three-run blast. Bernhardt was unable to get out of the fourth. Even so, she ended her first collegiate season with a team high 10 wins to go along with a 4.81 ERA.
  • Concordia opponents went from an average of 4.0 runs per game in 2017 to 6.0 runs per contest in 2018. Run prevention will be an area of focus between now and next season. The Bulldogs expect to be much better in this category with the continued improvement of its current pitchers and with the addition of players like Cam Moore, a star hurler for the 2017 Crete High School state championship team. Tucson, Ariz., native Brittany Woolridge also shows plenty of potential. She will be a senior next season.
  • LaVelle’s staff will have a new graduate assistant next season with Naomi Tellez finishing up her masters. Tellez worked closely with Bulldog pitchers over her two years with Concordia. She is a former catcher at NCAA Division I DePaul University in Chicago. LaVelle’s staff has also included Billy Baugh and Jeff Pasold this spring.
  • The Concordia offense ended up with a team batting average of .318 to go along with a .380 on-base percentage and .452 slugging percentage. The Bulldogs averaged 5.9 runs per game led by Haro. Four other regulars also batting above .300: Elanna Osthoff (.356), Mackinsey Schmidt (.333), Jamie Lefebure (.329) and Leah Kalkwarf (.329). Haro and Homolka shared the team lead with five homers apiece. Haro topped the squad in nearly every major offensive category, including total bases (115) and RBIs (38).
  • LaVelle will have a larger senior class next season. The ’19 seniors will be headlined by Kalwarf and Lefebure, who will provide the program with perhaps the most experienced middle infield in college softball. Omaha native Maddie Fousek is also part of the senior nucleus, which will include transfers in Osthoff and Woolridge. Kalwarf is a career .334 hitting with 138 hits in 136 games as a Bulldog.

Track & Field

  • The 2018 outdoor track season is beginning to wind down following the conclusion of this past weekend’s GPAC championship meet hosted by Morningside in Sioux City, Iowa. Bolstered by two individual conference champions, the women placed third in the GPAC with 131.5 points (a two-spot improvement compared to indoor). Led by a GPAC title from Cody Williams, the men finished sixth with 71 points (on the heels of a fourth-place indoor finish). For more information on Concordia track and field, click HERE.
  • The complete list of Bulldogs who appear on the national leaderboard with either automatic or ‘B’ standard qualifying marks is shown below. Concordia athletes have combined for 18 ‘A’ marks and 12 ‘B’ marks. Adrianna Shaw leads the way with three automatic marks. Thirteen different individuals have clinched spots at the outdoor national championships. The latest Bulldog to lock up a spot at nationals was Simon Brummond, who hit the ‘A’ standard in the pole vault at the GPAC championships.
    • Men’s 4x800 meter relay (B, 7:45.84)
    • Evan Asche: half marathon (B, 1:14:50)
    • Blake Becher: ranks 14th in NAIA in decathlon (6,146)
    • Simon Brummond: pole vault (A, 15’ 5”)
    • Jacob Cornelio: hammer throw (A, 187’); discus (B, 160’ 5”)
    • Jacob Daack: shot put (B, 51’ 10”)
    • Morgan De Jong: discus (B, 142’ 2”)
    • Jessica Deterding: triple jump (B, 37’ 7 ¼”); ranks ninth in NAIA in heptathlon (4,392)
    • Jazzy Eickhoff: javelin (B, 128’ 4”); shot put (B, 43’ 3 ¼”)
    • Jodi Fry: shot put (B, 43’ 8 ½”)
    • Taylor Grove: half marathon (A, 1:28:07)
    • Madison Holt: hammer throw (A, 165’ 3”)
    • Scott Johnson: triple jump (A, 47’ 7 ¾”); long jump (B, 23’ 5 ¼”)
    • Leah Larson: triple jump (A, 38’ ¾”)
    • Samantha Liermann: shot put (A, 48’ 9 ½”); hammer throw (A, 172’ 11”); discus (B, 143’ 8”)
    • Kennedy Mogul: 400 hurdles (B, 1:04.69); ranks 15th in NAIA in heptathlon (4,314)
    • Tucker Platt: pole vault (A, 15’ 5”)
    • Johanna Ragland: shot put (A, 44’ 9”); hammer throw (A, 170’ 10”)
    • Adrianna Shaw: shot put (A, 46’); discus (A, 155’ 7”); hammer throw (A, 169’ 5”)
    • Bethany Shaw: discus (A, 150’ 8”)
    • Carley Skorepa: discus (A, 146’ 3”); hammer throw (A, 172’ 9”)
    • Jan Steinbrueck: discus (B, 143’ 9”)
    • Cody Williams: pole vault (A, 15’ 5”); ranks 10th in NAIA in decathlon (6,317)
  • Samantha Liermann has gotten used to winning titles. The junior from Wisner, Neb., earned her third career GPAC shot put championship by out-distancing the field with her toss of 48’ 4 ¾.” That throw was just off her season best of 48’ 9 ½” that continues to lead the NAIA. Liermann has now swept GPAC indoor and outdoor shot put titles in 2018 and will have a chance to sweep NAIA national shot put titles at the outdoor championships later this month. Liermann has achieved All-America status in the shot put in all five national championship meets she has competed at.
  • The biggest surprise winner of Concordia’s three conference champions was junior Taylor Grove, who just began to ramp things up in recent weeks. Unforeseen circumstances forced her to miss the cross country season. The Billings, Mont., native showed she had made a successful return from injury when she clocked a half marathon time of 1:28:07 at the Drake Relays (April 22) and qualified for nationals. Grove entered the GPAC championships seeded 10th in the GPAC in the 10,000 meters. Her winning time came in at 40:54.85 in the 10k.
  • A freshman from Imperial, Neb., Williams is on course for quite a career. He came into last week’s meet expecting to compete for a championship and did exactly that in the decathlon. Williams compiled 6,239 points in the decathlon while taking first place in the 400 meter dash, the 110 meter hurdles, the high jump, the pole vault and the long jump. His hurdles time of 15.05 broke a GPAC record for the decathlon. He also placed eighth in the open 110 meter hurdles and contributed a total of 11 team points. Williams is qualified for nationals in the pole vault and is sitting 10th nationally in the decathlon.
  • Liermann led the way for a group of women’s throwers that rank up there as one of the nation’s best. Liermann and her fellow throwers combined for 50 of the team’s 131.5 points. Not only did Liermann pile up 16 points, Adrianna Shaw (12 points), Carley Skorepa (12 points) and Johanna Ragland (seven points) also racked up team points. Both Skorepa (172’ 9”) and Ragland (170’ 10”) turned in significant personal bests in the hammer throw. Concordia now boasts three of the top 10 nationally in the event.
  • Brummond (pole vault), Josiah McAllister (800 meters) and Skorepa (hammer) each put a second-place GPAC finish on the board. Concordia also had a series of third-place finishes, which came from the women’s 4x400 meter relay, Blake Becher (decathlon), Jessica Deterding (triple jump), Liermann (hammer), Kennedy Mogul (400 hurdles, heptathlon) and Shaw (discus).
  • Mogul tied Adrianna Shaw for the second most team points for an individual among Bulldog competitors. A freshman from York, Neb., Mogul broke a GPAC heptathlon record in the 800 meters with a personal best of 2:23.08. That time helped push her heptathlon point total to 4,314, a figure that ranks 15th nationally and puts her on the bubble for nationals. She also posted a ‘B’ standard PR of 1:04.69 in the 400 meter hurdles.
  • The Concordia Twilight Meet is coming up on Friday. The annual meet serves as a last chance competition for athletes still hoping to make nationals or improve their existing national marks. The meet is scheduled to get started at 2 p.m. The event schedule can be viewed HERE. The season will ultimately wrap up May 24-26 at the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships in Gulf Shores, Ala.

