Bulldog Weekly Report (Nov. 13)

By Jacob Knabel on Nov. 13, 2018 in Athletic Announcements

Bulldog Athletic Association Athletes of the Week

Female: Grace Barry, Basketball

Barry, a Lincoln, Neb., native, has made a significant impact in her first season as a Bulldog. Over last week’s pair of road wins over Midland and Briar Cliff, Barry totaled 30 points, 10 assists, 10 steals and six rebounds while making 13-of-23 shots from the floor. She’s averaging 11.7 points, 5.2 assists and 4.3 steals per game.

Male: Zac Walter, Football

Walter, who hails from Lincoln, Kan., closed out the 2018 football season by making a sack and forcing a fumble in last week’s game at Doane. Walter was named honorable mention All-GPAC today (Nov. 13). He recorded 81 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery from his linebacker spot this fall.

Previous Athletes of the Week
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:

Fall All-GPAC teams announced: All of the fall all-conference teams have been announced by the GPAC, except for volleyball (due to be released on Wednesday). In the sports of cross country, football and men’s and women’s soccer, a combined 24 Concordia student-athletes garnered some form of all-conference recognition. For complete details, click the links below.
-Cross Country
-Football
-Men’s Soccer
-Women’s Soccer

Deeter, Ferrer named October Athletes of the Month: As voted upon at the Nov. 6 Bulldog Athletic Association Member luncheon, senior Maria Deeter of the women’s soccer program and junior Carlos Ferrer of the men’s soccer program were named the Bulldog Athletic Association Athletes of the Month of October 2018. Starting with the 2017-18 academic year, the Bulldog Athletic Association began naming male and female athletes of the month. For more on Deeter and Ferrer, click HERE.

Carley, Deeter collect Academic All-District accolades: Sophomore Lindsey Carley and senior Maria Deeter represented the Concordia University women’s soccer program on the 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-District® Team announced by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Nov. 8. The award is designed to honor student-athletes based on performance both academically and athletically. For further details, click HERE.

Highly respected Beasley closes out senior football season: Senior Vince Beasley has earned respect across the board from his Bulldog football coaches and teammates through his service both on and off the field. The native of Manvel, Texas, became the team’s go-to receiver and 2018 and topped Concordia in both receptions and receiving yards. For more on the service-oriented Beasley, 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.

Football

  • The 2018 season is in the books following last week’s finale at Doane. In that clash in Crete, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 10-0 lead before allowing 21 points in a row by the Tigers. Concordia gave itself a shot with a strong second half defensive performance, but ultimately fell by a 21-16 score in its bid to win in Crete for the first time since 2005. The second season of Patrick Daberkow’s head coaching tenure finished with a 3-7 overall mark and 2-7 GPAC record. For more on Bulldog football, click HERE.
  • For stretches of the game at Doane, Concordia looked more like the team Daberkow would have envisioned all season. The defense forced three-and-outs on the first two Tiger possessions while the Bulldogs put together drives of 62 and 50 yards that netted a combined 10 points to open up the contest. Concordia’s offense then went cold like the weather until getting a jolt from quarterback Jake Kemp in the third quarter. With the help of a fake punt, the Bulldogs marched 70 yards on 13 plays for a touchdown late in the third period.
  • For the most part, the defense gave a good account of itself, especially during a second half in which it allowed just 65 total yards. Kordell Glause also set the offense up in good field position when he forced and recovered a fumble in the second quarter. The Tigers managed just a single first down in the final quarter that saw Concordia own the time of possession. A sack by linebacker Zac Walter forced the punt that gave the Bulldogs a chance a potential game-winning drive.
  • On a team with many standout linebackers such as Walter, Derek Tachovsky and others, sophomore Lane Napier has stood out for sheer production alone. Napier ended up leading all NAIA players during the regular season with 142 tackles. He added 12 more, including one for loss, at Doane. The native of David City, Neb., also topped the team in tackles for loss (12.5) and sacks (four). Through 20 career games, Napier has racked up an impressive 239 tackles. He played last week with a cast on his right hand.
  • The running game was not as effective this season as Concordia would have preferred, but it wasn’t because the Bulldogs lack a good back. Junior Ryan Durdon grinded out 821 yards and eight touchdowns rushing this season behind a youthful offensive line. Durdon’s career rushing total now stands at 2,068 yards (sixth in school history). In order to maximize Durdon’s abilities, the staff used him more extensively in the passing game (247 yards on 19 catches) and on kick returns (33.7 average on 11 returns). Durdon closed the 2018 campaign with 234 all-purpose yards at Doane.
  • Concordia may end up having another quarterback battle heading into the 2019 season. Kemp started the first four games this fall before suffering a hand injury at Dordt on Oct. 29. Andrew Perea then started the next five of the final six contests at quarterback. Blake Culbert also got one start. The passing game will need to take a leap forward next season. In 2018, Bulldog quarterbacks combined to complete 161-of-311 (.518) passes for 1,853 yards with a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 11-to-8.
  • There’s belief within the program that better days are ahead next year. The 2018 roster had just 10 seniors on it. While Concordia took its lumps at certain positions, valuable experience was gained by youthful players at spots like offensive line, tight end, receiver and in the defensive backfield. With another offseason of development up front, Daberkow will expect Durdon to have more holes in the run game like he did in 2017 when he averaged 5.5 yards per carry.
  • The Bulldogs went into last week with six seniors listed as starters, including receiver Vincent Beasley, tackle Grady Koch and fullback Dan Langewisch on offense and safeties Kordell Glause and Caden Jameson and end Parker Johnson on defense. Unfortunately, Koch missed the bulk of the season due to injury. Meanwhile, Beasley led the team in receptions (46) and receiving yards (559). Concordia will also have to replace Adam Christiansen at long snapper. But overall, the Bulldogs will be a much more experienced team in 2019.

