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Winter sports season highlighted by women's basketball national title

By Jacob Knabel on Mar. 19, 2019 in Athletic Announcements

It was a winter of championships for Bulldog athletics, which celebrated GPAC titles in the sports of women’s basketball, women’s indoor track and field and wrestling. Not only that, head coach Drew Olson’s Bulldogs seized the ultimate prize, winning a national title this March. Additionally, the men’s indoor track and field squad placed as a conference runner up. All of that success pushed Concordia up to No. 4 in the GPAC All-Sports Trophy standings by winter’s end.

TOP MOMENT

Women’s basketball claims program’s first ever national title

It was their time. While embracing the motto “focus and finish,” the 2018-19 Concordia women’s basketball team made history. NAIA Division II National Coach of the Year Drew Olson led the program to its first-ever national title. After several close calls in previous seasons, the top-ranked Bulldogs sealed the deal this time by toppling No. 2 Southeastern University (Fla.), 67-59, in the championship final. Transfer point guard Grace Barry proved to be a huge difference maker throughout the season. She was named the national championship tournament MVP while running the show. First Team All-American Philly Lammers was also named to the all-tournament team. Her big moment at the national tournament was a 28-point, 13-rebound performance in the semifinal win over No. 4 Northwestern. Guard Taylor Cockerill (first team All-GPAC) carried Concordia with a 19-point fourth quarter in the second round win over No. 17 Cardinal Stritch University (Wis.). The credit goes on and on. It’s certainly a must to mention senior Quinn Wragge, who enjoyed a fitting end to her career that saw her finish ranked No. 3 on the program’s all-time scoring list.

This season will never be forgotten. “Thinking about all that we went through last year and all the hard work it took to get here, I’m just so proud and so happy for them,” Olson said. “I’m thankful I get to be their coach. It’s more about the players. I’m just so happy they get this feeling. It’s really surreal honestly.” Added Wragge, “From the day I came here this has been the goal. This is what this program has wanted for so long. To be a part of that with these amazing girls is incredible. It’s everything that I’ve wanted from this.”

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Women’s Indoor Track ends Doane’s run at the top
With the help of big point scoring in the throws, women’s pole vault and the 400 meters, the women’s indoor track and field squad wrestled away Doane’s stranglehold on the top spot in the conference. Head coach Matt Beisel’s squad celebrated the women’s program’s first GPAC indoor title since 2010 after racking up 173.5 team points. Concordia got a boost from conference event championships from the 4x400 meter relay, Allie Brooks (pole vault) and Taylor Grove (3,000 meters). Jacee Pfeifer topped the Bulldogs with 18.5 points and was the anchor for the team’s school record breaking 4x4. The meet marked the fifth GPAC title in the history of Concordia women’s track and field (indoor – 2010 and 2019; outdoor – 1998, 2010 and 2012).

Wrestling regains spot at top of GPAC standings
After dropping down to fifth in the GPAC dual standings in 2017-18, the Concordia wrestling program returned to the top of the league in 2018-19 under the leadership of first-year head coach Levi Calhoun. The Bulldogs jetted out to a 7-0 GPAC mark with most of their wins coming in dominant fashion. One of the highlight victories was a 21-17 decision at then 13th-ranked Midland on Nov. 15. Concordia also enjoyed a 4-0 GPAC Duals day on Jan. 26 to put itself in the driver’s seat for a conference championship. Especially instrumental in the championship run were the likes of 174-pounder Deandre Chery (individual GPAC champ) and heavyweight Michael Stann. The Bulldogs came up just shy of a fourth undefeated GPAC dual season in five years.

Women’s Basketball sweeps GPAC titles for third-straight year
The success experienced by the 2018-19 Concordia women’s basketball team was multi-layered. It was a season of championships. In addition to winning the whole thing, the Bulldogs took home another CIT title and swept GPAC regular season and postseason championships for the third year in a row. No other women’s basketball program in the GPAC has even swept GPAC titles in back-to-back years. The Bulldogs exorcised some demons by winning the national title and also by avenging last year’s loss to rival Dakota Wesleyan in the 2018 national championship game. This past season, Concordia beat DWU, then again and then another time. By the time the Bulldogs polished off a 35-3 overall record, they had sent a clear message that the current top program in the GPAC and the nation resides in Seward.

Track school records broken
On the women’s side, three school records were broken during the indoor track and field season. By the end of the indoor campaign, Jessica Deterding (pentathlon), Leah Larson (triple jump) and the women’s 4x400 meter relay had all moved into No. 1 rankings on the school’s all-time lists. The first of those records was achieved by Larson, who topped the record two different times. Her triple jump mark stands at 38’ 2 ¾.” The 4x4 of Rachel Battershell, Sarah Lewis, Jamie Nikodym and Jacee Pfeifer first broke the program record at the GPAC championships and then outran its own time by clocking in at 3:51.80 in an All-America performance at the national championships. Lastly, Deterding’s record in the pentathlon of 3,410 points occurred at the GPAC championship meet.

