Bulldog Weekly Report (Oct. 8)

By Concordia University, Nebraska on Oct. 8, 2019 in Athletic Announcements

Bulldog Athletic Association Athletes of the Week

Female: Tara Callahan, Volleyball

Callahan, a native of Brady, Neb., continues to perform as one of the nation’s top setters. Last week she helped lead the Bulldogs to a win at No. 8 Midland while piling up 61 assists, 15 digs, 10 blocks and six kills over last week’s two matches. Callahan ranks 13th nationally in assists per set (10.49).

Male: Caleb Goldsmith, Soccer

Goldsmith, who hails from Lincoln, Neb., played a key role as a holding midfielder in last week’s 2-0 victory over Mount Marty. The Bulldogs allowed the Lancers only seven shots. Goldsmith has become a fixture in the starting lineup for a team that is 9-1 overall and tied atop the GPAC at 4-0.

Previous BAAM Athletes of the Week
BAAM September Athletes of the Month: Derek Tachovsky (football) / Emmie Noyd (volleyball)
Oct. 1 – AJ Jenkins (football) / Rebekah Hinrichs (cross country)
Sept. 24 – Derek Tachovsky (football) / Kendra Placke (golf)
Sept. 17 – Moises Jacobo (soccer) / Kara Stark (volleyball)
Sept. 10 – Carlos Orquiz (soccer) / Amie Martin (cross country)
Sept. 3 – Eduardo Alba (soccer) / Emmie Noyd (volleyball)

News and notes:

Receiver group takes flight: We really weren’t trying to jinx them. Concordia’s receiver group may have been held in check last week due to the sloppy field conditions in Jamestown, N.D., but it remains a talented bunch. A receiver core that includes Art Anderson, Cayden Beran, Lane Castaneda and Korrell Koehlmoos stands out as one of the best in program history. Through the first four weeks of the season, the Bulldogs connected for 15 pass plays of 20 or more yards. For more on the Bulldog receivers, click HERE.

Noyd, Tachovsky voted September Athletes of the Month: As voted upon by Bulldog Athletic Association Members, seniors Emmie Noyd (volleyball) and Derek Tachovsky (football) were named Concordia’s September Athletes of the Month. Noyd lead’s one of the NAIA’s top attacking teams (16-3 overall record for Concordia volleyball) while Tachovsky is a standout linebacker for one of the country’s best defenses. For more details on Noyd and Tachovsky, click HERE.

Shooting sports hosts Bulldog Sporting Classic: Concordia hosted its first home competition of the 2019-20 season this past weekend (Oct. 5-6). The Bulldog Sporting Classic took place at Oak Creek Sporting Club in Brainard, Neb., where 144 shooters from 11 different schools gathered. Head coach Scott Moniot’s squad placed second overall while Erin Lokke (third high overall female; second in sporting clays), Monica Dale (second in super sporting) and Nicole Breese (third in super sporting) all turned in podium finishes. Wyatt Hambly was the team’s top overall shooter. Next up is the Hastings Bronco Invitational this Saturday and Sunday in Grand Island, Neb. For more information on Concordia shooting sports, 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 https://www.cune.edu/athletics/watch-bulldogs at game time. Beginning in 2019-20, Concordia Athletics is partnering 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.

