Bulldog Athletic Association Member (BAAM) Athletes of the Week
Female: Lina Kirst, Soccer / Grace Reiman, Cross Country / Carly Rodaway, Volleyball
Kirst, who was born in Köln, Germany, earned credit for the game-winning goals in last week’s wins over both Bellevue University and Mount Marty. Those were the first two goals of her collegiate career. She also has notched two assists this season.
Reiman, a Hastings, Neb., native, claimed the first meet title of her career while galloping to a first-place finish at the Morningside Invitational. Reiman finished the 5k race in 18:44.73 while leading the Bulldogs to a team meet title.
Rodaway, who hails from Lincoln, Neb., collected 21 kills (while hitting .319) last week as Concordia defeated both Doane and Hastings. Rodaway posted a personal high of 12 kills in the victory over Doane.
Male: Camden Sesna, Cross Country
Sesna, a native of Kearney, Neb., paced the 8k trail in 25:39.16 at the Morningside Invitational and placed as the meet runner up. The time represented a personal best and ranks as the top 8k performance among GPAC runners this season.
Previous BAAM Athletes of the Week
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)
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.
Shooting Sports breaks school record while placing second at the Midland Warrior Open: In the second outing of the fall, Concordia Shooting Sports placed second at the Midland Warrior Open held Sept. 18-19 at Lincoln Trap & Skeet Club. Head Coach Scott Moniot’s Bulldogs cracked 1,913/2,000 targets, finishing just behind Fort Hays State University (Kan.), which totaled 1,935. Concordia placed above host Midland (1,907). Also notable, the Bulldogs broke a school record in sporting clays with a score of 468/500. The previous standard was 457/500. A detailed recap will be available via the Concordia Shooting Sports page of the website HERE.
Tennis teams compete at GPAC Individual Tournament: Head Coach Cam Long took both Bulldog teams to the GPAC Individual Tournament at Woods Tennis Center in Lincoln, Neb., Sept. 17-18. The results for the women’s team featured five advancements to at least the quarterfinal rounds of the singles and doubles brackets. Playing in her hometown, Julia Phillips reached the semifinals of D flight singles. Meanwhile, men’s highlights included Juan Rabellion finishing as the C flight singles runner up and Isaac Howes and Eduardo Rojas placing as the A flight doubles runner up. This marked the second outing of the fall for the women and the first for the men. Next up, both squads will take part in the ITA Central Regional Championships this Friday through Sunday at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kan. For more information on the tennis programs, click here: Men | Women.
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.
Golf
· Both Bulldog teams were in action over the past week as the men wrapped up the Siouxland Invite (Sept. 13-14) with a sixth-place finish (out of 15) and the women returned to the course with a sixth-place claim (out of 12) at the Lila Frommelt Invite (Sept. 17-18). To date, the men have played in three events while the women have competed in two. As of 11 a.m. CT on Tuesday (Sept. 21), the Concordia women were in action at the Matthew Goette Invite hosted by College of Saint Mary. For more information on Concordia Golf: Men | Women.
· It was a record-setting performance for the Bulldogs at the Siouxland Invite. The Concordia ‘A’ grouping carded a two-round total of 291-292–583, equaling a program standard for lowest score in a 36-hole tournament. The same score was shot by Concordia at the 2017 fall GPAC Championships. Individual contributors to last week’s success were Ivan Yabut (65-75–140; 5th), Jake Hagerbaumer (73-70–143; T-9th), Drew D’Ercole (74-72–146; T-19th), Justin Webert (79-78–157; T-51st) and Nathan Auffet (86-75–161; T-58th).
· Yabut broke a school individual record by shooting a seven-under-par 65 on the first day of the Siouxland Invite. The previous program record low round of a four-under-par was shared by Nolan Zikas, Shawn Rodehorst, Reid Wiebe and Mike Kulzer. Most recently, Zikas shot a 68 (-4) on Sept. 20, 2017, at the Blue River Classic. Yabut went lower while turning in an eagle, six birdies and 10 pars in his round on Sept. 13. Through six rounds this fall, Yabut and D’Ercole are dead even for the top scoring average on the team (72.5).
· The second grouping at the Siouxland Invite was paced by Gavin McWhorter and Jacob Woodmancy, who carded identical scores of 75-74–149 and shared 30th place. The final three Bulldogs at the Siouxland Invite were Jack Williams (79-74–153; T-44th), Josh D’Ercole (76-82–158; T-54th) and Landon Walkenhorst (89-92–181; 72nd). In sum, Concordia golfers combined for 16 rounds with scores of 79 or lower at the tournament.