Women’s Soccer

  • For the second season in a row, the Bulldogs experience heartache in the GPAC tournament championship game while up against rival Hastings. After nearly 105 minutes of scoreless action, the 11th-ranked Broncos produced the golden goal that ended the contest in double overtime on a chilly night (Nov. 8) in Hastings. It was a win Concordia had to have if it was going to qualifying for the national tournament. Instead, it’s now the offseason for sixth-year head coach Greg Henson’s program. The Bulldogs finished 13-3-5 overall. For more information on Concordia women’s soccer, click HERE.
  • Few women’s soccer programs in the nation have been as consistent as the Bulldogs over the past five seasons. During that stretch, Concordia has reached the GPAC postseason championship game each year with tournament titles coming in 2014 and 2016. As part of the run, the Bulldogs have gone up against Hastings three times and Morningside twice in those championship clashes. Concordia’s five-year record since the beginning of 2014 is 73-19-15.
  • It was a tough ending for a senior class that has only known winning since arriving in Seward. Of course that group is headlined by Maria Deeter, a Seward native and Lincoln Lutheran High School product. Deeter was determined to get back to the field after suffering a right knee injury at Jamestown on Oct. 20. She missed three of the next four games while playing only a couple of minutes in the one contest she did see action in. She then played nearly the entire championship match at Hastings in one final display of her competitiveness and commitment to the program.
  • Deeter is again a first team all-conference selection, as announced by the GPAC on Monday. After earning second team All-GPAC honors as a freshman in 2015, Deeter picked up first team accolades in each of her final three seasons. She led the 2018 team with 14 goals (four game winners) while adding six assists in 18 games. Over 81 career collegiate games, Deeter notched 37 goals (nine game winners) and 27 assists. In addition, Deeter was named an Academic All-District selection by CoSIDA last week along with teammate Lindsey Carley.
  • The Bulldogs raked in a nice haul of accolades from the GPAC with Deeter and Tori Cera being placed on the first team and another four Concordia representatives finding themselves on the second team. Cera exemplified a selfless player willing to do what would help the team. She moved to center back during the season, moving away from her comfortable midfield spot. Cera produced the highlight reel goal of the season in the 1-0 GPAC quarterfinal win over Morningside and finished with five goals and three assists.
  • Senior Lauren Martin certainly made a strong case for first team accolades, but settled for the GPAC’s second team. Her 16 assists ranked No. 1 in the conference by a longshot. She also added a career high 10 goals. Second team honors also went to Carley, senior Ashley Martin and junior Brynn Suddeth. Cheyenne Smith and Michaela Twito garnered all-conference mention.
  • In terms of a national tournament bid, the Bulldogs came up just short in both the postseason and the regular season. Starting this fall, the GPAC was awarded a second automatic berth to nationals. Hastings had already locked one of them up by winning the conference regular-season championship. The second bid was earmarked to go to either the tournament champion (if not Hastings) or the team that placed second during the regular season. The beneficiary of the new format was Midland, the runner up to Hastings in the regular season.