Women’s Soccer

  • For the third week in a row, the Bulldogs had a mid-week bye before engaging with a conference foe in Saturday action. In last week’s only contest, Concordia dominated possession in what amounted to a 3-0 home victory over Mount Marty on Oct. 5. Despite creating a plethora of opportunities, the Bulldogs waited until the 51st minute to put up the game’s first goal. Head coach Chris Luther’s squad remains unbeaten in conference play (3-0-1) and is now 3-6-1 overall. For more information on Concordia women’s soccer, click HERE.
  • The Bulldogs are now a perfect 18-0 all-time versus Mount Marty (second most wins versus any opponent since program’s inaugural year in 1996). In school history, Concordia has also defeated York 25 times, Briar Cliff and Midland 14 times, Morningside 13 times and Doane 12 times. Three of the matchups with the Lancers were decided by one-goal margins, including all three meetings in the 2012 through 2014 campaigns. Last season Concordia pummeled a short-handed Mount Marty squad, 12-0, in Yankton, S.D.
  • The Bulldogs have not yet played the three GPAC squads currently garnering votes in the NAIA national poll, but it bears repeating how successful the program has been within conference play. Cocnordia is now 25-1-5 over its last 31 GPAC regular-season games. The lone defeat during that stretch was a 3-2 home loss to Briar Cliff to close the 2018 regular season. The aforementioned run dates back to the five-game win streak at the end of the 2016 regular season. The Bulldogs have also enjoyed plenty of postseason success having reached the GPAC tournament title game five years running.
  • Three different Concordia players each found the back of the net for the first time this season in the win over Mount Marty. The goals were delivered by Tori Cera, Grace Soenksen and Brynn Suddeth. For Soenksen, the goal marked the first of her career. Meanwhile, Cera has 11 career goals while Suddeth has 13. A second team All-GPAC honoree in 2018, Suddeth turned in three hat tricks last season. Cera also assisted on Soenksen’s goal with a highlight reel worthy volley into the box.
  • The Soenksen name is synonymous with Bulldog soccer. Grace is the fifth Soenksen sibling to play for either the women’s or men’s programs. All five have scored at least one goal as a Bulldog. Esther Soenksen has bragging rights in the family with her 31 career goals. She is followed on the list by Gideon (11), Tim (six), Kevin (three) and Grace (one). Esther played for Concordia squads that won both a GPAC tournament and a GPAC regular season title. Gideon helped the 2015 men’s team to a conference tournament championship of its own.
  • The Bulldogs have placed an emphasis on tightening up defensively. They really weren’t challenged in that regard last week with Concordia controlling the ball on its attacking end for virtually the entire contest versus Mount Marty. The Lancers did not manage even one shot. The Bulldogs have three shutout wins within conference play – 3-0 over Presentation, 1-0 over Northwestern and 3-0 over Mount Marty. That stingy defensive play has helped bump Concordia to No. 5 in the GPAC in terms of fewest goals allowed per game (1.50).
  • Sophomore Kalie Ward became the third Bulldog to appear at goalkeeper this season. The native of Cheyenne, Wyo., got the nod for the second half against Mount Marty after Jessica Knedler played the opening 45 minutes in goal. They rarely even touched the ball while watching their teammates pepper the Lancers with 31 shots. Knedler has now made two starts with Lindsey Carley starting at keeper in the other eight games.
  • This week the Bulldogs will really learn about what their made of. They are set to host No. 25 Midland (6-2-1, 3-1 GPAC) at 5:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday before heading to No. 14 Hastings (8-2, 4-1 GPAC) for a 5:30 p.m. tussle at Lloyd Wilson Field. Concordia and Hastings have met up in each of the past two GPAC tournament championship games. Last season the Bulldogs advanced to the title game by clipping Midland, 1-0, in the semifinals.

