SEWARD, Neb. – Bulldog athletics completed the 2019 fall sports season with a fifth-place positioning in the GPAC All-Sports Trophy Standings. The conference also updates the standings at the close of the winter and spring sport seasons. Concordia collected 50 fall points (29 women, 21 men) towards the all-sports standings. The Bulldogs took home a GPAC championship via women’s cross country this fall.
The Concordia athletic department is a three-time winner of the GPAC All-Sports Trophy championship (2003, 2005, 2015). The sports that factored into the fall standings were men’s and women’s cross country, football, men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball.
Read on for a complete breakdown of the fall in Concordia athletics.
TOP MOMENT
Women’s cross country returns to prominence with GPAC title, 12th place NAIA finish
A thrilling season for Concordia women’s cross country concluded on Nov. 22 with the NAIA National Championships, where the program appeared as a team for the first time since 2011. Head coach Matt Beisel’s squad received an invitation to the national meet thanks to the GPAC title it claimed on Nov. 9. The Bulldogs seized the moment on the national stage and placed 12th for the program’s best NAIA finish since coming in at No. 6 in 2005 (also the most recent previous GPAC championship).
Said Beisel, the GPAC Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year, following the national championships, “We came a long ways in a year. We had freshmen who helped us and everyone really got better and believed in themselves. It just came together really well for us. There’s a lot of excitement and joy right now.”
By winning a conference title and reaching the national championships, the season fulfilled the goals that members of the team had set in the preseason. Said junior Sydney Clark, “Honestly it means everything to me. Freshman year I made it a goal before I graduated that I wanted to run at nationals. This is making my whole collegiate dream come true.”
Seven Bulldogs ran at nationals with freshman Kylahn Heritage (33rd), junior Alyssa Fye (94th) and senior Rebekah Hinrichs (100th) placing inside the top 100 in a field of nearly 350 competitors. Heritage, the runner up at the conference championships, placed as the top GPAC competitor at the national meet in Vancouver, Wash.
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Volleyball earns first-ever national tournament win, advances to round of 16
The Bulldog volleyball team turned the corner in 2019 while making a rise to third in the final GPAC standings after placing eighth a year earlier. After taking over a program that endured a 9-19 record in 2017, coaches Ben and Angie Boldt got their team to buy in and believe in each other this fall. Ultimately, Concordia advanced to the round of 16 in national tournament play in Sioux City, Iowa, the final site for the 2019 NAIA Volleyball National Championship. While at the tournament, the Bulldogs defeated No. 19 Montana Tech and the University of Saint Mary (Kan.).
It was quite a season for Emmie Noyd and company. Noyd was named a third team All-American while leading Concordia to new heights in a season that began with it well off the national radar. Said Noyd, “It’s a dream come true, honestly. I think any college athlete wants to get to nationals. For it to be my senior season and to end it that way is a great experience. I think we’re all just so thankful to have a chance at a national championship. It’s really exciting.”
Placke leads women’s golf to title at Nebraska Wesleyan Fall Classic
Already an established star, sophomore Kendra Placke put together the first tournament win of her career at the Nebraska Wesleyan Fall Classic by shooting an eight-over-par 79 on Sept. 17. She won a playoff hole to take the title while leading head coach Brett Muller’s women’s golf squad to a team championship. The Bulldogs carded a team score of 337 on that date. The rest of the lineup included senior Murphy Sears (82), sophomore Britney Jepsen (87), junior Andrea Peterson (89) and freshman Lauren Havlat (95).
Women’s soccer welcomes Fritz & Friends to campus
There are always moments that serve as good reminders that there is more to life than winning and losing sporting events. The Concordia women’s soccer team gained a new perspective on Sept. 21 when the Krieger family visited campus to promote its Fritz & Friends organization. On that date the Bulldogs hosted Northwestern for a “Game of Strength” with a purpose of raising awareness for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Three-year-old Fritz Krieger (son of former Concordia soccer player Sarah Krieger) served as honorary team captain. Fritz was diagnosed with Duchenne in 2017. With Fritz on hand, Concordia defeated the Red Raiders, 1-0.
Said goalkeeper Lindsey Carley, “It was an awesome feeling, especially to go out and get the win for them. It provides that little extra motivation to the team. You could definitely tell on the field that we were all playing for something a little extra today. It was a very special win.”
