Bulldog Athletic Association Member (BAAM) Athletes of the Week
Male: Wyatt Hambly, Shooting Sports
Hambly, a native of Paso Robles, Calif., cracked 375 of 400 targets at the Prairie Circuit Conference Championships and won the individual conference title while leading the Bulldogs to a second place team finish. Hambly also emerged as the men’s trap doubles conference champion.
Female: Gabi Nordaker, Volleyball
Nordaker, who hails from Omaha, Neb., produced a combined 29 kills and 12 blocks last week in action versus Mount Marty and No. 17 College of Saint Mary. Nordaker put up season highs with 22 kills and nine blocks (equaled a career high) in the five-set battle with the Flames.
Previous BAAM Athletes of the Week
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)
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.
Homecoming week on Concordia’s campus: Homecoming week on the Concordia University campus has arrived. The festivities will include Saturday’s home football game versus Dakota Wesleyan (kickoff at 1 p.m. CT). The usual Friday night Concordia Athletic Hall of Fame banquet will not be held. For a complete schedule of upcoming homecoming activities, check out Concordia’s homecoming page HERE.
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 places second in conference; Hambly wins individual title: Concordia Shooting Sports came away from the Prairie Circuit Conference Championships (Sept. 24-26) with a large haul of team and individual awards. The Bulldogs placed second as a team while finishing only three strokes off champion Fort Hays State University (Kan.). Wyatt Hambly won the HOA title, giving Concordia the individual champion for a second year in a row. Head Coach Scott Moniot’s squad came away from the shoot with team championships in trap (485), trap doubles (473) and skeet doubles (246). In addition, five Bulldogs were honored as all-conference performers: Sam Blevins, Nicole Breese, Hambly, Russell Malterud and Emily Rasmussen. Breese also placed second overall among females. Concordia had won the 2020 Prairie Circuit Conference title. For a detailed recap of the conference championships, click HERE.
Tennis continues fall at ITA Central Regional Championships: The fall season continued this past week as the Bulldogs competed at the ITA Central Regional Championships (Sept. 24-26) hosted by Southwestern College in Winfield, Kan. For details on the tournament, check out@CuneTennis on Twitter and check back later for a recap of the tournament. Both the men’s and women’s teams are preparing to make their first home appearances of the fall. The women will host NCAA Division III Wartburg College (Iowa) at 9 a.m. CT on Saturday while the men will welcome Iowa Central Community College to town for a 1 p.m. first serve on Saturday. For more information on the tennis programs, click here: Men | Women.
Edwards’ story about family, softball and Nebraska: As Head Softball Coach, Tatum Edwards brings an impressive pedigree to Concordia University. The native of Murrieta, Calif., earned All-America status as member of the Cornhusker Softball program and previously spent three seasons as the top assistant coach at NCAA Division I University of Nebraska-Omaha. Edwards has found a home in the state of Nebraska and has quickly gotten acclimated to the Bulldog Softball team since her hiring in August. For more on Edwards’ journey, click HERE.
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.
Men’s Soccer
· The Bulldogs came up a hair short of a 3-0 start to GPAC play. In last week’s action, Concordia toppled Dordt, 1-0, at home on Sept. 22 before going on the road getting clipped by Northwestern, 1-0. Five of the last six games have been decided by either a one-goal margin or with an overtime draw. Head Coach Jason Weides’ squad has moved to 4-4-1 overall and to 2-1 in conference play. Northwestern (3-0 GPAC) is the only GPAC team yet to suffer a conference defeat this season. For more information on Concordia Men’s Soccer, click HERE.
· The results from a defensive perspective have been stellar to begin the conference slate. The Bulldogs have earned shutout wins over Mount Marty, 2-0, and Dordt, 1-0, while surrendering just once goal in last week’s loss at Northwestern. Over those three outings, Concordia opponents have posted shot totals of six, four and 13, respectively. The lack of shots for Bulldog foes has made life easier on the keepers. Weides has used three different starting keepers: Callum Goldsmith, Federico Simonetti and Gabriel Mendoza. The latter started both of last week’s games.