Volleyball

  • As the season wears on, the Bulldogs continue to have the look of a team capable of making a push for a national tournament bid. Concordia faced potential landmines last week with two road trips within conference play. The results were a four-set loss at Hastings on Oct. 2 and then a four-set upset win over No. 8 Midland on Oct. 5. Head coach Ben Boldt’s squad is now exactly halfway through the GPAC schedule and stands at 16-3 overall with a 5-3 conference mark (tied for third place). For more on Bulldog volleyball, click HERE.
  • There will not be another national poll released until Oct. 23. In the time between now and then, things may come into a more clear focus, but it seems Concordia is overdue to leap into the NAIA top 25. All of the data supports that notion. With the victory at Midland, the Bulldogs moved up to No. 9 in the national computer rankings formulated by Massey Ratings. In addition, Concordia has a signature nonconference win (over No. 5 Corban University) and now a signature road win (over Midland). It has also gotten a bump up to No. 26 nationally in strength of schedule.
  • A strong sign of the development of the program has been its ability to win on the road. An above .500 road record in GPAC play is no small feat (currently 3-2). The Bulldogs own conference road victories over College of Saint Mary, Doane and Midland. Those results represent a massive contrast from last season when Concordia went 1-8 in true road matches. The lone GPAC road victory during the entire 2018 campaign came in the regular-season finale at Doane.
  • There wasn’t necessarily a single individual that stood out last week from a statistical standpoint, but that’s just fine with the Bulldogs. Concordia has preached balance, something that setter Tara Callahan has helped her team achieve offensively. Over last week’s two matches, three Bulldogs shared a team high with exactly 17 kills – Emmie Noyd, Kara Stark and Kalee Wiltfong. Camryn Opfer also contributed 15 kills. The team hitting percentage hovered at .100, in part because of the opponents and in part because of the rough performance at Hastings.
  • Noyd was held in check by Hastings, but an incredible senior season continues for the native of Shelby, Neb. Her 231 total kills have put her near her career high of 235 kills last season. Noyd is averaging 3.61 kills per set (up from 2.67 last year) and is hitting .353. In her career, Noyd has 801 kills, 320 blocks and owns a .311 hitting percentage. She is a two-time second team All-GPAC honoree.
  • The Bulldogs also get balanced production out of the back row. Taking last week as an example, five players each had 15 or more digs: Erin Johnson (22), Kaylie Dengel (20), Marissa Hoerman (16), Opfer (16) and Callahan (15). Those same five players also have more than 100 digs on the season: Hoerman (229), Opfer (169), Dengel (165), Johnson (144) and Callahan (128). Hoerman has been the captain of the back row. She now has 810 career digs and a career serve receive percentage of .948.
  • The 2019 squad is accomplishing a number of things that the program hadn’t done in several years. The 16 overall wins already surpasses the totals posted by the 2016, 2017 and 2018 squads. In addition, the 16-3 record is the best for the program after 19 matches since the 2005 squad was 18-1. This year’s edition has also ended series losing streaks of eight versus Hastings and nine versus Midland.
  • On the national leaderboard, Concordia ranks fifth in hitting percentage (.247) and seventh in kills per set (13.68). On the NAIA individual board, Callahan ranks 12th in assists per set (10.49) and Noyd ranks 12th in hitting percentage (.353), 19th in blocks per set (1.17) and 36th in kills per set (3.61). Only two GPAC squads have better hitting percentages than the Bulldogs: Northwestern (.314) and Dakota Wesleyan (.258).
  • Concordia will get to stay within the friendly confines of Walz Arena for its next three matches. On tap this week is Wednesday’s 7:30 p.m. CT battle with Doane (12-8, 3-4 GPAC) and then Friday’s 7:30 p.m. clash with No. 25 Morningside (12-6, 4-4 GPAC). Both contests are rematches of contests played earlier this season. The Bulldogs fell in four sets at Morningside and defeated Doane in straight sets in Crete.