Linebackers star in leading tough-nosed defense
Head coach Patrick Daberkow and his Concordia football team would have liked to have turned some of its close losses into wins, but the linebackers and the defense as a whole can look back at the 2019 season with pride in the effort that was put forth. Daberkow believes the 2019 linebacker group to be one of the best ever assembled in Seward. Three of the four starters were seniors in Riley Bilstein, Derek Tachovksy and Zac Walter. Meanwhile, junior Lane Napier again led the GPAC with 108 tackles and was named a first team all-conference selection. Tachovsky landed on the second team while Bilstein and Walter were honorable mention choices. There is a combined 122 games of college football experienced between the four linebackers. The Bulldogs allowed their opponents just 22.2 points per game this fall.
Said Daberkow, “What an honor it is to spend every day working with them and pushing them and trying to get the most out of a group. When I think about this season, the record is hard to forget, but in time you remember that group of linebackers we had and the seniors we had.”
Men’s soccer starts out 7-0, Weides rises to top of wins list
It was a rousing start to the 2019 campaign for Concordia men’s soccer, which won its first seven games. With victory No. 7 of the season, 12th-year head coach Jason Weides surpassed Dr. Jack Kinworthy for the most coaching triumphs in program history with 114. That total now stands at 117 after the Bulldogs finished at 10-6-2 overall. The 7-0 run to open the season included six nonconference wins and a 3-1 GPAC victory over Northwestern. Eventually, injuries caught up to Concordia, which placed sixth in the GPAC. The season concluded with a 3-1 loss to Hastings in the conference tournament quarterfinals.
Shooting sports helps raise more than $87,000 for Ronald McDonald House
The Concordia University shooting sports program took a break from competition during the weekend of Oct. 18-20 to lend a hand at the Kids & Clays Sporting Clays Tournament. The event held at the Bulldogs’ home course at Oak Creek Sporting Club in Brainard, Neb., benefited Ronald McDonald House Charities. A collective 423 volunteer hours of service provided by head coach Scott Moniot’s Bulldog shooting sports team aided in the generation of more than $87,000 in charitable funds. According to Ronald McDonald House Charities, that total surpassed the funds raised in each of the previous Kids & Clays Sporting Clays Tournaments put on by the organization. In competition, Concordia broke school records this fall in skeet doubles, sporting clays and wobble trap.
SEASON SUMMARIES
Men’s and Women’s Cross Country
2019 men’s GPAC finish: 5th
2019 women’s GPAC finish: 1st
2019 women’s NAIA national finish: 12th
Top performers:
--FR Kylahn Heritage: placed 2nd (18:30.48) in the GPAC and 33rd (18:42.4) at the NAIA National Championships; garnered all-conference recognition.
--SO Wyatt Lehr: placed 15th (25:59.84) in the GPAC; earned All-GPAC accolades.
Season highlights: There were many highlights for the women’s team that won a GPAC title and became a regular in the NAIA top 25 rankings. Confidence for head coach Matt Beisel’s squad exploded when the Bulldogs beat out other ranked teams at both the Augustana Twilight and the Dean White Invite. Concordia preceded the GPAC Championships with two meet titles. Then at the conference meet, seven Bulldogs placed in the top 20 as the women’s program celebrated its first GPAC title since 2005. Freshman Kylahn Heritage led the way with a GPAC runner-up claim. On the men’s side, sophomore Wyatt Lehr put things together late in the season and collected All-GPAC recognition for the second year in a row. The Concordia men placed fifth in the conference. Beisel was named the GPAC Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year.
GPAC all-conference: Kylahn Heritage (2nd); Alyssa Fye (4th); Rebekah Hinrichs (5th); Sydney Clark (12th); Wyatt Lehr (15th).
Quotable:
Head Coach Matt Beisel: “We (women’s team) came a long ways in a year. We had freshmen who helped us and everyone really got better and believed in themselves. It just came together really well for us. There’s a lot of excitement and joy right now … The guys saw what the girls accomplished, and I know they want to make the same leap forward as a team. All of the top seven Concordia men ran big personal bests at conference when it mattered the most.”
Football
2019 record: 3-7 overall; 3-6 GPAC (T-8th)
Top performers:
--Cayden Beran: 49 catches, 701 yards, 2 TD
--Lane Napier: 108 tackles, 10.5 tfl’s, 4.5 sacks, 3 ff, int
--Aaron Rudloff: 41 tackles, 10 tfl’s, 9 sacks, ff
--Derek Tachovsky: 88 tackles, 9.5 tfl’s, 2 sacks, 2 int, 2 fr, ff
Season highlights: A tough-nosed defense that allowed only 22.2 points per game kept the Bulldogs tight with most of their 2019 opponents, including NAIA playoff qualifier Northwestern. The 2019 campaign featured the first night game at Bulldog Stadium since 2015, a 44-0 drubbing of Hastings, a 16-14 slugfest of a homecoming win over Briar Cliff and a four-overtime “mud bowl” battle at Jamestown. Lane Napier and the linebackers continued to shine and senior Aaron Rudloff turned in a monster season at defensive end. Offensively, the receivers broke out for a solid season. Sophomore Cayden Beran caught 10 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns in the blowout of Hastings. The narrative for the season could have been different had Concordia turned around the outcome of four losses by margins of a touchdown or less.