Men’s Basketball

  • After a 3-0 start during a home stand to begin the season, the Bulldogs found life on the road in the GPAC to be a challenge. In last week’s action, Concordia fell at Midland, 78-72, and then dropped an 81-64 decision at 10th-ranked Briar Cliff. The Bulldogs had hoped to take down another ranked foe having already knocked off No. 25 St. Thomas University (Fla.). Sixth-year head coach Ben Limback’s squad is 3-2 overall. For more information on Concordia men’s basketball, click HERE.
  • Now in his 15th season (nine at Concordia University, Ann Arbor) as a collegiate head coach, Limback has presided over 198 victories, including 115 at his previous coaching stop. The 1999 CUNE graduate is now 83-73 since returning to his alma mater. Limback took over a program that had endured a 6-22 season prior to his arrival. The best season so far during Limback’s tenure resulted in a 21-10 mark in 2016-17.
  • The aforementioned ’16-17 squad owns the school record for per game scoring average (88.7) in a single season. The current Bulldog edition is unlikely to match that offensive output, meaning its work on the defensive end will go a long way towards defining this season. Concordia had shown improvement defensively before allowing Briar Cliff to drain 16 3-point field goals last week. Despite that performance, the Bulldogs rank 17th among all NAIA Division II teams in scoring defense (68.0).
  • It’s clear so far that Concordia is counting upon Brevin Sloup as one of its go-to scorers. Sloup totaled 14 points at Midland and 16 at Briar Cliff. From a pure point production standpoint, the Seward High School product has been consistent, scoring between 11 and 19 points in each of the first five games. His average of 15.8 points per game leads the team. He’s also averaging nearly 3.0 assists and 2.6 rebounds per outing.
  • Limback will be looking for his frontcourt to continue to progress in conference play. That area of the roster got an offseason makeover with the additions of transfers Zach Auguste and Choul Biel. With Biel’s biggest strengths being on the defensive end, the Bulldogs are relying on Auguste for offensive production in the paint. He put up 16 points and nine rebounds in the win over St. Thomas. He scored four points apiece in the first two GPAC games. The freshman Logan Eaker could also help in this regard. He made a nice contribution at Briar Cliff with eight points.
  • Concordia has now lost five GPAC regular-season road games in a row since winning at Hastings, 93-83, on Jan. 24 of last season. Overall last season, the Bulldogs went 8-7 in true road contests until faltering late in the campaign. On the flip side, Concordia has protected its home court well in recent seasons. Since the start of the 2016-17 season, the Bulldogs are a combined 24-7 when playing inside Walz Arena.
  • Concordia will hopefully have a chance to regain confidence with two games at home this week. Though last week was rough, the Bulldogs showed promise in the opening week that included quality nonconference wins over Kansas Wesleyan University and No. 25 St. Thomas. Kansas Wesleyan has regrouped from its loss in Seward to defeat both Baker University (Kan.) and Midland in a rout (75-50). According to Massey Ratings, Concordia is the 68th rated team in the NAIA (out of 228 squads in both NAIA Division I and II).
  • Hastings (6-1, 2-0 GPAC), which was at Walz for the 19th annual Cattle Classic, will return to Seward on Wednesday for an 8 p.m. CT tipoff. The Bulldogs have swept the season series from the Broncos in each of the past two seasons. Then on Saturday, Concordia will host new GPAC member Jamestown (5-1, 1-1 GPAC) in a game set to get underway at 4 p.m.