Men’s Soccer

  • Roughly halfway through the regular-season slate, the Bulldogs enjoyed a mid-week bye before returning to action on Oct. 5 versus Mount Marty. Concordia got all it could handle in a battle that went scoreless for nearly 80 minutes. Eventually the Bulldogs found the back of the net on a couple of big strikes and emerged with a 2-0 victory. Twelfth-year head coach Jason Weides’ squad is now a sparkling 9-1 overall and 4-0 in conference play. Concordia and Hastings (4-0 GPAC) are tied atop the league standings with 12 points apiece. For more information on Bulldog men’s soccer, click HERE.
  • It had been a while since Concordia faced such a strong challenge from the Mount Marty program. The Bulldogs have won nine-straight meetings over the Lancers with most of them being decided in blowout fashion. Just three years ago, the 2016 get together resulted in an 11-0 Concordia win. It actually took Weides until his fourth season as head coach to beat Mount Marty. The Bulldogs tied with the Lancers in 2008 and 2009 and lost to them, 2-1, in 2010. This year’s Mount Marty team pushed No. 5 Hastings to the brink in a 1-0 double overtime loss.
  • Concordia will be without a dependable goal scorer in Roger de la Villa, who is likely out for the season with an injury. One player who may be able to help pick up the slack is junior midfielder Garrett Perry. The Corona, Calif., native hasn’t been a prolific goal scorer in his career, but he now has three goals over the past two games. His three goals this season equal his combined total from his freshman and sophomore seasons. However, Perry is likely to see more opportunities now than he has in the past.
  • Sophomore Carlos Orquiz got on the board last week with the first goal of the season (fifth career). He’s now the 16th Bulldog to find the back of the net at least once in 2019. Freshman Moises Jacobo remains the team leader with six goals. Four others have at least three goals: Carlos Ferrer (four), Ryan LeTourneau (three), Perry (three) and Isaiah Shaddick (three). Among GPAC teams, Concordia ranks No. 1 in goals scored per game (3.30) and No. 2 in fewest goals allowed per game (0.70).
  • The numbers are impressive enough that the Bulldogs seem likely to begin to gain a little more traction this week in the national poll. Concordia has not yet received any votes nationally while consistently being rated No. 3 in the GPAC behind Hastings and Morningside. However, the Bulldogs have jumped in front of Morningside (lost 6-1 last week to Midland) in this week’s official GPAC poll. That could mean Concordia will garner the 17 points that Morningside picked up last week in the coaches’ poll.
  • Massey Ratings is about the best, most unbiased tool for judging teams at the NAIA level. Currently, the Bulldogs are ranked 28th nationally by Massey Ratings. The computer formula also rates Concordia’s strength of schedule at No. 123 in the NAIA. In addition, Massey rates the Bulldogs as the nation’s 23rd best offensive team and 47th best defensive team. Hastings is the lone GPAC squad rated above Concordia.
  • Weides, the program’s all-time winningest coach, has been the architect behind the golden age of Bulldog men’s soccer. The consistency has been especially impressive (on the brink of a ninth-straight season with at least 10 victories). The Bulldogs also own an active GPAC regular-season unbeaten streak of 11 (9-0-2) heading into a critical week of conference action. It’s been more than a calendar year since Concordia’s most recent GPAC regular-season a defeat – a 2-0 downer at the hands of then fourth-ranked Hastings on Oct. 3, 2018.
  • A couple of wins this week would put the Bulldogs in the driver’s seat in the GPAC race, but it won’t come easy. Concordia will host Midland (7-3-1, 3-1 GPAC) at 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday before traveling to play at No. 5 Hastings (8-0-1, 4-0 GPAC) at 8 p.m. on Saturday. The Bulldogs got past the Warriors in last year’s GPAC quarterfinals via a PK shootout and then had their season end in the GPAC semifinals with a 3-0 loss at Hastings. Concordia has not beaten the Broncos since upsetting them, 1-0, in the 2015 GPAC tournament championship game.