· After a tough first day at the Frommelt Invite, the Bulldog women bounced back and shot a two-round total of 360-334–694 while navigating Two Rivers Golf Course in Dakota Dunes, S.D. Seward High School product Kendra Placke led the way individually, shooting 81-76–157 and placing eighth out of 66 golfers. One of the big stories of the early season has been the improvement of Mya Nurse (West Des Moines, Iowa), who tied for 19th (91-77–168). The 77 she shot on day two was a personal best by 10 strokes. Four others represented Concordia at the tournament: Lauren Havlat (89-85–174; T-28th), Sarah Wilson (90-98–188; T-49th), Logan Eschliman (99-96–195; 54th) and Emily Jensen (104-97–201; 58th).
· Placke has now earned 22 top 10 tournament finishes in her career. She also shot 85-77–162 at this fall’s Mount Marty Invite and placed seventh. One of the top golfers in the history of the program, Placke has earned three all-conference awards in her career. Placke has golfed in 42 rounds as a Bulldog. Last season she placed seventh in the GPAC while helping Concordia to a third-place conference team finish.
· After today (Sept. 21)’s round wraps up, the women will look forward to this Saturday and Sunday’s Nebraska Wesleyan University Fall Invite at Mahoney Golf Course in Lincoln, Neb. Meanwhile, the men will wait until the GPAC Championships next Monday-Tuesday (Sept. 27-28) before returning to action. The fall portion of the conference tournament will take place at Indian Creek Golf Course in Elkhorn, Neb.
Women’s Soccer
· It was a confidence building week for the Bulldogs, who celebrated a 2-1 double overtime win at Bellevue University on Sept. 15 and then routed Mount Marty, 7-0, in their GPAC opener on Sept. 18. Head Coach Thomas Goines’ squad has won three-straight games to move to 4-2 overall and to 1-0 in conference play. The seven goals scored versus the Lancers represented a season high. For more information on Concordia Women’s Soccer, click HERE.
· The result against Mount Marty was a continuation of the conference success the Bulldogs enjoyed last season. Including this past spring’s GPAC tournament title run, Concordia owns an 11-game unbeaten streak (9-0-2) against conference foes. A GPAC opponent has not defeated the Bulldogs since they dropped back-to-back games to Dakota Wesleyan and Morningside in early October 2020. In last spring’s GPAC championship game, Concordia defeated Jamestown, 2-1.
· In the win over Mount Marty, Michaela Twito appeared in her 85th career game with the Bulldogs. That number made her the program’s new record holder, placing her above Jeannelle Condame and Esther Soenksen, who both played in 84 games. Two others played in at least 80 games in their Concordia careers: Maria Deeter (81) and Jordan McCoy (80). Twito had played in 79 games before making the decision to return to the program for a fifth year. She helped the Bulldogs win the GPAC regular season title in 2017 and the GPAC tournament title in 2020.
· No player on the current roster had ever beaten Bellevue, a perennially strong in-state program. The Bulldogs moved to 3-12 all-time against the Bruins with last week’s double OT victory. Previously, Concordia had not defeated Bellevue since a 2-1 decision in Seward in 2015 when both teams entered that matchup with national rankings. The contest marked the first overtime game the Bulldogs have played in this season. The most recent OT affair ended with Concordia celebrating a shootout triumph over Midland in the GPAC tournament semifinals.
· A native of Montevideo Uruguay, Lina Kirst earned credit for game-winning goals in both of last week’s outings. She emerged from the Bellevue game with the golden goal in the 102nd minute (assisted by Bethany Fuchs). Kirst then knocked in the first goal of the win over Mount Marty. As for Fuchs, her goal in the 20th minute at Bellevue marked her first goal since she recorded the game winner in last season’s GPAC championship game. In addition, Anisa Lewis and Mikeila Martinez have notched one game-winning goal apiece this season.
· Six of the seven goals against Mount Marty came in the first half. They were produced by Kirst (6’), Aliyah Aldama (14’), Lisa McClain (25’; 28’), Senna McMullen (44’) and Madeline Haugen (45’). The final goal of the afternoon was knocked in by the Lancers for an own goal. Assists were credited to Aldama, Ellie Eason, Martinez (two) and McClain. Nine different Bulldogs have found the back of the net at least once this season. On the defensive end, Concordia used three different keepers last week: Kalie Ward, Kassidy Johnson and Angela Banks.
