Bulldog Athletic Association Member (BAAM) Athletes of the Week
There are no athletes of the week due to Thanksgiving break. BAAM does not meet during holiday breaks.
Previous BAAM Athletes of the Week
Nov. 16 – Bree Burtwistle (volleyball) / Korrell Koehlmoos (football)
Nov. 9 – Camden Sesna (cross country) / Gabi Nordaker (volleyball)
Nov. 2 – Carter Kent (basketball) / Camryn Opfer (volleyball)
Oct. 26 – Peyton Mitchell (football) / Lexie Kreizel (volleyball)
Oct. 19 – Lane Napier (football) / Kalie Ward (soccer)
Oct. 12 – Caydren Cox (football) / Kalee Wiltfong (volleyball)
Oct. 5 – DJ McGarvie (football) / Sarah Schwacher (shooting sports)
Sept. 28 – Wyatt Hambly (shooting sports) / Gabi Nordaker (volleyball)
Sept. 21 – Camden Sesna (cross country) / Lina Kirst (soccer) / Grace Reiman (cross country) / Carly Rodaway (volleyball)
Sept. 14 – Caydren Cox (football) / Mikeila Martinez (soccer)
Sept. 7 – Drew D’Ercole (golf) / Ivan Yabut (golf) / Erica Heinzerling (volleyball)
Aug. 31 – Martin Herrera (soccer) / Camryn Opfer (volleyball)
BAAM Athletes of the Month
October – Lane Napier (football) / Camryn Opfer (volleyball)
September – Caydren Cox (football) / Gabi Nordaker (volleyball)
News and notes:
BAAM luncheons are held every Tuesday at 12 p.m. CT inside the Dog House Grill, located in the Janzow Campus Center. The luncheons feature reports from head coaches who are in season at the time.
Game/event days on campus: Concordia Athletics continues to welcome fans to its venues for sporting events. Currently, there are no attendance limits. Before visiting road venues involving Bulldog teams, fans should be sure to check the spectator policies on those particular campuses. Other locations may require the use of face coverings. Once again, fans attending varsity sporting events at Concordia are able to purchase advance tickets online via HomeTown Ticketing. Tickets will also be sold on site on the day of events. Should any policies or protocols for fans change, updated information will be available on the athletics fan information page HERE.
Concordia Athletics celebrates the life of Scott Moniot: Concordia Head Shooting Sports Coach Scott Moniot was called to be with the Lord on November 20, 2021. He is survived by his wife Donna, three children and grandchildren. Enthusiastic, passionate and faith-filled, Moniot will be greatly missed within the Concordia community. His impact went well beyond the accolades that were attained on the range. Said Moniot when first hired at Concordia, “I count it a privilege to partner with Concordia and to invest in the lives of young people as they pursue their faith, educational and personal goals.” For more on Moniot, click HERE.
Concordia announces launch of men’s and women’s powerlifting programs: Concordia Athletics will soon expand its sport offerings. The Athletic Department announced the launch of men’s and women’s powerlifting on Nov. 9. The two programs will begin competition during the 2022-23 academic year. The target date to name a head coach is January 1, 2022. Like all other intercollegiate sports at Concordia, the powerlifting programs will offer athletic scholarships to student-athletes. For more on this development, click HERE.
All-GPAC award winners announced for fall sports: All-conference awards have been handed out for each of the fall sports. Click the links below to find out who landed on the All-GPAC teams. In total, 25 Bulldogs were honored with some form of all-conference recognition. The highest honors went to All-American linebacker Lane Napier, who was named the GPAC Defensive Player of the Year.
-Cross Country
-Football
-Men’s Soccer
-Women’s Soccer
-Volleyball
Softball fall update: A new era for the Concordia Softball program got started this fall as Tatum Edwards took over the head coaching role. The fall was characterized by an intense period of practices, intrasquad scrimmages and workouts. Said Edwards, “I really believe in putting in hard work all the time, so we’re not going to take our foot off the gas. It is a sacrifice if you want to compete with the best. They did a really, really good job … We have to put the work in now if we’re going to be successful in the spring.” For a fall update on the program, click HERE.