Cross Country

  • Meet No. 4 of the 2019 season occurred this past Saturday with the Concordia men’s and women’s teams pacing the trail at Adams Nature Preserve in North Sioux City, S.D., for the Briar Cliff Invite. The women’s 5k race was marred a bit by a mishap that saw a large group of runners take a wrong turn. As a result, team results were not official. On the men’s side, the Bulldogs placed sixth out of 14 teams in the 8k run. Head coach Matt Beisel’s squads now have a few weeks off from competition. For more on Concordia cross country, click HERE.
  • At least on the women’s side, the Bulldogs are back in territory the program got used to being in for the bulk of previous head coach Kregg Einspahr’s 22-year tenure. In other words, Concordia has returned to the NAIA top 25. The Bulldog women checked in at No. 17 in the rating released on Oct. 3. The ranking is the first for the program since 2015 and its highest since September of 2012. Concordia is also rated first in the official GPAC poll. Meanwhile, the men are ranked fifth in the conference.
  • Sticking with the theme of rankings, the Bulldog women finished in the top 20 nationally each year from the 1994 through 2009 seasons. Concordia has never won a national title in cross country, but it has come close with four runner-up claims on the women’s side and one on the men’s side. The Bulldog women have appeared at No. 1 in the NAIA national poll once – in November 2004. That impressive squad was one of the national runner-up squads.
  • The women’s team has now had two GPAC Runners of the Week this season – freshman Amie Martin (Sept. 11) and senior Rebekah Hinrichs (Oct. 2). Prior to this season, the women’s program had not had a GPAC Runner of the Week since GPAC Runner of the Year Sarah Kortze claimed the honor three times during the 2012 season. More recently, the men’s program earned a GPAC Runner of the Week award (Ben Sievert) in 2014.
  • Somewhere around two miles into the women’s race, some confusion took place that led to a pack of runners veering off the course at the Briar Cliff Invite. Eventually the mistake was learned by the group of runners, some of whom ran a considerably greater distance than the normal 5k. Officially, freshman Bailie Vanarsdall turned in the top time among Bulldogs by clocking a personal best of 19:52.13 (ninth overall out of 130 runners). Erin Lindeman put together a strong race and finished in 20:13.06 (29th).
  • According to Beisel’s calculations, freshman Kylahn Heritage would have been the team’s top finisher if not for the mishap. Heritage wound up finishing in 20:16.40 (34th). She was just behind Sydney Clark (20:13.47; 31st) and Lydia Cook (20:14.10; 32nd). Eight additional Bulldogs completed the 5k in under 21 minutes. Reigning GPAC Runner of the Week Rebekah Hinrichs crossed the finish line in 20:22.36 (40th). Officially, the women’s team has had a different No. 1 runner in each of the four meets.
  • Fortunately, there were no snafus in the men’s race. By placing sixth, the Bulldogs beat out conference rivals in Hastings (ninth), Mount Marty (12th), Dakota Wesleyan (13th) and Briar Cliff (14th). Once again, junior Jordan Lorenz led the way. He placed 23rd (out of 140 runners) while clocking in at 26:44.80. The rest of the top five included Wyatt Lehr (26:47.91; 26th), Camden Sesna (27:25.67; 46th), Antonio Blaine (28:01.50; 61st) and Ethan Pankow (28:30.45; 74th). Lorenz has been the team’s top runner at each of the past three meets.
  • Beisel plans to push his team hard over the next weeks while it goes without an official competition. Next up on the schedule is the Mount Marty Invite on Saturday, Oct. 26. The location of the meet will be Fox Run Golf Course in Yankton, S.D. It will serve as the final race prior to the GPAC Championships on Saturday, Nov. 9.