· The conference grind heats up this week as the Bulldogs host Dordt (5-3, 0-2 GPAC) at 5:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday before traveling to Northwestern (3-5, 0-2 GPAC) for a 1 p.m. kickoff in Orange City, Iowa, on Saturday. Concordia earned shutout wins over both opponents last season.
Cross Country
· The good vibes that came out of the season opening Augustana Twilight on Sept. 3 carried into the second meet of the 2021 season. Both Bulldog squads celebrated championships at the Morningside Invite held at Adams Nature Preserve in North Sioux City, S.D. In the men’s 8k race, Concordia beat out a field of seven teams while the women triumphed in the 5k over four opposing sides. Two weeks earlier, Head Coach Matt Beisel’s teams turned in place finishes of eight out of 27 on the women’s side and 12th out of 31 on the men’s side. For more information on Concordia Cross Country, click HERE.
· The Bulldogs should garner more national recognition this week based on the early season success. New NAIA national polls will be released on Thursday. Both Concordia teams failed to receive national votes in the preseason, but that should change this week, especially for the women. Spearheaded by Grace Reiman, the Bulldog women have beaten out the two teams rated above them in the GPAC preseason rankings: Dordt and Morningside. The Defenders were ranked No. 6 in the preseason while the Mustangs appeared just outside the top 25. On the men’s side, Concordia could leap the likes of Doane, Midland and Morningside.
· The Morningside Invite featured 53 women’s and 70 men’s competitors for races that took place in the evening. Both Concordia teams returned to campus to ring the stadium bell late this past Friday night. The Bulldogs beat out a relatively small field that included Wayne State College (2nd), Morningside (3rd), Southeast Community College (4th), Mount Marty (5th), Dakota Wesleyan (6th) and Iowa Wesleyan University (7th). Concordia finished with a total of 43 points, 10 better than runner up Wayne State.
· Following Reiman’s lead as the individual Morningside Invite titlist, the Bulldog women defeated Morningside (2nd), Wayne State (3rd), Mount Marty (4th) and Iowa Wesleyan (5th). Concordia’s team total was 29 points, besting host Morningside by 11 points. Beisel’s teams also won one meet title apiece last season – the men took the Hastings Bronco Invite while the women placed first at the Dean White Invitational. The women were also the 2019 GPAC champions.
· This was Reiman’s first career individual meet title. Meanwhile, Camden Sesna was the Morningside Invite runner up for the men. Below is a summary of the top performances for both teams.
· Concordia men’s top 10 place finishers (8k):
2. Camden Sesna – 25:39.16
4. Calvin Rohde – 26:12.11
10. Charlie Hayden – 27:10.83
14. Thomas Gorline – 27:36.91
15. Wyatt Lehr – 27:41.06
16. Jack Ellis – 27:43.11
18. Nathan Pennekamp – 27:46.60
21. Ethan Pankow – 27:49.25
25. Joe McFarland – 27:56.07
27. Owen Dawson – 28:17.95
· Concordia women’s top 10 place finishers (5k):
1. Grace Reiman – 18:44.73
4. Kaia Richmond – 19:10.90
7. Rylee Haecker – 19:29.15
8. Rhaya Kaschinske – 19:42.25
9. Keri Bauer – 19:49.73
11. Jaiden Tweton – 20:16.07
12. Courtney Wright – 20:16.51
13. Katelyn Nix – 20:18.31
14. Amie Martin – 20:24.47
17. Grace Oberg – 20:37.40
· The Bulldogs will have this week off from competition before returning to Adams Nature Preserve on Saturday, Oct. 1 for the Briar Cliff Invite. Only two meets remain prior to the GPAC Championships on Nov. 19.
Volleyball
· Concordia enjoyed a successful full week of conference play with a home win coming over Doane (four sets) on Sept. 15 and a road win over Hastings (three sets) occurring on Sept. 18. Three days after the Bulldogs defeated Doane, the Tigers proceeded to hand No. 1 Midland its first loss of the season. That’s life in a stacked volleyball league. Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad stands at 8-5 overall and at 3-2 in the GPAC. Only Jamestown (4-0) and Dakota Wesleyan (3-0) remain unbeaten within conference play. For more information on Concordia Volleyball, click HERE.