CoSIDA Academic All-District total rises to four for fall: The count is up to four in regards to number of fall Academic All-District honorees, as selected by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The award winners from Concordia so far have been Tara Callahan (volleyball), Mikeila Martinez (soccer), Michaela Twito (soccer) and Jonah Weyand (football). The award recognizes combined excellence academically and athletically.
Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is underway in its seventh 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 2021-22 season, Bulldog football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball contests will be aired live on Max Country. Parker Cyza 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 seventh season calling Concordia volleyball.
Concordia Sports Network: Live webcasts for most home varsity contests can be accessed by visiting https://www.cune.edu/athletics/watch-bulldogs at game time. Beginning in 2019-20, Concordia Athletics partnered with PrestoSports for live video and statistical streaming. For more details on this change, click HERE. Check team schedules/results pages for webcast dates. Scrimmages, exhibitions and junior varsity events are not broadcasted.
Cross Country
· The season is now in the books officially for the Bulldogs, who qualified three individuals for the 2021 NAIA Cross Country National Championships. The qualifiers were Rylee Haecker, Calvin Rohde and Camden Sesna. Each of them competed at the Fort Vancouver Historical Site in Vancouver, Wash., on Nov. 19. Head Coach Matt Beisel has traveled women’s runners to the national meet in two of the past three seasons while the 2021 national championships marked the first time the program qualified men’s competitors since 2014. For more information on Concordia Cross Country, click HERE.
· The national meet put the cap on a terrific season from start to finish for Sesna, a native of Kearney, Neb. He placed 116th out of 333 runners on the men’s side of the national meet. Sesna crossed the finish line in 26:54.7, not far off his 8k time of 26:34.08 turned in at the GPAC Championships. Rohde (Reed City, Mich.) finished roughly 45 seconds later in a time of 27:40.4, putting him in 209th place. Sesna was the team’s top runner at every meet this season and was twice named the GPAC Runner of the Week.
· Haecker wound up as the lone women’s qualifier on a team that rose as high as No. 11 in the NAIA coaches’ poll earlier this season. Haecker paced the 5k Fort Vancouver historical course in 19:45.8 and placed 120th out of 340 competitors on the women’s side. Haecker had run 19:19.69 at the conference championships, where she placed seventh. Haecker led the way for the women at three of the five meets prior to the national championships.
· Throughout the 2021 season, the Bulldog men placed 12th out of 31 teams at the Augustana Twilight, first out of seven teams at the Morningside Invite, second out of 12 teams at the Briar Cliff Invite, fifth out of 10 teams at the Mount Marty Invite and fourth out of 11 teams at the GPAC Championships. Meanwhile, the women placed eight out of 27 teams at the Augustana Twilight, first out of five teams at the Morningside Invite, fourth out of 11 teams at the Briar Cliff Invite, second out of 10 teams at the Mount Marty Invite and fifth out of 12 teams at the GPAC Championships.
· A more detailed look at Concordia’s three individual qualifiers can be found HERE. They qualified based on their all-conference finishes at the GPAC meet. In conference action, Haecker placed seventh (5k time of 19:19.69), Sesna placed seventh (8k time of 26:34.08) and Rohde placed 10th (8k time of 26:58.46). For each of the Bulldog distance runners, the focus now turns to indoor track and field season, which will begin with the Bulldog Early Bird Meet on Dec. 10-11.
Volleyball
· For a third season in a row, the Bulldogs will carry their postseason journey into the final site of the NAIA National Championships. While hosting Ave Maria University (Fla.) on Nov. 20, Concordia followed the hot hands of its right side hitters on the way to a straight-sets win in the NAIA Opening Round. The contest marked the second time in program history (first since 2015) that Concordia hosted a national tournament match. Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad (17-11 overall) will resume action at the national tournament following the holiday week. For more information on Concordia Volleyball, click HERE.