Football

  • Last week involved more than 16 hours in a bus ride and more three hours of slogging through a game played on a field of pure mud. The yield was a 13-10 four-overtime loss at Jamestown that is unlikely to be forgotten by anyone involved in the game. The forward pass became a myth and neither team managed to reach 200 yards of offense. The Jimmies ended the marathon with a 22-yard game-winning field goal in the fourth overtime. Head coach Patrick Daberkow’s squad has slipped to 2-3 overall and to 2-2 in GPAC play. For more on Concordia football, click HERE.
  • There are already a lot of woulda-coulda-shouldas that can be talked about through the first half of the 2019 season. Other than the 44-0 blowout victory at Hastings, the Bulldogs have put their fans on the edges of their seats. Four of the first five games have been decided by margins of a touchdown or less. Concordia managed to squeak out a 16-14 win over Briar Cliff on homecoming, but has suffered defeats by scores of 17-10 to Doane, 27-24 at Buena Vista and 13-10 at Jamestown. In the Doane and Buena Vista games, the Bulldogs owned leads in the fourth quarter that eventually evaporated. The game at Jamestown was the first this season in which Concordia failed to grab a lead at any point.
  • A lot has been made in this space about the improvement of the Concordia passing game. The receiving core is legit, but the field conditions last week negated the athletic advantages the Bulldogs had at the skill positions. The passing attack entered last week averaging more than 270 yards per game. At Jamestown the combo of Jake Kemp and Wyatt Ehlers went 3-for-11 for 17 yards. Fourteen of those yards came on a completion to Cayden Beran in the first quarter. Eventually Concordia abandoned the pass completely. It did not attempt a single one in any of the four overtimes.
  • With the aerial attack grounded, the Bulldogs decided to pound the rock with running back Ryan Durdon. On a day when both sides were geared up to stop the run, Durdon managed his first 100-yard rushing effort of the season. He ran 35 times for 118 yards and a touchdown. The 20th touchdown of Durdon’s career tied the game, 10-10, in the first overtime at Jamestown. Durdon’s career rushing total has moved to 2,393 yards (sixth most in program history). The Bulldogs still hope to make more room for Durdon to improve upon his average of 2.8 yards per carry this season.
  • The defense has played well enough for Concordia to be 5-0 right now. That unit allowed the Jimmies just 190 total yards and forced two turnovers. A good defense is good at getting off the field and no team in the nation has been better on third downs than the Bulldogs. Jamestown was just 2-for-19 on third down conversions. Concordia opponents have converted only 17.8 percent of their third down tries. Elsewhere on the national leaderboard, the Bulldogs rank eighth in total defense (264.0), eighth in rushing defense (81.6) and 13th in scoring defense (14.2).
  • Junior linebacker Lane Napier turned in his biggest performance of the season, at least in terms of tackle numbers. The David City, Neb., native was credited with 23 tackles, three tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks at Jamestown. Halfway through the campaign, Napier is on pace for another 100+ tackle season. On the season, Napier has recorded 60 tackles, seven tackles for loss and four sacks. He needs just one more tackle to reach 300 for his career. Napier is a two-time first team All-GPAC selection who appears on his way to another first team honor.
  • Concordia has three losses despite having yet to lose the turnover battle in any of its five games. The Bulldogs were plus-one (2-1) versus Doane, even (2-2) at Buena Vista, plus-two (3-1) at Hastings, plus-five (7-2) versus Briar Cliff and plus-one (2-1) at Jamestown. Concordia’s season turnover margin of plus-nine (16-7) currently ranks fifth best in the nation. The Bulldogs have recovered 10 of the 12 fumbles they have forced this season and have picked off six passes.
  • Concordia played back-to-back overtime games in 2015 and then did not play another one until this past Saturday. In 2015, the Bulldogs defeated Midland, 41-38, in one overtime on Oct. 17 and then lost to Doane, 23-20, in a single overtime on Oct. 24. The modern overtime format was first instituted in college football in 1995. During the GPAC era (2000-present), Concordia has been involved in only four overtime games (1-3). In the first three instances, the Bulldogs and their opponents had never played more than one overtime.
  • In this rollercoaster season, Concordia hopes to project back upward on Saturday when it hosts Dakota Wesleyan (1-5, 0-4 GPAC) for a 1 p.m. CT kickoff. The struggles that surfaced last season (2-9 overall) for the Tigers have persisted into 2019. They have dropped four games in a row (each by at least 18-point margins) since a 44-0 win over Presentation on Sept. 7. Concordia won a defensive battle, 14-9, over Dakota Wesleyan last season in Seward.