Women’s Basketball

  • The opening week of conference action brought two more victories by comfortable margins for the top-ranked Bulldogs. Concordia avenged its only 2017-18 regular-season loss by winning at Midland, 83-65, on Nov. 6. The Bulldogs then traveled to Briar Cliff on Nov. 10 and rolled to a 99-71 victory in what they hope will be the first of many this season in the Sioux City, Iowa. Thirteenth-year head coach Drew Olson’s squad has moved to 6-0 overall and to 2-0 in conference play. For more information on Concordia women’s basketball, click HERE.
  • The Bulldogs are already building a solid resume having won each of their first six games by margins of at least 13 points and by claiming two victories over nationally-ranked foes (No. 15 Indiana Wesleyan University and No. 15 University of Saint Francis of Indiana). Concordia’s average victory margin thus far is 30.5 points (seventh best in NAIA Division II). The Bulldogs have reached at least 81 points in each game and have not allowed more than 71 points.
  • Turnover margin is the best explanation for Concordia’s dominance in the early season. No matter the way Olson has tweaked his defensive strategy, the ability to create turnovers has been a hallmark of the program’s success. Midland actually did well turn it over ‘only’ 21 times in last week’s clash in Fremont. Briar Cliff was much more giving, turning it over 42 times in the weekend meeting. Bulldog opponents are averaging 38.3 turnovers per game. The takeaways have allowed Concordia to take 144 more field goal attempts than its opponents.
  • Transfer Grace Barry has fit into the point guard role quite nicely in her first season as a Bulldog. She enjoyed a fine first week of conference play, totaling 30 points, 10 assists, 10 steals and six rebounds while going 13-for-23 (.565) from the floor over last week’s pair of wins. On the season, the Lincoln East High School product has dished out 31 assists compared to 16 turnovers. Barry is the team’s fourth leading scorer with an average of 11.7 points per game.
  • Senior Quinn Wragge paced Concordia last week with a combined 36 points on 16-for-21 (.762) shooting from the floor. Her career point total moved to 1,459, which surpasses Melissa Tinkham (1,452) for 10th on the program’s all-time scoring list. Also on the school’s career lists, Wragge is tied for ninth in rebounds (662) and ranks 17th in steals (199). An impact player the moment she arrived on campus, the Crofton, Neb., native has earned first team All-GPAC honors in each of her first three collegiate seasons.
  • Off the bench, junior Taryn Schuette has performed her role incredibly well. Over the past four games, she has averaged 11.5 points while going 17-for-24 (.708) from the field. Her 17 points in the win over Peru State College represent a career high. The native of Sabetha, Kan., has nailed 9-of-15 tries this season from beyond the arc. Schuette played junior varsity as a freshman and then saw action on varsity as a sophomore before earning an expanded role this season.
  • Name a statistical category and it’s likely the Bulldogs rank near the top of the nation in it. Among NAIA Division II squads, Concordia ranks No. 1 in steals per game (23.5), second in turnover margin (+19.2), seventh in scoring average (90.0), seventh in scoring margin (+30.5), 15th in offensive field goal percentage (.455), 19th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.02), 37th in scoring defense (59.5) and 40th in free throw percentage (.714).
  • Though the Bulldogs get to stay at home this week, they face two formidable challenges. On Wednesday Concordia will host No. 13 Hastings (3-1, 2-0 GPAC) at 6 p.m. CT. The Bulldogs will then welcome new GPAC member and 16th-ranked Jamestown (5-1, 2-0 GPAC) to Walz Arena for a 2 p.m. tipoff on Saturday. The Jimmes are now coached by Thad Sankey, a CUNE alum and most recently the head coach at Concordia University, Ann Arbor. Sankey spent one season as a graduate assistant under Olson.