GPAC all-conference:
Lane Napier (first team)
Cayden Beran (second team)
Peyton Mitchell (second team)
Aaron Rudloff (second team)
Derek Tachovsky (second team)
Riley Bilstein (honorable mention)
Lane Castaneda (honorable mention)
Zac Walter (honorable mention)
Quotable:
Head Coach Patrick Daberkow: “It’s the relationships with the players (that are the lasting memories). It’s such a blessing to get to work with 18 to 22 year-olds who are motivated young men. What an honor it is to spend every day working with them and pushing them and trying to get the most out of a group. When I think about this season, the record is hard to forget, but in time you remember that group of linebackers we had and the seniors we had.”
Men’s and Women’s Golf
2019-20 Men’s GPAC standing: 7th (336-329–665)
2019-20 Women’s GPAC standing: 3rd (336-345–681)
Top performers:
--Tylar Samek: team best 77.5 scoring average (eight rounds); placed 25th or higher at each of the four events; currently 20th in the GPAC.
--Kendra Placke: team best 82.0 scoring average (seven rounds); placed top 10 in four of five events, including meet title at the Nebraska Wesleyan Fall Classic; currently sixth in the GPAC.
Fall highlights: Kendra Placke’s efforts in leading the Concordia women to a tournament title at the Nebraska Wesleyan Fall Classic stood above all other moments during the fall season for head coach Brett Muller’s golf programs. Placke won the individual title at the NWU Classic for her first career tournament win. The Concordia women also took home a trophy by claiming second place at the Midland Fall Invite. Placke, senior Murphy Sears and the rest of the team also had a solid showing in GPAC play and are currently in third place in the conference. On the men’s side, senior Tylar Samek assumed the top spot in the lineup. He was aided in the fall by the arrival of freshman Jay Gunaseelan. The Bulldog men will enter the spring in seven place in the GPAC.
Quotable:
Head Coach Brett Muller after tournament win at NWU Classic: “We just came in with a great mindset. We knew Pioneers (Golf Course) set up pretty well for us and came in with the goal of winning the tournament. We got off to such a great start on the front nine. The course got tougher on the back nine and tougher to putt with the wind picking up. It was a very complete team effort. There were a lot of personal bests today. To have all eight girls under 100 was nice to see too.”
Shooting Sports
2019 conference finish: 4th out of 10 (at Prairie Circuit Classic Fall Championship)
ACUI National Championships: take place March 21-29, 2020, in San Antonio, Texas
Things to know: Head coach Scott Moniot’s shooting sports program competed in six events throughout the fall while breaking school records for skeet doubles, sporting clays and wobble trap. At the Prairie Circuit Classic Fall Championship that served as a conference competition, the Bulldogs placed fourth with a team total of 2,213 targets hit. On an individual level, Concordia graduate student Erin Lokke (Olympic Trials qualifier) earned female all-conference honors (top five shooters). Emma Singer and Breanna Tarras both landed on the women’s freshman all-conference squad. Back in October, the Bulldogs hosted their own Sporting Classic, which featured 144 shooters. Concordia placed second. The Bulldogs have been led by the likes of Wyatt Hambly, Sara Schwacher, Damien Stewart, Rebecca Tierney, Colten Uitermarkt Emma Van Donselaar and others. After the first leg of the Olympic Trials, Lokke is in eighth place among all women in the United States.
Quotable:
Head Coach Scott Moniot after Prairie Circuit Classic Fall Championship: “The (windy) weather makes hitting targets pretty difficult. That being said, we had some really outstanding performances. Our young team performed really well in those conditions. We had a lot of our sophomores and freshmen up in the top 25 to 30 in the high overall. Things are looking up.”
Men’s Soccer
2019 record: 10-6-2 overall; 5-4-2 GPAC (6th)
Top performers:
--Eduardo Alba: 15 games, 1.29 GAA, .804 save %, 74 saves, 2 shutouts
--Carlos Ferrer: 12 games, 4 goals, 2 assists
--Moises Jacobo: 18 games, 6 goals (2 game winners), 5 assists
--Garrett Perry: 16 games, 5 goals, 3 assists
Season highlights: Aspirations of winning the GPAC regular-season title seemed reasonable when the Bulldogs jetted out to a 7-0 record following a 3-1 win over Northwestern on Sept. 21. The biggest positive to take away from 2019 was the squad’s ability to withstand a wealth of injuries and still put together another 10-win campaign. The aforementioned victory over Northwestern moved head coach Jason Weides to No. 1 on the program’s all-time wins list. Freshman Eduardo Alba won the goalkeeper spot out of fall camp and was named GPAC Defensive Player of the Week early in September. During that same month of September, Concordia defeated two nonconference foes that were receiving votes nationally at the time. The program has now won at least 10 games in nine-straight seasons.