Golf

  • The fall schedule is complete for the Concordia golf programs. Both the men and women competed in their most significant events over the past week-and-a-half. In GPAC championship rounds on Sept. 27-28, the men carded a two-round total of 336-329–665 and are currently in seventh place. The women then played 36 holes on Sept. 30 at the GPAC Championships and are in third place (336-345–681), eight strokes behind Briar Cliff for second place. Head coach Brett Muller’s squads will play two more rounds of conference championship golf this coming April. For more information on Bulldog golf, click here: Men | Women.
  • The first two rounds of the GPAC women’s championships were condensed into one day due to the threat of rain on Oct 1. The event took place at The Bluffs Golf Course in Vermillion, S.D. A top-three finish for the women would represent a significant leap forward from the program’s seventh-place claim in 2018-19. Muller’s lineup on Sept. 30 featured sophomore Kendra Placke (78-84–162; sixth), senior Murphy Sears (83-86–169; T-14th), junior Andrea Peterson (83-89 – 172; T-18th), sophomore Britney Jepsen (94-89–183; T-39th) and freshman Lauren Havlat (94-89–183; T-39th). The latter three in the lineup each turned in a personal best 18-hole score.
  • This fall has been a solid one for the women, who have collected two team trophies, in addition to their third-place standing within the conference. Behind Placke, the tournament individual champion, Concordia won the Nebraska Wesleyan Fall Classic on Sept. 17. It also took second place at the Midland Fall Invite on Sept. 9. In addition, the Bulldogs have cut their team scoring average by more than 12 strokes as compared to the 2018-19 season. It currently sits at 348.1. The 336 Concordia shot in the first round of the conference championships was four strokes off the school record.
  • Placke and Sears both stand a strong chance of again earning All-GPAC accolades, as they did last season. A Crete native, Sears is actually a three-time all-conference performer. The 84 Placke shot in round two on Monday hurt her chances, but she still may make a push for a GPAC title. She stands 10 strokes off the leader, Maria Nava of Morningside. In the team race, it’s going to be a challenge for anyone to catch the Mustangs, who had each of the top four individuals on Sept. 30.
  • The men are not quite in the position they hoped to be after the first two rounds of the GPAC Championships. On the plus side, they did manage to move up two spots from ninth place after day one to seventh place at the close of day two. There is ground to be made up, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility for the Bulldogs (665 team total) to catch some of the squads in front of them, such as Dakota Wesleyan (636), Northwestern (629), Jamestown (628), Midland (625) and Doane (622). Morningside (588) also has a significant edge on the men’s side.
  • Muller’s conference men’s lineup was paced by senior Tylar Samek (80-81–161) at the top. The David City, Neb., native is hoping to make a push for the first All-GPAC award of his career. He is tied for 20th in the conference. The rest of the lineup included freshman Jay Gunaseelan (82-81–163; T-26th), sophomore Jack Williams (89-80–169; 38th), freshman Drew D’Ercole (85-87–172; 39th) and sophomore Landon Walkenhorst (101-98–199; 51st). They each navigated Indian Creek Golf Course in Elkhorn, Neb., at the GPAC meet.
  • The Concordia men are certainly capable of placing higher than ninth in the GPAC, as they did a season ago. In terms of overall scoring average, the results have been similar to 2018-19. Samek and company own a scoring average of 319.1 through eight rounds (the team average in 2018-19 was 311.8). The Bulldogs certainly miss Nolan Zikas, a 2019 graduate who collected all-conference honors all four years. So far this season, the lowest team round was a 303 at the Siouxland Invitational.
  • Originally, the men’s team was scheduled to play in the Nebraska Intercollegiate this Friday and Saturday at Norfolk Country Club in Norfolk, Neb. Due to inclement weather in the forecast, Concordia has backed out of the tournament. Thus, both teams will resume their 2019-20 seasons in the spring. Schedules are not yet finalized, but the GPAC Championships are set. The women will play April 24-25 at Bent Tree Golf Club in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Meanwhile, the men will play April 27-28 at Dakota Dunes Country Club in Dakota Dunes, S.D.