· The score line remained the same for the final 88 minutes of the win over Dordt. Freshman Eli Rhodes put away the first goal of his career in the second minute and Concordia rode that one goal to victory. The score did not quite reflect how thoroughly the Bulldogs outplayed the Defenders. Concordia held a shot advantage of 20-4. Rhodes came to the Bulldogs via the same high school, Lincoln Southwest, as teammate Isaiah Shaddick. Rhodes, who has appeared in all nine games (five starts), has contributed three assists this season.
· Attacking opportunities were more difficult to come by at Northwestern, a place where Concordia saw last season end via penalty kicks in the GPAC quarterfinals. The Red Raiders have come a long way since being beaten, 4-0, in Seward last September. Northwestern produced the only goal of last week’s meeting via a score from Niklas Fitter in the 65th minute. Fitter and company outshot the Bulldogs, 13-7 (8-5 in shots on goal). The Red Raiders are off to an impressive 7-1-1 start that includes an overtime win over No. 22 Morningside.
· Through nine games, Concordia has outscored its opponents by a combined total of 14-10 while holding a collective shots advantage of 116-98. Last week, Rhodes became the 10th different Bulldog to find the back of the net this season. The team goal scoring leader remains Garrett Perry with three goals. Shaddick and Max Bisinger have contributed two goals apiece. Five players have started all nine games: Yessine Bessaïes, Iker Casanova, Decker Mattimoe, David Moreno and Shaddick. Four different Concordia players have appeared at keeper with Simonetti (380 minutes) having logged the most minutes.
· The Wednesday-Saturday pattern within conference play continues this week as the Bulldogs host Midland (4-4, 1-2 GPAC) at 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday before traveling to Dakota Wesleyan (1-8, 0-2 GPAC) for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff in Mitchell, S.D. Concordia hopes to duplicate last season’s results against the two opponents. It went a combined 3-0 versus Dakota Wesleyan/Midland with two victories over the Warriors.
Golf
· It’s been a hectic stretch for Head Coach Brett Muller’s Concordia Golf programs, who are in the stretch run of the fall season. After a break in the schedule, the men’s team began GPAC Championship action on Monday and resided in fourth place in the conference entering Tuesday (Sept. 28). Meanwhile, the women competed in two separate events over the past week. They placed third out of eight teams at the Matthew Goette Fall Classic (Sept. 21) hosted by College of Saint Mary and placed second out of five squads at the Prairie Wolves Fall Invite (Sept. 25-26) hosted by Nebraska Wesleyan. For more information on Concordia Golf: Men | Women.
· The men got off to a strong start on Monday by carding a 298 in the first round of the GPAC tournament. The fall portion of the championships is being held at Indian Creek Golf Course in Elkhorn, Neb. During the 2020-21 season, the Bulldogs posted a conference total of 342-330-315-321–1,308 while placing ninth. So far this fall, Concordia’s varsity lineup has recorded scores of 304 or lower in all seven rounds. A season low of 291 was turned in at the Siouxland Invite.
· Ivan Yabut led the way on Monday by shooting a one-under-par 71. Yabut has been neck-and-neck this fall with Drew D’Ercole for the top scoring average on the team. Yabut’s 71 in round one put him in a tie for sixth, three strokes out of first place. Coming in next, Jack Williams enjoyed a breakthrough with a 74 (+2) that positioned him just outside of the top 10 on the individual leaderboard. The Bulldog group of five was rounded out by Jake Hagerbaumer (76), D’Ercole (77) and Justin Webert (81). D’Ercole earned Honorable Mention All-GPAC honors last season.
· Since last Tuesday, Kendra Placke put together three fine rounds of golf. She earned her fourth career tournament championship while winning the Goette Classic with a 12-over-par 84 on a difficult Tiburon Golf Course in Omaha. Over the weekend, Placke turned in a two-round total of 75-77–152 and placed second out of 40 golfers at the Prairie Wolves Invite. The 75 in round one represented a season low. Last week’s results helped lower Placke’s season scoring average to 79.3.