Wrestling

  • The second week of the season brought the first dual of the 2018-19 campaign. The Bulldogs took advantage of an undermanned Dakota Wesleyan squad and emerged with a 58-0 GPAC dual victory on Nov. 9. The next day, Concordia remained in Mitchell, S.D., for the Dakota Wesleyan University Open. Fifteen Bulldogs competed and combined for 34 wins and five place finishes. It was the second tournament of the young season for first-year head coach Levi Calhoun’s squad, which began 2018-19 at the Dan Harris Open (Nov. 4). For more on Concordia wrestling, click HERE.
  • The Bulldogs are aiming to climb back up the GPAC dual standings after placing fifth last season with a 5-3 conference record. Although it was a winning record, it fell short of the standard that had been set the previous three seasons when Concordia went a combined 21-0 with GPAC dual and postseason championships each year. The 2017-18 Bulldogs went on to place fourth at the conference tournament with the help of individual GPAC champions Giovanni Castillo (133) and Deandre Chery (174).
  • Concordia took care of business in last week’s dual. Of course it helped that the Tigers forfeited five of the 10 weight classes. In the five matches that were contested, the Bulldogs had little trouble. Cameron Devers (149), Issiah Burks (157) and Jason Watkins (165) each claimed pins while Zack Moistner (133) and Michael Stann (285) both won by technical fall. The 58-0 team score was similar to the 55-0 result in last season’s meeting between Concordia and Dakota Wesleyan.
  • Chery, Stann and Mario Ybarra (125) led the charge at the DWU Open with five wins apiece. A 174-pound champion at the season opening Harris Open, Chery is now 10-1 on the season after a six-win weekend. He placed third in Mitchell with the one loss coming at the hands of a highly-rated opponent from the NCAA Division II level. Half of Chery’s wins have ended with pins. That’s not at all out of character for the Miami Gardens, Fla., native, who led the team with 13 pins during the 2017-18 season.
  • Ybarra did not crack the initial GPAC rankings at 125 pounds, but he may quickly get there. The native of Scottsbluff, Neb., is now 10-2 after also going 6-1 in Mitchell. Like Chery, Ybarra took a loss early in the day at the DWU Open to an NCAA Division II foe. Ybarra then got on a roll and won his final four matches of the day, including one by technical fall. Ybarra was not able to place out due to the collegiate rule that limits wrestlers to six matches in one day.
  • Stann has been one of the surprises so far this season. He was also off the radar in the preseason in terms of conference and national ratings. The freshman from Temecula, Calif., made it to the finals of the heavyweight bracket at the Harris Open and then enjoyed a 6-1 weekend in Mitchell to run his season record to 9-2. Included in Stann’s run over the weekend was a pair of pins over opposition from Briar Cliff.
  • Of the 15 Bulldogs who competed at the DWU Open, 13 of them turned in at least one victory. Burks won three matches and six of his teammates each picked up two victories in the tournament. Concordia appears to have considerable depth at 184 pounds where Josh Nelsen (second) and Darrin Miller (fourth) are both ranked at the conference level. Miller reached the semifinals at the DWU Open along with another Bulldog 184-pounder in Tyler Jorgensen.
  • This week’s schedule is similar with a GPAC dual and another tournament coming up. Concordia will be at 13th-ranked Midland on Thursday for a 7 p.m. CT dual. The defending GPAC tournament champion Warriors have not yet had a dual. Then on Saturday, the Bulldogs will be at the University of Nebraska-Kearney Open. The action is set to get started at 9 a.m.

Men’s Soccer

  • A bid for a fourth-straight appearance in the GPAC tournament championship game came up short last week with the 2018 season ending in the conference semifinals. It all ended with another clash with arch nemesis Hastings, which toppled the Bulldogs, 3-0, in a semifinal contest played at Lloyd Wilson Field. Concordia has met the Broncos in the conference tournament in five-straight seasons. Eleventh-year head coach Jason Weides’ squad ended the campaign with an overall record of 10-5-4. For more information on Bulldog men’s soccer, click HERE.
  • Prior to the semifinal game on Nov. 6, each of the previous four Concordia-Hastings meetings in GPAC postseason action had been decided by one- or two-goal margins. The Broncos have now won six in a row in the series versus the Bulldogs since Concordia earned a 1-0 upset in the 2015 GPAC tournament title game. The Bulldogs have had other close calls against Hastings during Weides’ tenure. They fell 2-1 in overtime at Hastings in the 2014 GPAC semifinals and 2-1 in overtime at home in 2012.
  • While Concordia fell short of its goal of reaching the national tournament for the first time since 2015, it did manage to extend its streak of consecutive 10-win seasons and earn the right to host a GPAC tournament quarterfinal game for the third year in a row. Weides has now led the program to at least 10 overall victories each season from 2011 through the present. During that stretch, the Bulldogs are a combined 90-50-17 overall. As a head coach, Weides owns a career mark of 107-83-22. He’s the second winningest coach in program history behind Jack Kinworthy (113).
  • As Weides has pointed out, Concordia competed favorably this season when it went up against top 25 caliber competition. Back on Sept. 8 when the Bulldogs picked up a 3-2 road win over Kansas Wesleyan University, the Coyotes were off the radar in terms of the national poll. But by last week, Kansas Wesleyan jumped to No. 21 in the NAIA rankings. The Bulldogs also dropped a 2-1 decision to Bellevue, now No. 6 nationally, on Sept. 1. The frustration came in that games seemed to be tight no matter the competition. Five of the final seven matches prior to the GPAC semifinals went to overtime.
  • One thing the 2018 team did quite effectively was develop into a solid attacking team despite losing three seniors from the 2017 squad that combined for 35 of the team’s 51 goals. The ’18 team did not necessarily have one prolific goal scorer, but an array of options. Five players found the back of the net five or more times: Roger de la Villa (eight), David Carrasco (six), Konrad Sinu (six), Carlos Ferrer (six) and Jack Arra (five). The 2017 Concordia team totaled 51 goals in 20 games while the 2018 squad ended up with 44 goals in 19 games.
  • The program will move on in 2019 without a class of six 2018-19 seniors, including regular starters in Angel Alvarez, Bennett, Derek Eitzmann, Aries Fung. Arra also played a key role (eight starts) while fellow senior Mickey Waldron served as a backup keeper. Alvarez and Eitzmann were mainstays on the backline while Arra (five goals, five assists) was the top offensive threat among the seniors. Since the start of the 2015 season, the four-year seniors were part of squads that went a combined 48-22-10.
  • The 2019-20 senior class will be a larger one with Ferrer being the most prominent among them. The native of Tijuana, Mexico, seems to up his game each season. That was certainly the case this past season from a statistical standpoint. Ferrer posted career highs for goals (six) and assists (nine) with his assist total coming up one shy of a single-season school record. Over 59 career games, Ferrer has amassed 15 goals and 16 assists.