GPAC all-conference: Eduardo Alba (honorable mention); Renzo Bozzo (honorable mention); Carlos Ferrer (honorable mention); Moises Jacobo (honorable mention); Garrett Perry (honorable mention).
Quotable:
Head Coach Jason Weides after 7-0 start: “I think the biggest factor for us honestly is depth. We’ve actually had a large amount of injuries. We’ve come up against some teams that have had injuries, but our depth has helped carry us through some of the tough things we’ve dealt with, really since game two. This group has lofty ambitions for what they want to accomplish this year.”
Women’s Soccer
2019 record: 6-11-2 overall; 6-4-2 GPAC (6th)
Top performers:
--Lindsey Carley: 17 games, 1.44 GA, .748 save %, 77 saves, 3 shutouts
--Tori Cera: 16 games, 4 goals, 4 assists
--Michaela Twito: 19 games, 2 goals (both game winners)
Season highlights: A coaching change occurred in the summer for a program that had reached the GPAC tournament championship game five-straight seasons. The Bulldogs started out slow while up against a challenging nonconference slate that included a trip to Arkansas against two nationally-ranked foes. Concordia eventually found a degree of success within conference play and ‘won for Fritz’ in a 1-0 decision over Northwestern on Sept. 21. Late in the campaign, the Bulldogs went to double overtime in a stretch of five out of six games. Concordia won its final two in the regular season, including a 3-2 double overtime affair that featured a Michaela Twito golden goal. Tori Cera again starred (mostly at center back) while plenty of young players earned valuable experience.
GPAC all-conference: Tori Cera (first team); Lindsey Carley (second team); Michaela Twito (second team); Grace Soenksen (honorable mention); Morgan Raska (honorable mention).
Quotable:
Head Coach Chris Luther after winning regular-season finale: “We couldn’t continue to do the same things over and over and expect different results. We kept challenging the girls to think creatively and think outside of the box. As a coaching staff we looked at each other and said, ‘Are we doing the same thing?’ We knew our previous lineups were defending well, but we weren’t generating enough offense.”
Volleyball
2019 record: 25-8 overall; 11-5 GPAC (3rd)
Top performers:
--Tara Callahan: 121 sets (33 matches), 1,299 assists (10.7/set), 224 digs, 89 kills, 61 blocks
--Emmie Noyd: 120 sets (33 matches), 403 kills (3.36/set), .327 hitting%, 131 blocks
--Camryn Opfer: 120 sets (33 matches), 316 kills (2.63/set), .212 hitting%, 312 digs, 48 blocks
Season highlights: In terms of success at the national level and national rankings, the 2019 season is arguably the best in the history of Concordia volleyball. The Bulldogs had to prove themselves in order to crack the top 25 in late October as they did. Along this season’s journey, Concordia ended droughts against conference rivals like Dordt, Hastings and Midland while playing at a consistently high level. A nonconference victory over then 19th-ranked Corban University also helped legitimize the Bulldogs as a top 25 team. Senior middle blocker Emmie Noyd helped lead the program to its first-ever appearance at the final site of the NAIA National Championship and first ever wins on the national stage. While at the national tournament, Concordia defeated No. 19 Montana Tech and the University of Saint Mary. Junior Tara Callahan developed into one of the nation’s top setters and the emergence of freshmen Camryn Opfer and Kalee Wiltfong played a major role in the team’s success.
GPAC all-conference: Tara Callahan (first team); Emmie Noyd (first team); Camryn Opfer (second team/freshman of the year); Marissa Hoerman (honorable mention); Kara Stark (honorable mention).
NAIA All-America: Emmie Noyd (third team); Tara Callahan (honorable mention).
Quotable:
Head Coach Ben Boldt: “I was telling the team, I kind of took us back to where we were at this point at the end of last season and everything we’ve put into this season. With the standards that we have, the results take care of themselves. We’ve got to continue those standards. One of the things we’ve taken from other Concordia programs is that tradition never graduates. It’s up to us to continue that work ethic and our core values. Nobody is ready to stop playing volleyball on our team. To have a close loss like that is more motivating than any words. They can feel what it’s like … I was super appreciative of the effort the seniors put in and I’m really happy for them.”