Sloup goes wild in upset of No. 7 Briar Cliff
This was without a doubt the most fun game of the season for Concordia men’s basketball, which managed to pull off a home upset of perennial GPAC force Briar Cliff, 102-92, on Jan. 12. This contest may have given the Chargers nightmares of watching Brevin Sloup backdoor cut them to death. In a silly seven-minute stretch of action, Sloup dropped in 18 points. He finished with a career high 33 points while piloting an offense that shot 58.2 percent (32-for-55) from the floor, 58.8 percent (10-for-17) from 3-point range and 28-for-35 (.800) from the foul line. Freshman Carter Kent added 26 points, Tanner Shuck had a double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Justin Wiersema chipped in 15 points.

Cornelio, Williams ascend to star status 
The men’s indoor track and field program made a big leap forward from 2018 to 2019. The continued rise of junior Jacob Cornelio and sophomore Cody Williams had a lot to do with the elevated team success. Cornelio won the GPAC title in the weight throw and Williams did the same in the heptathlon while flirting with school and conference meet records in the event. They then rivaled each other at the national championships with a runner-up claim for both – Cornelio in the weight throw and Williams in the heptathlon. Williams also earned All-America honors in the pole vault. The two standouts were instrumental in powering Concordia to placements of second in the GPAC and ninth in the nation.

SEASON SUMMARIES

Men’s Basketball
2018-19 record: 15-16 overall; 7-13 GPAC (8th)
Top performer: The nod here goes to junior point guard Brevin Sloup, the team’s most consistent offensive playmaker all winter long. The Seward High School product became a starter for the first time this past winter and delivered with a second team All-GPAC campaign. He paced the team in scoring (16.4) and assists (3.3) while shooting 43.5 percent from the floor and 40.8 percent from the 3-point arc. Sloup poured in 20 or more points on six occasions.
Season highlights: Sloup was the ringleader in powering the season’s most memorable victory – a 102-92 home upset of then seventh-ranked Briar Cliff (eventual national quarterfinalist) on Jan. 12. Sloup dropped a career high 33 points in the most crisp team offensive performance of the campaign. In that victory, Carter Kent added 26 points and the Bulldogs shot 58.2 percent from the floor. Concordia also recorded an impressive nonconference road win over Peru State College, the Heart of America Athletic Conference tournament champion. There were peaks and valleys, but the Bulldogs were a solid 6-4 over their final 10 GPAC regular season games after starting 1-9 in league play. The turnaround began with a Tanner Shuck game-winning 3-pointer in a comeback at Hastings. The play of Kent, GPAC Freshman of the Year, also stood out as a positive. The Crete High School product averaged 10.4 points in his rookie season.
GPAC All-Conference: Brevin Sloup (Second Team); Carter Kent (Freshman of the Year; Honorable Mention); Tanner Shuck (Honorable Mention).
Thoughts from Coach Ben Limback: I think there are a number of things we learned from this year. Individually, we had some guys who had either never played in a college game or had never played in a GPAC game that learned how to prepare and the importance of every game. The urgency that we lacked in the beginning of the year with some of our youth changed in the second half of the GPAC season. We really didn’t have much of an identity at the beginning of the year. We won some nonconference games at the beginning of the year with some good passion and energy, but I think we saw through the first go-round of the GPAC we really didn’t have that identity. In the second half of conference play we settled in a little bit better and it showed in our results. We learned a lot. As a team, guys are already talking about needing to do something different. Workouts have to be different. We need to have a better summer than we had last summer. This summer we’re going to have more guys committed to staying in Seward. Then you combine that with all the local guys on this year’s team and the incoming freshmen too, we’re looking at having 15-20 guys around for most of our workouts. I’m really excited about that.

