Bulldog Weekly Report (Nov. 29, 2022)

By Jacob Knabel on Nov. 29, 2016 in Athletic Announcements

Bulldog Athletic Association Athletes of the Week

Male: Chandler Folkerts, Basketball

Folkerts, a native of Milford, Neb., poured in 22 points in last week’s contest at Doane, marking his fifth-straight outing of at least 20 points. The 6-foot-8 senior currently ranks seventh nationally in field goal percentage (.660) and is averaging 20.9 points and 7.7 rebounds. He has totaled 1,585 points in his career.

Female: Philly Lammers, Basketball

Lammers, who hails from Omaha, Neb., shined last week as 14th-ranked Concordia extended its winning streak to nine. Over the past three wins, Lammers averaged 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.7 blocks while going 20-for-27 (.741) from the floor. The 5-foot-11 freshman tops the Bulldogs with a season scoring average of 12.4

Fall sports season wrap: The fall 2016 Concordia athletics season officially came to an end on Nov. 19. The Bulldogs currently sit in sixth place in the GPAC All-Sports Trophy Standings released on Nov. 15. Concordia won the 2014-15 GPAC All-Sports Trophy and finished as the conference runner up in 2015-16. Some major highlights of this fall were the women’s soccer GPAC tournament title, the men’s soccer GPAC tournament runner-up finish and the No. 18 final national ranking achieved by the football program. For a complete rundown on the fall season that recently wrapped up, click HERE.

Football head coach update: Vance Winter announced on Oct. 31 that he was resigning his position as head football coach, effective at the conclusion of the 2016 season. Winter’s tenure as head coach will officially come to an end on Nov. 30. He will remain with the university in a different capacity through Jan. 31. Concordia University continues to seek the 10th head football coach in the history of a program that began in 1925.

Sievert throws crutches aside, shows championship mettle: Emily Sievert essentially took four weeks off from running during the most crucial point of the cross country season and yet she managed to claim all-conference honors and a second-straight berth in the national championships. How did she do it? Find out HERE.

Barnes, Collins headed to D2 vs. NAIA Challenge: Football standouts in seniors Trey Barnes and Bryce Collins will compete at the annual D2 vs. NAIA Challenge. The game will be staged in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Saturday, Dec. 17. The contest features standout seniors from the NCAA Division II and NAIA levels. For more info, click HERE.

How to purchase Cultivating Men of Faith and Character: The book, Cultivating Men of Faith and Character: The History of Concordia Nebraska Football, remains available for purchase online HERE. For more than 90 years, the Concordia football program has cultivated men of faith and character. This journey through the program’s entire history takes a narrative, coach-by-coach approach in bringing back to life the memorable plays, players and moments in Bulldog football history. Win or lose, Christian character has guided a storied football tradition in Seward, home to the “college in the cornfield.”

Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 6 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is in its second year of existence. The show airs live for a half hour every Thursday beginning at 6 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 TuneIn Radio app and searching “Max Country.” Throughout the 2016-17 season, Bulldog football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball contests will be aired live on Max Country.

Concordia Sports Network: Live webcasts for most home varsity contests can be accessed by visiting http://www.cune.edu/csn at game time. Check team schedules/results pages for webcast dates. Scrimmages, exhibitions and junior varsity events are not broadcasted.