Cross Country

  • The season has ended for all but one Bulldog runner: senior Taylor Grove. The NAIA officially named Grove a national qualifier on Nov. 7. Her fourth-place finish at the GPAC championships pushed her into the qualifying field. From a team perspective, head coach Matt Beisel’s squads both placed fourth in the conference at the GPAC championships that took place on Nov. 3. For more on Concordia cross country, click HERE.
  • Though the Bulldog women’s program has not sent an entire team to nationals since 2011, Grove’s inclusion in the national field means that Concordia has had at least one female qualifier in four-straight seasons. Grove, a two-time outdoor track national qualifier, is getting set to make her first-ever appearance at the NAIA Cross Country National Championships. The native of Billings, Mont., helped pick up the slack after the departure of Emily Deschaine, who reached the national meet three years in a row (2015-17).
  • The Bulldogs have been slowly creeping back up the conference ladder under Beisel’s direction. The women have gone from sixth in 2016 to fifth in 2017 to fourth this year. Meanwhile, the men placed sixth in both 2016 and 2017 before moving up to fourth in 2018. The goal is to eventually end its conference title droughts. Concordia last won a GPAC title on the men’s side in 2012 and last won it on the women’s side in 2005.
  • Grove has put together a senior season to be proud of. She paced the women at all six meets this fall and came through when it mattered most. She ran a time of 18:53.54 and placed fourth in the conference. It’s a big jump from her 31st-place finish as a sophomore (did not run as a junior due to injury).
  • Grove was one of only two seniors who were entered into the women’s GPAC lineup (each team is allowed to enter 10 runners). Grove was followed at the conference championships by junior Rebekah Hinrichs (19:34.13; 13th), freshman Abi DeLoach (19:36.99; 14th), junior Hannah Rebmann (19:47.18; 20th), sophomores Lydia Cook (20:29.31; 38th), Alyssa Fye (20:30.90; 39th) and Alyssa Bierwagen (20:39.41; 42nd), senior Jacy Johnston (20:50.25; 47th), freshman Kailey Weichel (21:05.13) and junior Miranda Rathjen (21:22.40; 63rd).
  • On the men’s side, freshman Wyatt Lehr came up with a huge performance in his first taste of the conference championships. He placed 12th out of 92 competitors while running an 8k time of 26:38.73. Not far off of all-conference honors were seniors Thomas Taylor (26:52.47; 16th) and Josiah McAllister (27:04.77; 19th). Next in line were sophomores Christian Van Cleave (27:36.00; 27th) and Jordan Lorenz (27:53.80; 35th), freshman Ethan Pankow (28:34.38; 43rd), senior Evan Asche (28:55.46; 51st) and sophomores Cody Williams (29:13.67; 58th), Nick Zadar (29:48.75; 62nd) and Patrick Schneeberger (30:53.95; 74th).
  • Grove, Hinrichs and DeLoach all earned all-conference honors on the women’s side. So too did Lehr on the men’s side. All-GPAC honors are awarded to each of the runners who place in the top 15 at the conference meet. The four total all-conference awards is the most for the program during Beisel’s tenure. Concordia last had a GPAC champion in 2012 when Colin Morrissey and Sarah Kortze made it a clean sweep for Bulldog individual titles.
  • The 2018 NAIA Cross Country National Championships will be staged Friday at Seminole Valley Cross Country Course in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The women’s 5k race will begin at 10:30 a.m. CT. The women’s field includes 36 teams and 93 individuals. The GPAC received two automatic team berths to the event.