Tennis

  • The 2018 season is in the books for the Concordia tennis programs. It all came to an end last week at the GPAC championships that played out May 4-5 at Fremont High School in Fremont, Neb. The women made the strongest push, eking out a 5-4 win over Doane in the quarterfinals before a tight 5-3 loss to top-seeded Midland in the semifinals. Meanwhile, the men were eliminated with a 5-3 defeat at the hands of Morningside in a quarterfinal battle. Fourth-year head coach Joel Reckewey’s squads finished with overall records of 13-10 on the women’s side and 8-11 on the men’s side. For more on Bulldog tennis, click the following links: men | women.
  • The margin has been razor thing all season in GPAC competition for the Concordia women. They finished 3-4 in conference regular-season action, but three of the defeats came by 5-4 scores and the other was a 6-3 decision. As a result, the Bulldogs entered the conference tournament believing they had a legitimate shot at winning the title. They won a heart thumper over Doane in the quarterfinals in a match that came down to No. 6 singles. That’s where junior Kayla Smock valiantly rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the third set to pull out a match-clinching victory.
  • The Concordia women won Nos. 2 and 3 doubles to gain the upper hand over Doane. At that point, the Bulldogs simply needed to split in singles. They did just enough by getting singles wins from Annie Horn (No. 1), Alison Ebel (No. 5) and Smock. It was a productive final day in the collegiate tennis career of Ebel, who won both of her singles matches and was a combined 3-0 when factoring in doubles. Smock also went out in style. The native of Sterling, Colo., will not play tennis next season.
  • An NAIA Scholar-Athlete in the classroom, Horn transformed herself into one of the GPAC’s top players over her junior and senior seasons, during which she went a combined 28-11 while playing at the Nos. 1 and 2 singles spots. The Denver, Colo., native completed her career with 41 singles wins. Heading into her senior season, Horn had earned some form of All-GPAC recognition in each of her first three years. At the GPAC championships, Horn recorded one singles win and did not finish her second singles contest before the match went final.
  • In their 23 matches this season, the women went a combined 71-60 in singles and 39-27 in doubles play. Those comparative records in conference play were 26-16 in singles and 12-9 in doubles. Horn led the way with a 13-7 singles mark. Next in line were Claudia Miranda Viera (11-9), Ebel (9-5) and Katelinn Wurm (8-11). In doubles, Wurm (12-8), Horn (10-10) and Wagner (10-11) reached double figures for wins.
  • In their loss to fourth-seeded Morningside, the Bulldog men never recovered after falling behind 2-1 after doubles. The lone Concordia win in doubles came via Jeremy Berryman and Luke Zoller at No. 1. In singles, Thomas Greeff at No. 1 and Josh Miller at No. 6 captured victories. However, the Mustangs put an end to the Bulldogs’ season by taking decisions at Nos. 2, 4 and 5 singles. No. 3 singles went unfinished.
  • In their 19 matches this season, the men went a combined 49-64 in singles and 29-28 in doubles play. Their comparative records in conference action were 11-19 in singles and 6-9 in doubles. Sophomore Luke Zoller topped the team with a 10-9 singles mark. Three teammates were close behind: Berryman (9-9), Greeff (9-10) and Miller (8-9). Berryman turned in a stellar 12-7 record in doubles. Zoller (11-8) and Gio De Moraes (10-7) also reached double digits in doubles.
  • The women’s program has said goodbye to three seniors: Ebel, Horn and Amanda VonSeggern in addition to Smock. On the other hand, the men’s roster did not have a single senior in 2018. Next year’s senior class will include the likes of Greeff and De Moraes on the men’s side and Wurm on the women’s side.