· Among last week’s highlights for the women, Lauren Havlat earned a medal at the Goette Classic for placing sixth with a 91 (+19). As a group, the Bulldogs made significant improvement from round one to round two at the Prairie Wolves Invite, carding a two-round score of 357-336–693. Five of the seven Concordia golfers shot lower scores on the second day of the event. Havlat just missed out on a second top 10 tournament finish this season thanks to her total of 88-82–170, tying for 11th place (one stroke out of 10th). The other five Concordia competitors were Mya Nurse (97-86–183; T-21st), Logan Eschliman (97-91–188; 27th), Emily Jensen (97-95–192; 31st), Sarah Wilson (97-99–196; 33rd) and Ashley Gerczynski (107-93–205; 34th).
· The men began round two of the GPAC tournament today (Sept. 28) at 10 a.m. CT. Following Tuesday’s action, the men’s team will have just one official tournament remaining: the Nebraska Intercollegiate at Norfolk Country Club on Oct. 8-9. Meanwhile, the women are gearing up for the GPAC Championships next Monday and Tuesday (Oct. 4-5) at The Bluffs Golf Course in Vermillion, S.D. There will also be a simultaneous women’s tournament at the Nebraska Intercollegiate.
Volleyball
· In the second full week of conference play this season, the Bulldogs narrowly missed out on a 2-0 week. Concordia cruised past Mount Marty in Yankton, S.D., in straight sets on Sept. 22 and then fell in five sets at home to No. 17 College of Saint Mary on Sept. 25. The Bulldogs earned a regular season sweep of the Lancers while being swept by the Flames (both in five sets). The loss to CSM snapped a five-match win streak for Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad, which stands at 9-6 overall (4-3 GPAC). The overall picture in the conference standings will need more time to come into focus. For more information on Concordia Volleyball, click HERE.
· The recent five-match win streak marked the sixth time under Boldt that the program has strung together five or more wins in a row. The longest win streak during Boldt’s tenure (2018 to the present) was 12 in both 2018 and 2019. The Bulldogs began both of those seasons with 12-0 starts before finally suffering a defeat. In addition, last season’s national quarterfinalist squad put together a win streak of eight.
· Concordia took care of business at Mount Marty, a program that has struggled through a lengthy GPAC losing streak. The Bulldogs outhit the Lancers, .360 to .021, while winning, 25-16, 25-19, 25-14. Statistical leaders for Concordia included Erica Heinzerling (11 kills), Carly Rodaway (11 kills), Tara Callahan (35 assists) and Rebecca Gebhardt (nine digs). Four Bulldogs were credited with three block assists: Callahan, Heinzerling, Gabi Nordaker and Kalee Wiltfong. Mount Marty managed to limit the Bulldogs to just one ace.
· Just like the loss at College of Saint Mary back on Sept. 1, Concordia had its chances to put away match point in the fourth set. The Bulldogs relinquished a 24-22 lead in the fourth set and wound up falling in five sets. Concordia slipped to 0-4 this season in five-set matches. Despite the loss, Nordaker (22 kills and nine blocks) enjoyed a monster statistical day in the middle. In addition, Camryn Opfer and Wiltfong supplied 14 kills apiece. Five Bulldogs posted double figures in digs: Opfer (23), Callahan (21), Gebhardt (17), Tatum Kuti (15) and Cassidy Knust (14). Callahan also added four blocks, three kills and three aces. CSM slightly outhit Concordia, .184 to .160 and had the edge in kills, 71-66.
· Callahan, named the GPAC Setter of the Week on Sept. 21, recently surpassed a milestone by eclipsing 4,000 career assists. Her current total of 4,218 assists ranks third in program history behind Stacy Stuckenschmidt (4,949) and Alayna Kavanaugh (4,485). Stuckenschmidt played prior to the era of rally scoring. Callahan has earned eight career GPAC Setter of the Week awards and is a two-time First Team All-GPAC and Honorable Mention All-American. Opfer has the most career kills of anyone on the active roster with 728.
· The sole focus this week is on Wednesday’s rematch with No. 1 Midland (16-2, 5-2 GPAC) on Wednesday. First serve is set for 7:30 p.m. CT from the Wikert Event Center in Fremont, Neb. The Warriors defeated the Bulldogs in straight sets, 25-17, 25-18, 25-23, in Seward on Sept. 8. Concordia had won the three previous series meetings. The Bulldogs will then have the weekend off.