Women’s Basketball
2018-19 record: 35-3 overall; 19-3 GPAC (T-1st); GPAC postseason champions; national champions
Top performer: Philly Lammers is the choice after she earned GPAC Player of the Year and NAIA First Team All-America honors in her junior season. The three-time All-American averaged 14.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.63 steals and 1.21 blocks while shooting 57.9 percent from the floor and 74.0 percent from the foul line this past season. Her signature performance was a 28-point, 13-rebound effort in the national semifinal win over Northwestern. Lammers will enter her senior year with program all-time rankings of seventh in rebounds (823), seventh in steals (271) and 10th in scoring (1,574).
Season highlights: It doesn’t get any better than winning a national title. After years of coming up just short of the ultimate goal, the Bulldogs focused and finished this March. They celebrated the program’s first-ever national championship by knocking off No. 2 Southeastern, 67-59, in the final game. A catalyst all season at the point, junior Grace Barry was awarded with the Tournament Most Valuable Player award. It was a fitting way to end a college career for senior Quinn Wragge, who finished the season ranked third in school history in scoring (1,776). The quartet of Barry, Taylor Cockerill, Lammers and Wragge played at an All-American level. As well-stocked as Concordia was entering the season, Barry, Cockerill and Riley Sibbel were all first-year starters. Cockerill took off as a sophomore, leading the team with an average of 15.4 points while earning first team All-GPAC accolades.
GPAC All-Conference: Philly Lammers (GPAC Player of the Year; First Team); Taylor Cockerill (First Team); Grace Barry (Second Team); Quinn Wragge (Second team); Mackenzie Koepke (Honorable Mention); Riley Sibbel (Honorable Mention).
NAIA All-Americans: Drew Olson (Coach of the Year); Philly Lammers (First Team); Taylor Cockerill (Honorable Mention).
Thoughts from Coach Drew Olson: We had some growing pains. We didn’t start the same five at the beginning of the year. We were still trying to figure out what pieces fit together. Ultimately I think it ended up being the right fits. Everybody figured out their roles as the season went along, but we did have a couple bumps with the Morningside game early on. I think it was about figuring out how to play with Grace and Grace figuring out what she needed to do at the end of games. We knew Taylor Cockerill was going to be a stud. We saw it last year. She just had to wait for those four seniors to graduate and it was going to be her time to step up and she did that a lot. Riley Sibbel was just phenomenal defensively. All that work ethic and all the time into the gym showed in her shooting. Those five really, really fit well. Then I thought Mack Helman, Mack Koepke and obviously Colby Duvel really figured out how to come off the bench and play well. Even with Elsie, Taryn, Delani and Pauli – they all found their moments to help the team be as good as we could possibly be. It has been really cool to hear from so many different people and tons of former players, former teammates, alums and other people who have followed our program. There have even been a lot of random people reaching out. They felt just as excited to share in that moment (of winning a national title). It’s just been really cool.

Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field
2019 men’s GPAC finish: 2nd
2019 men’s national finish: 9th
2019 women’s GPAC finish: 1st
2019 women’s national finish: 9th
Top performers: There are plenty of quality choices for both men and women. Ten Bulldogs were GPAC champions and 14 were All-Americans this past indoor season. On the men’s side, it’s appropriate to begin the discussion with Jacob Cornelio and Cody Williams, both of who won a GPAC title and both finished as a national runner up. As a multi-event athlete, Williams continues to raise his profile after winning the GPAC heptathlon title. He nearly won a national title in that same event. On the women’s side, Concordia has showcased a balanced team. Just a redshirt freshman, Jacee Pfeifer is already one of the biggest stars. She topped the team with 18.5 points at the GPAC championships and then was an All-American in the 4x400 meter relay and pole vault at the national championships.
Season highlights: It would be difficult to say that any moment during the 2019 indoor season was any more thrilling than the GPAC team championship captured by the Bulldog women. In rising to the top, event titles were recorded by the women’s 4x400 meter relay, Allie Brooks (pole vault) and Taylor Grove (3,000 meters). The women’s 4x4 of Rachel Battershell, Sarah Lewis, Jamie Nikodym and Jacee Pfeifer broke the school record at the conference championships and then again at nationals. On the men’s side, Jacob Cornelio (weight throw), Josiah McAllister (1,000 meters), Thomas Taylor (800 meters) and Cody Williams (heptathlon) were each GPAC champions while helping the men to a second-place conference finish. Many of the aforementioned athletes went on to lead both the men’s and women’s teams to ninth-place finishes at the NAIA national indoor championships. School records were also set during the indoor season by Jessica Deterding (pentathlon) and Leah Larson (triple jump).
GPAC All-Conference: See the full list HERE.
NAIA All-Americans: Rachel Battershell (4x400m relay); Jacob Cornelio (weight throw); Leah Larson (triple jump); Sarah Lewis (4x400m relay); Samantha Liermann (shot put); Erin Mapson (pole vault); Nathan Matters (4x800m relay); Josiah McAllister (1,000 meters; 4x800m relay); Jamie Nikodym (4x400m relay); Jacee Pfeifer (4x400m relay; pole vault); Addie Shaw (weight throw); Thomas Taylor (4x800m relay); Christian Van Cleave (4x800m relay); Cody Williams (heptathlon; pole vault).
Thoughts from Coach Matt Beisel: We had some things that didn’t go our way and we also had some really awesome things happen (at the national championships). I’m really happy any time we’re in the top 10 at the national championship. To have both our men and women finish there is outstanding. The fact our men were tied for 42nd at indoor nationals last year and finished where they did this year is icing on the cake. At the same time, there’s more that we can do … God blesses them and allows them to do their best and we’ll take what we get. I’m very grateful and so proud of these athletes and coaches. (Winning a GPAC title) is never guaranteed. Just piece by piece it got started with Jessica Deterding killing it and setting a school record in the pentathlon. That kind of got the snow ball rolling. I think there was a lot of energy and enthusiasm from the very beginning. It was some awesome stuff.”