· In terms of national prominence, this is the glory age of the program. The Bulldogs have now won at least one national tournament match for a third season in a row. The program has boosted its all-time national tournament record to 6-4. The 2020 run included national tournament wins over Xavier University of New Orleans in the opening round and then Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.) and No. 7 Marian University (Ind.) in pool play. Those victories pushed Concordia into the national quarterfinals for the first time ever.
· The Bulldogs blitzed Ave Maria in the first set on the way to winning, 25-12, 25-23, 25-19. Concordia outhit the Gyrenes, .308 to .111, and outnumbered them in kills, 48-33. Ave Maria struggled mightily to limit the right side duo of Arleigh Costello and Carly Rodaway. Costello notched 11 kills and hit .625 and Rodaway posted 11 kills and hit .360. The setter combo of Tara Callahan (27 assists) and Bree Burtwistle (17 assists) combined for 44 assists. In addition, Camryn Opfer chipped in with nine kills and 12 digs and Gabi Nordaker contributed eight kills and four blocks.
· The GPAC cleaned up in the opening round of the national tournament. Each of the seven national qualifiers from the GPAC protected their home courts with six of them triumphing in three sets. Based on last season’s results, all seven could be serious threats in pool play. The 2020 national quarterfinals showcased five GPAC squads, including the Bulldogs. The conference will be aiming for its first NAIA volleyball national championship since Hastings seized the red banner in 2016. The Broncos were the first GPAC team to ever win the volleyball national title.
· Concordia’s statistical leaders this season are Camryn Opfer in kills (344) and digs (333), Tara Callahan in assists (1,043), Gabi Nordaker in hitting percentage (.362) and blocks (103) and Kennedy VanScoy in aces (28). Callahan has pushed her career assist total to 4,702. Meanwhile, Opfer’s 898 career kills rank as the most among active Bulldogs (and are the 13th most in school history). Four other Concordia hitters have at least 100 kills in 2021: Nordaker (312), Erica Heinzerling (240), Carly Rodaway (160), Kalee Wiltfong (131) and Arleigh Costello (102).
· Callahan has already been awarded with two significant awards since the regular season concluded. The native of Brady, Neb., was chosen as a Second Team All-GPAC honoree and was named an Academic All-District selection by CoSIDA. Four of her teammates were also tabbed all-conference: Nordaker (first team), Opfer (first team), Heinzerling (honorable mention) and Rodaway (honorable mention). Callahan has garnered five career All-GPAC awards, including two first team mentions.
· The national tournament will take a break during the week of Thanksgiving before action picks up at the final site – the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa – for pool play on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. On Sunday, the Bulldogs learned they had been placed in Pool B alongside No. 2 Viterbo (Wis.) and No. 25 Oregon Tech. Concordia will play Oregon Tech at 3 p.m. CT on Nov. 30 and then challenge Viterbo at 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 1. Only one team from each of the eight pools will advance to bracket play, which gets started on Dec. 2.
Wrestling
· The most significant tournament so far this season, in terms of number of competitors, took place this past weekend as the Bulldogs descended upon the Younes Hospitality Open hosted by the University of Nebraska-Kearney. Concordia came away with three place finishes amongst its 18 wrestlers at the event. Head Coach Myron Bradbury’s squad has also competed in the York College Open (Oct. 30), Dan Harris Open (Nov. 7) and Dakota Wesleyan Open (Nov. 13). In the lone dual to this point, the Bulldogs fell at the hands of Hastings, 29-17. For more information on Concordia Wrestling, click HERE.
· The Younes Hospitality Open featured wrestlers from 47 different institutions from various levels of collegiate competition. The 18 Bulldog competitors combined for 30 wins, including nine via fall. The place finishers were Mario Ybarra (second in 133-pound elite bracket), Thomas Ivey (third in 125-pound amateur bracket) and Mason Garcia (sixth in 197-pound amateur bracket). Fifteen Concordia grapplers turned in at least one win on the day. The competition included several GPAC schools, and also opponents from NCAA Division I and II.