Football
· Up against a top 20 ranked opponent for the third time already this season, the Bulldogs were defeated by No. 2 Northwestern, 31-7, in Seward on Sept. 25. The Red Raiders outgained Concordia, 393-200, and were plus-two in turnovers. Northwestern got 21 of its 31 points off turnovers, including seven that came from a pick-six. Head Coach Patrick Daberkow’s squad sports a record of 1-3 with the one victory coming over Briar Cliff on Sept. 11. For more information on Concordia Football, click HERE.
· During the opening quarter versus Northwestern, Concordia had two cracks inside the red zone and came away with no points to show for it. Both drives ended in missed field goals. Northwestern led by just three points at the end of a quarter. The game got away from the Bulldogs in the second quarter when the Red Raiders cashed three separate interceptions into three touchdowns. The second score came after Tanner Oleson picked off DJ McGarvie and raced 19 yards for a Northwestern touchdown. The score was 24-0 before Concordia got on the board with DJ McGarvie’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Korrell Koehlmoos in the second quarter.
· Corner Isiaha Conner was a bright spot in the defeat. His 67-yard kickoff return in the first quarter set the Bulldogs up with a first down at the Northwestern 22. Conner also picked off a pass and returned it 35 yards to the Red Raider 30. Conner’s pick was followed, two plays later, by the lone Concordia touchdown of the day. A Las Vegas native, Conner also made six tackles, including one for loss.
· Other than the 32- and 36-yard pass plays allowed for touchdowns, the Bulldog defense stood tall. The potent Red Raider offense did not have a scoring drive longer than 53 yards. Carson Core and Caydren Cox came through with big fourth down stops and linebacker Lane Napier enjoyed another fine day while collecting 18 tackles for the second week in a row. Cox was credited with two tackles for loss, including a sack. Jorge Ochoa also registered a sack. Northwestern had entered the game averaging 46.0 points and 438.5 yards of offense per game.
· Napier continues to be a tackle machine. His back-to-back 18-tackle games have moved him into the NAIA national leader for tackles with 53 on the season. That figure pushed his GPAC career record total to 454. The performance last week marked the 23rd game Napier has notched 10 or more tackles and the 10th time he’s registered at least 15 tackles. The David City, Neb., has a chance to accomplish something that only the circumstances brought about by COVID-19 could allow to happen. Napier appears well on his way to being named First Team All-GPAC for the fifth time in his career. He was chosen as an NAIA Second Team All-American last season by the American Football Coaches Association.
· A couple of notable lineup adjustments occurred last week. First off, Concordia welcomed Jonah Weyand back to the starting group at running back. The Crete High School product had missed the previous two weeks. Weyand finished with 102 yards on 16 carries versus Northwestern. Sixty-five of those yards came on a single rush. Meanwhile, Carson Core has moved from receiver to corner. The Seward High School product started at corner at last week and made an impact with stop in the backfield on a fourth-down play. Core also handles punt return duties.
· On the defensive side of the ball, Caydren Cox is also playing at a high level. Another fifth-year member of the program, Cox leads the team in both tackles for loss (four) and sacks (three). Like Core, Cox produced a stop in the backfield on a fourth down try. A native of Beloit, Kan., Cox entered this season with 57 career tackles and 9.5 tackles for loss. His three sacks are already a career high. Cox ranks second on the team in total tackles with 29.
· The Bulldogs will be at home for the second week in a row as Dakota Wesleyan (2-2, 2-1 GPAC) visits for a 1 p.m. CT kickoff on homecoming Saturday. The Tigers snapped a three-game series losing streak to Concordia last season by earning a 28-17 win in Mitchell, S.D. Dakota Wesleyan has defeated both Mount Marty and Hastings this season. On homecoming last season, the Bulldogs knocked off Jamestown, 23-3.