Women’s Basketball

  • Thanksgiving week brought three dominant wins for 11th-year head coach Drew Olson’s program. The 14th-ranked Bulldogs defeated Doane, 77-56, on Nov. 22 and then trounced a pair of opponents from the state of Kansas during a two-day stay at the Bruin Thanksgiving Classic (Nov. 25-26). At the event hosted by Bellevue University, Concordia pummeled No. 25 Haskell Indian Nations University, 99-44, and then the University of Saint Mary, 100-58. The Bulldogs have won nine-straight games to improve to 9-1 overall and 4-0 in conference play. For more information on Concordia women’s basketball, click HERE.
  • Olson’s squad has rarely been challenged since opening the season with a 72-64 loss on a neutral court to top-ranked and defending national champion Marian University (Ind.) on Oct. 28. During the active nine-game win streak, Concordia has scored an average of 87.6 points and has allowed an average of 56.8 points. That same nine-game stretch has included victories over one top 25 opponent (No. 25 Haskell) and three foes that were listed among others receiving votes (Friends University, Oklahoma Wesleyan University and Northwestern).
  • Individually, freshman Philly Lammers stood out most last week from a statistical perspective. The Millard West High School product averaged 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.7 blocks while making 20-of-27 (.741) shots from the floor over the past three outings. She did so despite playing an average of only 18.3 minutes per game during blowout wins. Lammers has risen back to the status of team scoring leader at 12.4 points per game. She’s shooting 64.9 percent from the field and 84.8 percent from the free throw line.
  • It’s difficult to describe Concordia’s early success without mentioning turnovers, which again came in bunches for last week’s opponents. The Bulldogs forced 39 turnovers from Doane, 34 from Haskell and 34 from Saint Mary. Large positive turnover margins have been a hallmark of Olson’s best teams. This year’s squad now ranks No. 2 nationally in turnover margin (+10.6). The 2014-15 national runner-up team had a margin of +10.2.
  • Long win streaks are commonplace for the program. This marks the sixth-straight season during which Olson’s program has strung together a win streak of at least eight. The 2014-15 squad, rattled off an Olson-era best 23 wins in a row before a late regular-season loss at No. 1 Morningside. That streak topped the previous best under Olson – a 21-game unbeaten ride during the 2011-12 campaign that culminated with a trip to the national semifinals.
  • Junior guard Mary Janovich is already stating a compelling case as one of the top defensive players in the nation. She’s collected at least two steals in every game this season and recently went on a run of three-straight games with exactly five thefts each. With the promise may outings left in her career, the Gretna, Neb., native is quickly approaching the program’s top 20 all-time career steals list. Her 144 career steals put her within striking distance of TaLisa Krejci (153) for No. 20. Janovich currently ranks sixth nationally in steals per game (3.5).
  • Sharpshooter Dani Andersen had a rare off shooting day in the win over Haskell. Her 0-for-7 shooting from 3-point range ended her string of 13-straight games with at least one 3-point field goal. Even with that effort, Andersen is shooting 43.3 percent (29-for-67) from long distance. Only six players in all of NAIA Division II have made more 3-point shots than Andersen, who now has 558 points and 132 3-point field goals in her career, which included two seasons at Midland.
  • The weekend stay in Bellevue was a homecoming for Shelby Quinn, who spent her high school days at Bellevue East. Quinn averaged 6.5 points and 5.5 assists while leading Concordia to two wins at the Bruin Thanksgiving Classic. The 5-foot-5 point guard continues to rate as one of the most productive passers in the nation. Quinn ranks second in the GPAC and 13th among all NAIA Division II players with an average of 4.7 assists per game. Quinn owns a consecutive games played streak of 100, dating back to her freshman season.
  • This week’s schedule features GPAC games only. Concordia will host College of Saint Mary (2-5, 0-3 GPAC) at 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday. Then comes a showdown with third-ranked and undefeated Dakota Wesleyan (9-0, 3-0 GPAC) on Saturday. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. CT from Walz Arena, where the Bulldogs are 73-9 since the start of the 2011-12 season. The Tigers have defeated two ranked teams this season.

Men’s Basketball

  • Just one official game took place last week for fourth-year head coach Ben Limback’s squad. Despite owning a seven-point advantage in the second half, the Bulldogs fell, 80-77, in a nailbiter at Doane on Nov. 22. Concordia remains in search of its first true road victory of the 2016-17 season. The Bulldogs are 4-0 at home and now sit at 5-4 overall and at 1-3 in conference play. For more information on Bulldog men’s basketball, click HERE.
  • Three of Concordia’s first four defeats have come by margins of three points or less – all on the road. The Bulldogs have fallen at Johnson & Wales University (Colo.), 82-81, at Northwestern, 89-87, and at Doane, 80-77. In Concordia’s five victories, their average win margin is 14.4. In their only conference win so far, the Bulldogs trounced Mount Marty, 102-69.
  • Senior standout Chandler Folkerts extended his string of 20-point games to five by totaling 22 in the loss at Doane. Folkerts ranks third among GPAC players with an average of 20.9 points per game. He has improved his scoring average each season, going from 11.2 as a freshman to 15.6 as a sophomore and to 19.6 as a junior. His 1,585 career points rank as the seventh highest total in program history. Based on his current scoring average, Folkerts is on track to become the third Bulldog ever to reach 2,000 career points.
  • Freshman Tanner Shuck has been white hot from beyond the arc. He made all three of his attempts from 3-point range at Doane and is 8-for-12 (.667) from long distance over the past three games. Shuck currently ranks fifth among all NAIA Division II players in 3-point shooting percentage (.607). Shuck has made at least one 3-point field goal in each of his first nine collegiate games. He’s boosted his season scoring average to 8.3 points after reaching double figures in three-straight contests.
  • Offensive efficiency has been a strength of the program since the start of 2015-16 season. Concordia has now shot better than 47 percent in eight-straight games. It continues to rank inside the top 20 nationally in all three shooting percentage categories: 3-point field goal percentage (.429), field goal percentage (.510) and free throw percentage (.748). Not only does Shuck rank fifth in NAIA Division II in 3-point percentage, Chris Johnstone ranks sixth in free throw percentage (.920) and Folkerts ranks eighth in field goal percentage (.660).
  • Folkerts is the leader for a pack of five Bulldogs averaging 7.8 points or more. Folkerts is followed by Eli Ziegler (16.6), Johnstone (10.2), Shuck (8.3) and Seth Curran (7.8). Concordia ranks fifth in the GPAC with a scoring average of 85.7 points per game. The top five scoring teams in the conference all rank within the top 40 nationally.
  • Concordia’s home success and road struggles are reflected statistically. In games played at Walz Arena, the Bulldogs are averaging 94.0 points scored and allowing 77.8. On the road, they are averaging 80.5 points scored and surrendering 84.5. The Bulldogs own an active seven-game home win streak and were 10-4 at home during the 2015-16 season. The 2014-15 campaign produced unique records of 5-8 at home, 9-7 in true road games and 2-0 at neutral sites.
  • Shuck is leading all Concordia freshmen with an average of 22.2 minutes played per game. Three other freshmen are averaging more than nine minutes per game: Jake Hornick (16.6), Clay Reimers (11.3) and Brevin Sloup (9.3). Like Shuck, Hornick succeeded from the 3-point line in the loss at Doane. Hornick made 3-of-4 shots from beyond the arc while totaling 11 points in last week’s lone contest.
  • The Bulldogs will step outside of conference play on Thursday when it hosts Haskell Indian Nations University (Kan.) (1-8) at 7 p.m. Concordia will return to conference action on Saturday when No. 25 Dakota Wesleyan (7-2, 3-0 GPAC) makes its way to Walz Arena for a 4 p.m. tipoff. The Bulldogs are 1-1 versus ranked opponents with the win coming over 17th-ranked York College.

