ASHLAND, Neb. – The proof was in the results on Saturday (Oct. 25) at the Blazing Tiger NAIA Classic co-hosted by College of Saint Mary and Doane. At the same Mahoney State Park (Ashland, Neb.) that will host the conference championships, Concordia University, Nebraska Cross Country came away with team placements of sixth out of 26 on the men’s side and ninth out of 27 on the women’s side. The Blazing Tiger field included a combined seven NAIA top 25 teams and a total of 275 women’s and 341 men’s runners.
Head Coach Matt Beisel’s squads were paced by third-place finishes from sophomores Keeli Green and Vaughn Hendrickson. The meet began with the women’s 6k and wrapped up with the men’s 8k. Individual top 25 finishers each received t-shirts in recognition of their performances.
“Both teams want to make nationals and place top two or three in the conference,” Beisel said. “As the season’s gone on, we’ve had some glimmers of that. We’ve shown the capability. It just hasn’t all come together for one reason or another. We had Keeli miss a meet due to sickness and Trey (Robertson)’s calf cramped up at Dordt. We talked Wednesday and I told the team that we need to get something done, and you’ve got to put yourself out there. They got themselves in good position early and ended up placing really high. That was a real feel-good thing. We always give this up to God. Today, He said, ‘yes’ to a lot of prayers.
“It was our best team race this year by far, but I still think we have more. I’m digging into it right now in terms of what training is going to look like next week.”
Women’s Summary
With Keeli Green leading the way, the Bulldogs (272 points in the team standings) made progress in relation to their GPAC rivals. The ninth-place team finish at the Blazing Tiger landed Concordia in front of both Morningside (10th) and Doane (12th), two GPAC foes that received votes in the most recent NAIA coaches’ poll. The Bulldogs also outkicked Hastings (24th). The top four team finishers are all ranked in the NAIA top 20: No. 9 College of Idaho, No. 13 University of Saint Mary (Kan.), No. 15 Kansas Wesleyan University and No. 19 Benedictine College (Kan.).
Said Beisel, “I think it’s going to be a dogfight on the women’s side in two weeks between us, College of Saint Mary, Morningside and Doane (with Dordt currently the top-ranked team). College of Saint Mary ran great today. It’s going to be interesting. We had some girls in our top five have PR’s and we had a couple others who basically tied their PR’s from Dordt. I think they are capable of doing better.”
Top Dawgs | 6K
3. Keeli Green: 21:34.52
40. Annaka Schlachter: 23:09.88
80. Alison Stepanek: 23:55.61
85. Ashley Robertson: 24:02.89
89. Lydia Edmonds: 24:06.86
96. Macee Ripke: 24:14.60
108. Izzi Brumbaugh: 24:32.71
117. Annika Staab: 24:43.41
123. Lilly Dall: 24:48.59
129. Rachel Harris: 24:55.05
The Arlington, Neb., native Green returned to the trails after sitting out the Holiday Inn Express Classic two weeks ago. She blazed to a 6k time of 21:34.52 (compared to her most recent 6k time of 22:03.31 at the Briar Cliff Invite) on Saturday and placed behind only Bellevue University’s Grace Steinmetz (20:48.03) and University of Saint Mary’s Josie Tyrrell (21:16.68). The next best finisher among GPAC runners checked in at 16th (College of Saint Mary’s Kara Muller). Green has now placed in the top 10 of each of her four meets this season.
The team’s top runner at the Dordt meet on Oct. 11, sophomore Annaka Schlachter (Grand Island, Neb.) continues to stack quality performances. She placed 40th at the Blazing Tiger in a time of 23:09.88, nearly identical to her most recent 6k. The rest of the team’s top five featured sophomore Alison Stepanek (23:55.61), freshman Ashley Robertson (24:02.89) and sophomore Lydia Edmonds (24:06.86).