Women’s Soccer
· Fans of the Bulldogs got their money’s worth last week as the team played 220 minutes of action over two GPAC outings. Concordia settled for double overtime draws with both Dordt, 1-1, on Sept. 22, and with Northwestern, 2-2, on Sept. 25. The Bulldogs have gone to double overtime in three of their past four games, including the 2-1 win at Bellevue. Head Coach Thomas Goines’ squad has moved to 4-2-2 overall and to 1-0-2 in the GPAC. Concordia is one of three GPAC teams without a conference loss. For more information on Concordia Women’s Soccer, click HERE.
· The results last week weren’t exactly what the Bulldogs were hoping for, but they did manage to extend the program’s unbeaten streak versus conference opponents. Concordia is 9-0-4 in its last 13 games against GPAC foes. That stretch includes last season’s GPAC tournament title run. The most recent loss to a conference opponent came on Oct. 7, 2020, in a 3-0 decision at Morningside. Under former Head Coach Greg Henson, the program went more than two years (October 2016 to October 2018) without suffering a GPAC regular season loss. During that run, Concordia went 22-0-4 in conference regular season contests.
· In last week’s home game versus Dordt, the Bulldogs dodged a number of bullets in the second half. An evenly played first half (4-3 Concordia shot advantage) gave way to 45 minutes controlled by Dordt. A physical and aggressive style frequently had the home team on its back foot. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, most of Dordt’s best chances resulted in shots that were off the mark. Concordia keeper Kalie Ward made three saves while playing all 110 minutes. The Defenders finished the game with a 15-9 overall shot advantage (12-3 in the second half). The lone Bulldog goal came via Grace Soenksen in the 31st minute.
· Concordia let one slip away in Orange City, Iowa, over the weekend. A goal apiece from Madeline Haugen (40’) and Michaela Twito (46’) provided the Bulldogs with a 2-0 advantage that stood until Northwestern got on the board at the 55-minute mark. The Red Raiders then tied it in the 60th minute. Both goals came with help from failed clearances on the part of Concordia – one of which led to a penalty kick. Prior to the tie at Northwestern, the Bulldogs had been 4-0 this season when scoring two or more goals.
· Through eight games, Concordia has outscored its opponents by a combined total of 16-12 despite being outshot, 105-99. When it comes to attacking, the Bulldogs have used a by-committee approach. Four different players are tied for the team lead with two goals apiece: Haugen, Lina Kirst, Mikeila Martinez and Lisa McClain. Martinez leads the squad with three assists. At goalkeeper, Ward has started seven games while Kassidy Johnson got one start. Angela Banks has also appeared in two games.
· This will be another two-game week within the conference. Concordia will host Midland (5-4, 2-1 GPAC) at 5:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday before traveling to play at Dakota Wesleyan (4-4, 1-2 GPAC) at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Bulldogs saw both programs in the GPAC tournament this past spring. Concordia topped DWU, 2-1, in the quarterfinals and then got past Midland in the semifinals via a PK shootout (followed a 0-0 draw). DWU handed the Bulldogs one of their two GPAC regular season losses 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., on Sept. 17. 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. The Bulldogs had this past week off from competition. For more information on Concordia Cross Country, click HERE.
· Last week’s new batch of conference and national ratings reflected the impressive work early this season by the Bulldogs. The women’s team vaulted to No. 1 in the official GPAC ratings and moved from unranked in the preseason to No. 15 in the NAIA Coaches’ Poll. Meanwhile, the men leapt from sixth in the GPAC in the preseason to No. 3 in the latest conference poll (did not receive national votes). Both squads have beat out conference rivals that had been ranked above them in the preseason. The Concordia women’s breakthrough at the Augustana Twilight saw them edge reigning GPAC champion Dordt, which was No. 6 nationally in the preseason. On the men’s side, the Bulldogs have outperformed three GPAC foes that had been placed above them – thus why they have moved up three spots in the conference rankings.
· 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 Grace 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 (GPAC Runner of the Week) 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 are set to return to the same site as the Morningside Invite – Adams Nature Preserve. That location will be the host for Friday’s Briar Cliff Invite. The meet is scheduled to get underway at 3 p.m. CT. The Briar Cliff Invite is one of only two meets remaining prior to the GPAC Championships on Nov. 19.