Wrestling

  • The ninth-ranked Bulldogs had Thanksgiving week off from competition after last competing at the University of Nebraska-Kearney Holiday Inn Open on Nov. 19. So far, the 2016-17 season has included three tournaments and one dual (51-0 win at Dakota Wesleyan). Head coach Andrew Nicola’s Bulldogs join Midland and Northwestern as GPAC teams with 1-0 dual marks on the season. For more information on the Concordia wrestling program, click HERE.
  • Senior Ken Burkhardt Jr.’s push to become the first wrestler in program history to reach 100 career wins continues on. The Milford, Neb., native advanced to the semifinals of the 197-pound bracket at the UNK Open. Now ranked No. 2 nationally at 197, Burkhardt Jr. took a 7-2 decision from the University of Nebraska’s Eric Schultz in his opening match. He then eked out a 2-1 decision over Jeremiah Gerl of Hastings before falling to NCAA Division II Fort Hays State University’s (Kan.) Jon Inman. Burkhardt Jr. then withdrew from the final two scheduled matches. His career win total now stands at 96.
  • New regional and national ratings were released by the NAIA on Nov. 15-16. The Bulldogs continue to hold a commanding lead over Northwestern (196-154 in total points) for the top spot in the NAIA North Group, which consists solely of eight GPAC wrestling programs. In the national rankings, eight Bulldogs earned spots: No. 12 Giovanni Castillo (125), No. 10 Kodie Cole (133), No. 12 Foster Bunce (149), No. 12 Tommy Bailey (165), No. 15 Kirk Kaliszewski (165), No. 2 Burkhardt Jr. (197), No. 12 Alexander Reimers and No. 4 Ceron Francisco (285).
  • Owner of two tournament titles (Grand View and Dakota Wesleyan) already this season, Francisco was held out of the UNK Open due to an injury suffered during practice. The Fayetteville, N.C., native is expected back on the mat soon. On Nov. 16 he was named the GPAC wrestler of the week following his heavyweight title at the Dakota Wesleyan Open. Francisco owns a perfect 9-0 record this season and is 83-50 in his collegiate career.
  • Eleven Bulldogs have piled up at least five wins this season (see list below). Concordia is topped by the 10 wins each from 197-pounders Burkhardt Jr. and Reimers. Francisco boasts the team’s top winning percentage and remains the lone undefeated Bulldog. Burkhardt Jr. is the only Concordia wrestler to place at all three of this season’s tournaments. He took first at the Grand View Open, fourth at the Dakota Wesleyan Open and sixth at the UNK Open.
    • Ken Burkhardt Jr. (197): 10-5
    • Alexander Reimers (197): 10-5
    • Ceron Francisco (285): 9-0
    • Darrin Miller (174): 8-6
    • Gabe Crawford (157): 7-3
    • Kyle Carey (133): 7-6
    • Kodie Cole (133): 6-3
    • Anthony Zepeda (157/165): 6-4
    • Deandre Chery (174): 6-6
    • Foster Bunce (149): 5-1
    • Walker Fisher (174): 5-4
  • The idling ends with a busy weekend on tap for the Bulldogs. Concordia will attempt to extend its GPAC dual win streak of 15 when it matches up at Doane at 7 p.m. on Friday. Then on Saturday, the Bulldogs will be in Storm Lake, Iowa, for the Buena Vista University Open. Action in western Iowa is set to get underway at 9 a.m. CT. Since Doane began its wrestling program in 2013, Concordia has defeated the Tigers in all three dual meetings.