· The tournament marked the season debut for Ybarra, a returning All-American and the 2020 GPAC champion at 125. Ybarra came up just short, 3-1 in sudden victory, at the hands of Air Force’s Nick Krug in the 133-pound championship match. The native of Scottsbluff, Neb., made his way to the title bout with close victories over Fort Hays State’s Gunnar Smith, Morningside’s Taylor Vasquez and Colorado Mesa’s Collin Metzgar. The latter opponent is currently ranked 14th in NCAA Division II at 133 pounds while Vasquez is rated 14th in the NAIA at 133.
· In the amateur bracket at 125, Ivey (York, Neb.) advanced to the semifinals before finally suffering a defeat. Ivey claimed five wins on the day, including one over an opponent from Colorado State. He eventually dropped to the consolation bracket and defeated a foe from host Nebraska-Kearney and claimed third place. It’s been a strong start to the season for Ivey, who also claimed second place at the York Open. Ivey sports a 10-2 record on the year.
· Garcia, who hails from Arroyo Grande, Calif., has been on a tear early this season. He placed sixth in the 197-pound amateur bracket in Kearney while going 5-1 with two more pins. He has run his season record to 11-1 with seven pins and a tech fall. Garcia was not able to fully place out at the Younes Hospitality Open after reaching the maximum number of matches wrestled for the day. Garcia was the 197-pound champion at the York Open.
· The Younes Hospitality Open also marked the first tournament outing of the season for heavyweight and returning national qualifier Jacob Telles, who notched four wins (two pins) on Nov. 20. His two defeats came at the hands of NCAA Division II opponents. Meanwhile, two wins apiece were turned in by Adam Roberts (125) and Tavoris Smith (157).
· The Bulldogs are idle from competition for this Thanksgiving week. Next up on the schedule will be a pair of GPAC duals at The Arena in Sioux City, Iowa, on Wednesday, Dec. 1. On that date, Concordia will go up against Dakota Wesleyan and Morningside. The dual schedule will heat up during the month of December, which also includes a home matchup with Midland on Dec. 9 and the Concordia Bulldog Duals on Dec. 18.
Men’s Basketball
· It was a fruitful first full week of conference play as the Bulldogs held serve at home with an 80-63 win over Midland on Nov. 17 before holding off Dordt, 84-82, in Sioux Center, Iowa, on Nov. 20. It was a fine way to respond to what remains this season’s only loss (65-48 at Briar Cliff on Nov. 13). Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad sports an overall record of 7-1 (2-1 GPAC). There are four teams in the GPAC who have yet to drop a conference game. For more information on Concordia Men’s Basketball, click HERE.
· The Bulldogs have a good thing going inside Friedrich Arena, where they are 20-1 over their past 21 home games. It was a bad spot for Midland, which drew a Concordia team looking to put behind the loss at Briar Cliff. The Bulldogs shot 54.0 percent from the floor and got a game high 24 points from Gage Smith in the victory. Two other Concordia players reached double figures in scoring: Justin Wiersema (18) and Carter Kent (16). Kent also grabbed nine rebounds while AJ Watson dished out six assists. The Bulldogs drained 12 treys and held the Warriors to 36.4 percent shooting from the floor.
· Concordia led for nearly the entire game at Dordt but still had to hold on with a couple of late stops on the defensive end. The Bulldogs shot the ball well again, going 34-for-67 (.507) from the floor and 10-for-26 (.385) from beyond the arc. Noah Schutte stepped up with a career high 21 points to go along with eight rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot. Each of the other four starters also notched 10 or more points: Wiersema (19), Smith (16), Kent (10) and Watson (10). Wiersema went past 1,000 career points with a 3-point basket early in the game. His stat line included six rebounds and four assists.
· Wiersema became the 33rd player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark. His total currently rests at 1,017. The native of Loveland, Colo., joins teammate Carter Kent (1,264) as current Bulldogs with more than 1,000 career points. Last week, Kent moved up to 17th on the program’s all-time scoring list, rising above Bret Walter (1,248) and former teammate and current graduate assistant coach Brevin Sloup (1,246). Gage Smith ranks third among active Bulldogs with 611 career points.