· The second regular season conference/national polls were released last week. The losses endured during a challenging stretch in the schedule dropped the Bulldogs back a bit. They moved down to No. 6 in the official GPAC rating (from fourth) and fell to No. 19 in the NAIA coaches’ poll (from sixth). On a positive note, Concordia has appeared in 15-straight NAIA national polls, dating back to the middle of the 2019 campaign. The Bulldogs spent the entire spring portion of 2021 ranked inside the top 10 nationally and finished at No. 8.
· Transfer Carly Rodaway made quite the first impression in her first career match inside Friedrich Arena. Rodaway was sidelined for the first eight matches of this season and made her Concordia debut in the five-set neutral site loss to Columbia College (Mo.) on Sept. 10. In the home win over Doane, Rodaway recorded 12 kills (.400 hitting percentage) from the right side. She then added nine kills in the win at Hastings. Rodaway spent her first year of college at NCAA Division II Fort Hays State University (Kan.).
· Also against Doane, Camryn Opfer supplied 11 kills and was all over the place in the back row (match high 21 digs). In the middle, Gabi Nordaker (10 kills, seven blocks) was the key to Concordia’s blocking efforts. The Bulldogs owned an 11-6 advantage in that category. At setter, Callahan racked up 46 assists and also chipped in with 13 digs and four blocks. Rebecca Gebhardt and Cassidy Knust added 18 and 17 digs, respectively. Opfer also led the way with three aces. Concordia outhit Doane, .201 to .129, and has won each of the past seven meetings with the Tigers.
· The Bulldogs have won three of the last four matchups with Hastings. Opfer paced the victors with 11 kills and a match high 11 digs in the win at Lynn Farrell Arena (where Concordia fell in its most recent trip prior to last week). Nordaker pulverized seven kills, hitting .500 in the process. Callahan was also a key player with 39 assists to go along with seven digs and three kills. The Bulldogs had five players with seven or more kills, including Erica Heinzerling (nine), Rodaway (nine) and Kalee Wiltfong (seven).
· The Wednesday-Saturday pattern within conference play will continue this week. Concordia will play at Mount Marty (6-8, 0-5 GPAC) at 7:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday before hosting No. 17 College of Saint Mary (14-2, 4-1 GPAC) at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The Bulldogs will aim to duplicate the straight sets win they earned over the Lancers on Aug. 25 and then avenge their five-set loss at College of Saint Mary back on Sept. 1.
Men’s Soccer
· Last week marked the end of nonconference play and the start of GPAC action for Concordia, which dropped a 2-1 decision at No. 10 Bellevue University on Sept. 15 before claiming a 2-0 home win over Mount Marty on Sept. 18. Prior to the weekend victory, the Bulldogs had gone 0-3-1 in their previous four outings. Head Coach Jason Weides’ squad has moved to 3-3-1 overall and to 1-0 in GPAC play. Though the conference season is young, only three others in the GPAC own unblemished league records: Morningside (2-0), Hastings (1-0) and Northwestern (1-0). For more information on Concordia Men’s Soccer, click HERE.
· The lack of recent victories in nonconference play did not affect the Bulldogs’ placement in the official conference rating. Concordia remained at No. 4 in the GPAC poll posted on the NAIA website on Sept. 13. The top three in the rating were Morningside, Northwestern and Hastings. Briar Cliff has taken the biggest tumble based on where it was in the preseason. The Chargers fell from No. 1 in the conference in the preseason to No. 6 currently.
· Several area Concordia alums were in attendance in Papillion last week when the Bruins wound up with an advantage of 21-13 in the total shot count. Very few of those were placed on frame by either team (6-3 Bellevue edge in shots on goal). The Bruins (6-1-1) got the benefit of a perfect carom off a Concordia defender’s deflection for one of their two goals. Oumar Sissoko earned credit for the game winner in the 73rd minute. After going down 1-0, the Bulldogs answered in the 15th minute with a penalty kick goal from David Moreno.
· In the win over Mount Marty, Concordia held advantages of 12-6 in shots and 5-4 in corner kicks. The Lancers did not appear to be in any danger on the game’s first goal, a laser of a strike from Perry, who unleashed a left-footed shot inside the left post in the 51st minute. The shot left goalkeeper Jose Quinonez with little chance of making a save. Concordia had barely finished celebrating when Bessaïes’ hustle led to a two-goal advantage. After his own free kick was deflected to the far left of the 18-yard box, Bessaïes chased the ball down and tucked a shot inside the right post.