Wrestling
2018-19 record: 9-4 overall; 7-1 GPAC
GPAC finishes: 1st in duals; 4th in tournament
NAIA national finish: 26th
Top performer: For the majority of the season, this would have been a near tossup between 174-pound junior Deandre Chery and heavyweight redshirt freshman Michael Stann. Both piled up more than 30 wins and qualified for the national championships. Chery successfully defended his GPAC title at 174. But on the biggest stage, it was transfer Alberto Garcia who shined the brightest. He defeated three opponents seeded in the top 10 nationally while taking fourth-place in the 133-pound bracket at the national championships. Garcia became the 10th individual in program history to earn at least one All-America award.
Season highlights: A come-from-behind dual win at then 13th-ranked Midland on Nov. 15 set the wheels in motion for the Bulldogs to return to the top of the GPAC standings. Concordia trailed that dual 17-3 before winning the final four matches, including the heavyweight bout with a pin from Michael Stann. The Bulldogs also enjoyed a 4-0 day at the GPAC Duals on Jan. 26 as part of a 7-0 start to the conference season. Head coach Levi Calhoun’s squad eventually ended up sharing the GPAC dual title with Morningside while marking the fourth season out of the last five that involved a Bulldog conference title. Courtesy of their efforts at the national championships, five Concordia grapplers qualified for nationals with Alberto Garcia reaching the podium. In his last chance, senior Walker Fisher reached nationals.
GPAC All-Conference: Deandre Chery (First Team); Michael Stann (First Team); Walker Fisher (Second Team); Alberto Garcia (Second Team); Mario Ybarra (Honorable Mention).
NAIA All-American: Alberto Garcia (4th; 133).
Thoughts from Coach Levi Calhoun: Overall I think we exceeded expectations. Going from fifth to first in the GPAC Duals race and increasing our number of National Qualifiers were goals we were excited to accomplish as a team as we work to reestablish ourselves atop the conference. Breakout seasons for newcomers like Zack Moistner, Mario Ybarra and Michael Stann, along with the reliability of returners like Deandre Chery, Josh Nelsen, Darrin Miller, Cam Devers, Walker Fisher and many others were key to our team’s success this season. An All-American finish by Alberto Garcia was a fitting way to cap the season and set the pace as we work to improve even more for the 2019-2020 season.

Cheer/Dance
2019 Cheer GPAC finish: 7th of 7
2019 Cheer regional finish: 13th of 14
2019 Dance GPAC finish: 6th of 8
2019 Dance regional finish: 10th of 12
Summary: Still youthful programs from a historical perspective, the Bulldog cheer and dance squads continue to make strides under head coach Mandi Maser. In terms of the schedule, the 2018-19 teams appeared in more competitions than any before it in the program’s history. They also hosted the Concordia Cheer & Dance Invite on Feb. 2 in an event that included seven dance squads and six cheer teams. Other big meets included the Concordia Invitational Tournament (in conjunction with the annual basketball tournament), the GPAC Championships and the NAIA Northwest Qualifier. A total of 10 cheer/dance Concordia student-athletes earned NAIA Scholar-Athlete distinction. The teams were captained by junior Annie Pico (Mesa, Ariz.) for cheer and sophomore Kalina Schoenfeld (Carroll, Iowa) for dance. Six seniors will graduate from the two programs: Elizabeth Frakes, Kennedy Garner, Taeva Hoppe, Neleigh Lehr, Sarah Rogge and Chelsea Willard.
Thoughts from Coach Mandi Maser: The 2018-19 cheer and dance season went very well. The dance team increased its technical skill and came together as a team to make this season very rewarding and great to witness as a coach. We are continuing to build our team and look forward to competing next season. The cheer team had a great season. We were able to gain a lot of experience and confidence each time we competed.Our difficulty level in stunting increased and our team truly came together and supported Bulldog Nation athletics throughout the season. We look forward to continuing to build our program and truly be a competitive force in our conference and region.