· With Ryan Holt and Klay Uher sidelined last week, Schutte was inserted into the starting lineup. The native of Laurel, Neb., is coming into his own in his second season inside the program. Last season Schutte saw action in 17 games and averaged 2.9 points per game. So far this season, Schutte is averaging 11.1 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 50.0 percent (34-for-68) from the floor. During an impressive high school career, Schutte totaled more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds and led Laurel-Concord-Coleridge High School to a Nebraska Class D1 state championship.
· A major opportunity awaits tonight (Nov. 23) as the Bulldogs look forward to hosting 10th-ranked Jamestown (8-0, 2-0 GPAC) at 7:45 p.m. CT. The Jimmies defeated Dakota Wesleyan and Midland last week as part of conference play. Concordia and Jamestown split last season’s two meetings (home team won both times). The Bulldogs will also play an exhibition game at NCAA Division II Rockhurst University on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CT from Kansas City, Mo.
Women’s Basketball
· It was an up-and-down week for the Bulldogs, who scorched Midland at home, 93-52, on Nov. 17 before falling at No. 16 Dordt, 69-60, on Nov. 20. The victory over the Warriors was an example of what Concordia is capable of when the shots are falling (shot 50 percent from the field). Head Coach Drew Olson’s squad is now 3-3 overall and 1-2 within the conference. The other GPAC defeat came at Briar Cliff. The 2020-21 team that advanced to the national quarterfinals was also 3-3 after six games. For more information on Concordia Women’s Basketball, click HERE.
· The first regular season NAIA coaches’ poll released last week was favorable to the GPAC. Four conference teams are now ranked in the top 25: No. 12 Morningside, No. 16 Dordt, No. 17 Northwestern and No. 21 Concordia. In addition, Briar Cliff is receiving votes. As part of last week’s action, Morningside cruised to an 83-64 home win over Dordt. Early in the league schedule, four GPAC teams are 2-0 in conference play: Briar Cliff, Hastings, Morningside and Northwestern. The Red Raiders (6-0) are the lone GPAC team without a single loss on the season.
· There were contributions made up and down the roster in the victory over Midland. Six Bulldogs poured in at least nine points: Taysha Rushton (17), Sadie Powell (15), Kendal Brigham (14), Bailey Conrad (14), Abby Heemstra (12) and Taylor Farrell (nine). Brigham and Farrell went a combined 7-for-9 from 3-point range as two of six Concordia players to make at least one 3-point basket. Through six games, the Midland win marked the best offensive performance for the Bulldogs, who turned in season highs for field goal percentage (.500), 3-point field goal percentage (.500) and made 3-point field goals (13).
· The shooting percentage slipped to 31.4 at Dordt where Concordia also went just 5-for-19 from beyond the arc and endured a large discrepancy in free throws (Dordt shot 34 compared to 15 attempts for the Bulldogs). Rushton led the Bulldogs with 14 points (6-for-21 from the field) while no other teammate reached double figures. Brigham and Heemstra tallied nine points apiece while Pauli registered seven points and seven rebounds. Concordia struggled to contain Hayden Heimensen (22 points) and Ashtyn Veerbeek (20 points and seven rebounds). Karly Gustafson hauled in an eye-popping 21 rebounds.
· There’s an adjustment period that has followed life without All-American Taylor Cockerill. While averaging 19.2 points, Rushton has established herself as the clear go-to player. Four others are averaging at least 6.0 points: Heemstra (10.5), Powell (7.8), Pauli (7.3), Farrell (6.5) and Conrad (6.3). Conrad has been the team’s top passer, averaging 5.8 assists per game. Meanwhile, Pauli tops the team in rebounding at 7.8 per game.
There will be no break during the week of Thanksgiving as the Bulldogs get set to host Jamestown (4-3, 1-2 GPAC) tonight (Nov. 23) at 6 p.m. CT. Concordia will also head to Plainview, Texas, this weekend for an 11 a.m. CT tipoff at No. 3 Wayland Baptist University on Saturday. The Jimmies are coached by Concordia alum Thad Sankey, a former men’s basketball teammate of Olson. The Bulldogs have won 12 straight meetings over Jamestown.