· In some recent seasons, the result against Mount Marty was essentially a foregone conclusion when considering the Bulldogs defeated the Lancers, 6-0, in 2017, 11-0, in 2016 and, 10-1, in 2015. However, the 2018 and 2019 meetings were decided by two-goal margins (just like last week) and the 2020 contest ended in a 2-2 draw in Yankton, S.D. On the other hand, the series with Bellevue has been tight. The Bruins have now gotten the best of Concordia in back-to-back seasons after the Bulldogs won the 2019 meeting, 3-1, in Bellevue. The Bulldogs have made in-state foes Bellevue and York College regular opponents on the schedule from year-to-year.
· Two more GPAC tests are coming this week as Concordia will host Dordt (1-5-2, 0-1 GPAC) at 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday before heading to Orange City, Iowa, for a 3:15 p.m. kickoff at Northwestern (5-1-1, 1-0 GPAC) on Saturday. The Bulldogs defeated both the Defenders and the Red Raiders during the 2020 regular season. However, Concordia would like to avenge the GPAC quarterfinal PK shootout result that went Northwestern’s way this past spring.
Football
· Three weeks are in the books for the Bulldogs, who went on the road last week for another matchup with a 2020 NAIA playoff qualifier. Concordia played No. 19 Dordt to a 7-7 stalemate for the first 30 minutes before the Defenders and their punishing ground game pulled away in the second half. Dordt outgained the Bulldogs on the day, 403-182, and emerged with a 27-7 victory in Sioux Center, Iowa. The Defenders pushed their series win streak to four. Head Coach Patrick Daberkow’s squad is now 1-2 overall. For more information on Concordia Football, click HERE.
· The Bulldogs showed progress as compared to their week one road trip to Morningside when they allowed 63 points. Dordt had just come off a 738-yard offensive outburst at Hastings. Concordia did a particularly fine job limiting the Defender passing game, which totaled 122 yards while going 9-for-18. Jayzen Armstrong and Gabe Knisely plucked an interception apiece during a solid first-half defensive effort. The half ended with the clock running out on a Defender drive that reached the Bulldog one-yard-line.
· Not so surprisingly, All-American Lane Napier enjoyed a big day last week. He amassed 18 tackles, a sack and a pass breakup while leading the Concordia defense. The outing marked the 22nd time in Napier’s career that he has piled up at least 10 tackles. He also has reached 15 or more tackles in nine separate games. The David City, Neb., native paces the team with 35 tackles this season. That figure has run his GPAC all-time record tackle total to 436. Napier has been named a First Team All-GPAC selection four times.
· Freshman DJ McGarvie has risen to the top of the depth chart at quarterback. He turned heads over the first two weeks when five of his first 11 pass attempts went for touchdowns as part of relief action against Morningside and Briar Cliff. In a tough first assignment, McGarvie went 14-for-36 for 109 yards, a touchdown and one interception. A product of Lincoln North Star High School, McGarvie has split time at quarterback with Wyatt Ehlers. DJ’s sister Caitlyn McGarvie is a member of the Concordia softball program.
· With Jonah Weyand sidelined the past two weeks, Devin Zeigler has taken on the bulk of the carries out of the backfield. In the blowout win over Briar Cliff, Zeigler ran 26 times for 86 yards and a touchdown. Last week at Dordt, he rushed for 70 yards on 18 attempts. On the season, Zeigler leads the Bulldogs with 192 rushing yards on 48 carries (average of 4.0 per carry). In the game at Morningside, Weyand rushed 15 times for 58 yards.
· Cayden Beran has been on the receiving end of three of McGarvie’s six touchdown passes. Beran scored the lone Concordia touchdown pass on a four-yard strike from McGarvie. That pitch and catch concluded a 12-play, 51-yard drive and knotted the score, 7-7, at the time. Overall this season, Korrell Koehlmoos tops the receiver group with 15 grabs for 171 yards and one touchdown. Beran has reeled in 12 receptions for 144 yards and three touchdowns. Tight end Garrett Schardt has caught eight passes for 156 yards and a touchdown.
The gauntlet of an early season slate continues this week with Concordia set to host No. 2 Northwestern (4-0, 3-0 GPAC) at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday. The Red Raiders were the NAIA national runner up this past spring. So far this season, Northwestern has won handily over Presentation College (S.D.), Hastings and Doane. It also had a close call in a 35-29 overtime win at Midland. The Bulldogs will attempt to knock off the Red Raiders for the first time since 2016.