SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The gun went off on the start of the 2025 season on Friday (Sept. 5) with Concordia University, Nebraska Cross Country making some noise of its own. At the annual Augustana Twilight contested after sunset, the Bulldogs outran all of their GPAC rivals and nearly all NAIA competition in the largescale event. Overall, the Concordia men placed fourth out of 25 teams and the Bulldog women finished eighth out of 26 squads. Keeli Green and Trey Robertson starred for their respective sides.
The meet marked the beginning of year 10 for Matt Beisel as head coach. In the ’25 season opener, his teams scored point totals of 168 on the men’s side and 237 points on the women’s side. The effort and attitude of both teams left Beisel pleased following outing No. 1.
“Our big focus this year is on finding joy each day being with each other, giving glory to God and letting the outcomes take care of themselves,” Beisel said. “At the same time, we want to find a balance. We have work to do and we have some things to accomplish. Don’t let that be something you fear. We’re going to do this together. I feel like our teams were in a good mindset going into this race. Not quite half our team is brand new. They just went out and ran beautifully, and I’m so proud of all of them and thankful to God that we were able to have a night like this.”
As usual, the Augustana Twilight featured a women’s 5,000-meter race followed by a men’s four-mile race. The 2025 meet included 319 women’s and 394 men’s athletes and was staged at Yankton Trail Park in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Women’s Summary
In her return to competition, Keeli Green burst out of the gates by placing as the top finisher outside of NCAA Division I runners. Green and the next six Bulldogs across the finish line each completed the 5k race in under 20 minutes. Collectively, they helped Concordia outpace all GPAC squads in the field, including Morningside (10th), Doane (12th), Northwestern (15th) and Midland (24th).
Said Beisel, “Keeli’s goal was to break 18 minutes. We were pretty convinced with how she’s been running in practice that she could do it. How far under was a big question mark. She found herself right up in the front of the pack. At 1,000 meters, she was sort of shocked, but she felt really good and kept hammering away. For Concordia, that was a course record at the Augustana Twilight. Then we had Annaka Schlachter and Ashley Robertson run gigantic personal bests and four more girls were under 20 minutes … I’m super proud of everybody. That was a good starting point. It’s going to give us a lot of confidence.”
Top Dawgs – 5k
4. Keeli Green: 17:31.9
51. Annaka Schlachter: 18:54.4
56. Ashley Robertson: 18:58.8
89. Alison Stepanek: 19:25.0
117. Macee Ripke: 19:50.7
118. Lilly Dall: 19:50.7
119. Rachel Harris: 19:52.0
131. Lydia Edmonds: 20:03.1
132. Izzi Brumbaugh: 20:03.2
147. Claire Beikmann: 20:10.6
A native of Arlington, Neb., Green far exceeded her performance at the 2023 Augustana Twilight when she placed 23rd in a 5k time of 18:35.95. Green slashed a full minute off that effort with an eye-popping 17:31.9 on Friday night (best ever for a Bulldog at Yankton Trail Park, as noted by Beisel). The result showed Green is well ahead of schedule compared to her freshman season when she took third place at the GPAC Championships.
Two of her teammates also came in under 19 minutes as sophomore Annaka Schlachter ran 18:54.4 and freshman Ashley Robertson clocked in at 18:58.8. A Grand Island native, Schlachter cut more than 30 seconds off her time from the 2024 Augie Twilight. The team’s top five in Sioux Falls on Friday was rounded out by sophomore Alison Stepanek (19:25.0) and Concordia University Ann Arbor transfer Macee Ripke (19:50.7).
The 6 through 10 finishers in the Concordia lineup were freshmen Lilly Dall (19:50.7) and Rachel Harris (19:52.0), sophomore Lydia Edmonds (20:03.1), freshman Izzi Brumbaugh (20:03.2) and junior Claire Beikmann (20:10.6). Past GPAC All-Conference runner Hannah Beintema came in next in line as she ran 20:25.31. There were 22 total Bulldog runners in the Augie Twilight field.
In defeating Doane, the Bulldogs outran a squad that received votes in the NAIA preseason poll. Of the seven squads that placed in front of Concordia, one is an NCAA Division I team and five are affiliated with NCAA Division II. NAIA Dakota State University (S.D.) placed two spots in front of Concordia.
Men’s Summary
When last cross country season ended, Trey Robertson and Vaughn Hendrickson were neck and neck at the top of the Bulldog pack. They continued to lead the way as Concordia produced encouraging results on the opening day of the 2025 season. Most notably from a team perspective, the Bulldogs upset NAIA 14th-ranked Doane (177 points) as they totaled 168 points in the team standings. The only teams that placed higher were NCAA Division I or II squads in South Dakota State University, Augustana University and Minnesota State University – Mankato.
Said Beisel, “It felt great to beat all the GPAC schools. Doane is very formidable. They have a really good program and are something to be reckoned with. Our guys were happy to be in the running there tonight. We had almost every guy run under 23 minutes and most ran in the 21s or faster. That was a fantastic start. Vaughn Hendrickson didn’t feel that well, but he kept hammering away. Aidan Limback has continued to develop. That was his fastest race. Trevor Kuncl had a setback in the summer and for him to run 20:18 was great. Ransom Watts continues to get better and our freshmen did great. We had a solid core of guys get work done.”
Top Dawgs – 4 miles
15. Trey Robertson: 19:22.8
40. Vaughn Hendrickson: 19:51.0
51. Aidan Limback: 19:58.4
77. Trevor Kuncl: 20:18.2
83. Ransom Watts: 20:20.8
87. Abe Chance: 20:21.8
116. Charlie Evans: 20:41.7
137. Cooper Schelkopf: 20:52.6
152. Jarrett Miles: 21:00.4
157. Justin Sherman: 21:02.3
Hendrickson emerged from his freshman season of 2024 as the GPAC champion and an NAIA All-American while Robertson claimed conference runner-up status. Both Bulldogs ran similar four-mile times as they did a year ago in Sioiux Falls. Meanwhile, junior Aidan Limback was a mover and a shaker as he crossed the finish line in under 20 minutes (19:58.4), more than 45 seconds faster compared to the ’24 Augie Twilight. The West Des Moines, Iowa, native narrowly missed out on all-conference honors last season.
The next Concordia finishers in the top five were senior Trevor Kuncl (20:18.2) and junior Ransom Watts (20:20.8). Each of the team’s top six, including freshman Abe Chance (20:21.8) placed inside the top 100 on the overall leaderboard. Kuncl is one of four seniors on the roster and is as experienced as any Bulldog competitor.
Chance began a string of three straight freshmen. Next in line for Concordia were rookies Charlie Evans (20:41.7) and Cooper Schelkopf (20:52.6). Also in the team’s top 10, sophomore Jarrett Miles (21:00.4) and junior Justin Sherman (21:02.3) finished within two seconds of each other. A total of 30 Bulldogs navigated the trail at the Augie Twilight.
Picked third in the GPAC preseason poll, Concordia did not receive votes in the NAIA coaches’ poll released on Aug. 22. The Bulldogs made a strong case for an at-large bid to nationals last season before coming up short. Hendrickson and Robertson both qualified individually.
Up next
The 2025 season will resume in two weeks as the Bulldogs look ahead to the Greeno/Dirksen Invite scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 20. The meet is slated to get underway at 10 a.m. CT on that date from Mahoney Golf Course in Lincoln, Neb.