Coming in six through 10 in Concordia’s lineup were junior Macee Ripke (24:14.60), freshman Izzi Brumbaugh (24:32.71), sophomore Annika Staab (24:43.41) and freshmen Lilly Dall (24:48.59) and Rachel Harris (24:55.05). In terms of eligibility, nine of the top 10 Bulldogs are either freshmen or sophomores. In another major development, senior Keegan Beisel (2024 All-GPAC) shaved more than a minute off her 6k time from three weeks ago as she crossed the finish line in 25:24.49 in Ashland.
Men’s Summary
The breakthrough performance for the 2024 NAIA All-American Hendrickson played a major role in the Bulldogs (161 points in the team standings) vaulting to No. 6 in the team race at the Blazing Tiger. Concordia placed above GPAC rivals in Morningside (15th) and Hastings (23rd) in a field noted for its strong competition from around the country. The top three finishers were NAIA top 15 teams: No. 11 University of Saint Mary (Kan.), No. 4 College of Idaho and No. 15 Doane. Hendrickson and company managed to beat out two NAIA “receiving votes” teams in Mount Mercy University (Iowa) (seventh) and Benedictine College (Kan.) (ninth).
Said Beisel, “A lot of good things happened. One of our top freshmen has been sick and went ahead and ran. He can help us out if he’s running well. I was really pleased … Vaughn was only a few seconds off his best time ever at nationals last year. I think we’re figuring out some things about the sort of volume he can handle. We had to adjust it quite a bit. That’s the key. He’s a guy who does all the right things. His legs are coming back, and he felt really, really good today. I think Trey’s right there. I think he’s got a much better race in him. Aidan Limback keeps getting better and Trevor Kuncl had his best race in a long time.”
Top Dawgs | 8K
3. Vaughn Hendrickson: 24:49.43
15. Trey Robertson: 25:10.53
22. Aidan Limback: 25:21.39
54. Trevor Kuncl: 25:57.93
79. Justin Sherman: 26:22.69
81. Ransom Watts: 26:23.52
86. Abram Chance: 26:30.85
118. Charlie Evans: 26:59.33
162. Jessup Pederson: 27:31.60
167. Cooper Schelkopf: 27:35.50
After a slow start to the fall, Hendrickson made a statement on Saturday by running the 8k in under 25 minutes, a time that is actually faster than what he ran (25:44.1) on the same course while winning the 2024 GPAC individual title. At the Blazing Tiger, Hendrickson placed behind only Columbia College (Mo.)’s Kalieb Redda (24:19.39) and Dickinson State University (N.D.)’s Caleb Sarsland (24:51.50). The next best GPAC competitor after Hendrickson was Doane’s Porter Brickley in eighth place.
The Bulldogs’ top runner at each of the previous four meets this season, junior Trey Robertson put together a strong performance while finishing 15th in a time of 25:10.53. Hot on his heels was fellow junior Aidan Limback, who placed 22nd (25:21.39). Robertson and Limback placed 22nd and 24th, respectively, at the Holiday Inn Express Classic. The team’s top five on Saturday also included senior Trevor Kuncl (25:57.93) and junior Justin Sherman (26:22.69). Kuncl improved by more than 30 seconds compared to the previous outing.
The remainder of Concordia’s top 10 was youthful. Junior Ransom Watts led that pack in a time of 26:23.52. He was followed by freshmen Abram Chance (26:30.85) and Charlie Evans (26:59.33), sophomore Jessup Pederson (27:31.60) and freshman Cooper Schelkopf (27:35.50). Many of those Bulldogs were right in line with their times from the Holiday Inn Express Classic.
Up Next
The 2025 GPAC Cross Country Championships are up next on the schedule. The Bulldogs will be right back at Mahoney State Park for the conference meet, which is scheduled to get underway at 10:45 a.m. CT on Saturday, Nov. 8. Concordia emerged from the 2024 GPAC Championships with place finishes of third on the men’s side and fourth on the women’s side.