SIOUX CENTER, Iowa – A grueling middle-of-the-season stretch is complete for Concordia University, Nebraska Cross Country. In action for the third consecutive weekend, the Bulldogs came away from Saturday (Oct. 10)’s Dordt Holiday Inn Express Classic with place finishes of sixth out of 13 on the women’s side and fifth out of 13 on the men’s side. The meet featured four total races with Gold and Black Division competitions held for women and men. Each team entered 10 runners into the Gold Division field.
Head Coach Matt Beisel’s teams were led individually by freshman Hope Beck and junior Vaughn Hendrickson, the most recent GPAC Runners of the Week. Beisel saw continued progress while putting his athletes up against strong GPAC and regional opposition. It was another early morning getaway.
“We’ve been talking a lot at practice about the real reasons we do this,” Beisel said. “We have talent, ability and a lot of dedicated athletes putting in hard work. We also have goals of making nationals and placing well at conference. At the same time, we want to maintain a healthy perspective by keeping our eyes on Christ and giving Him glory, regardless of the outcome. We know He is the one helping us accomplish what we do and leading us where we need to go. I think our mindset is in a good place. We went in with some good goals and accomplished part of what we wanted.”
Women’s Summary
Among GPAC teams in the field at Dordt, Concordia placed fourth behind NAIA No. 1 Dordt (25 points), College of Saint Mary (receiving votes nationally) and No. 15 Doane. The Bulldogs finished with a team score of 165 in the Gold Division, placing in front of conference rivals Northwestern (seventh), Morningside (10th) and Waldorf (12th). Also landing inside the top five were NAIA 10th-ranked Benedictine College (Kan.) and NCAA Division II South Dakota Mines.
Said Beisel, “We had a very good team race. If I did the math correctly, there were only 45 seconds between our first and fifth runners, and not much more between our first and seventh. That’s really important. I did make a strategic error. Knowing this was one of the smaller meets we’ll compete in, I told the women not to go out too slowly but also not to panic. I encouraged them to get into the front running group because I thought we would have enough room to move up on the course … We needed our front runners up there with the other teams’ front runners. Overall, I’m super happy with how the girls ran. That’s my biggest takeaway.”
The reigning GPAC Runner of the Week, Beck is now 4-for-4 in terms of leading the Concordia pack at each meet this season. The star freshman clocked a 6K time of 23:03.5 on Saturday, representing an improvement of nearly 30 seconds compared to last week in South Sioux City, Neb. Beck has headlined a sterling freshman class that has served as the team’s frontrunners. Beck was followed on Saturday by fellow rookies Katie Johnson (23:34.5; 36th), Rachel Prince (23:38.7; 39th) and Amanda Smith (23:42.1). Between the four, the states of Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota and Nebraska are each represented.
Coming in 45th place out of 118 total runners in the Gold Division, sophomore Ashley Robertson also clocked in under 24 minutes (23:48.6). Meanwhile, senior Macee Ripke placed just outside the top 50 (24:03.4). The team’s six through 10 runners were sophomore Izzi Brumbaugh (24:11.9), junior Annaka Schlachter (24:14.2) and freshmen Lottie Hamre (25:21.2) and Elle Badstieber (25:27.2).
Top Dawgs | 6K (Gold Division)
19. Hope Beck: 23:03.5
36. Katie Johnsen: 23:34.5
39. Rachel Prince: 23:38.7
42. Amanda Smith: 23:42.1
45. Ashley Robertson: 23:48.6
51. Macee Ripke: 24:03.4
56. Izzi Brumbaugh: 24:11.9
57. Annaka Schlachter: 24:14.2
88. Lottie Hamre: 25:21.2
90. Elle Badstieber: 25:27.2
In the Black Division of the Dordt meet, sophomore Rachel Harris placed ninth (out of 84) in a time of 24:49.2. Junior Annika Staab clocked in at 25:27.8 and placed 19th. Twenty-four Bulldogs competed between the two races. Concordia placed second out of six teams that were scored in the Black Division.
Men’s Summary
The Concordia men placed third among the six GPAC teams in the Holiday Inn Express Classic field. Ranked 18th nationally, Dordt won its home meet with a point total of 49. Next in line were Doane (81), South Dakota Mines (84), Benedictine College (Kan.) (104) and Concordia (112). Both Doane and Benedictine received votes in the latest NAIA coaches’ poll. The Bulldogs managed to defeat Northwestern (sixth), Mount Marty (seventh) and Midland (ninth).
Said Beisel, “We had five or six guys in that top-20 group for quite a while, and we maintained those positions. Vaughn ran a really great race and was right in the hunt. I think our strategy worked on the men’s side. We just had a couple of pieces that didn’t have their best day. That gives us something to be hungry for, and I think we all recognize that we’re capable of competing at that level. It wasn’t perfect, but we got some good things out of it.”
There was some shuffling in the Concordia lineup, which was led by standouts in junior Vaughn Hendrickson (25:32.6) and senior Trey Robertson (25:53.1), who placed eighth and 14th, respectively, in the Gold Division. It was a strong follow-up for Hendrickson, who was named the GPAC Runner of the Week after running 26:19.5 at the Briar Cliff Invite. They were joined in the team’s top five by seniors Justin Sherman (26:32.7) and Ransom Watts (26:33.9) and sophomore Keith Siek (26:39.0).
There was a spread of roughly 22 seconds between Concordia’s three through eight runners. Siek was followed closely by sophomore Abram Chance (26:43.2), senior Aidan Limback (26:49.3), freshman Hector Bonilla (26:50.9) and junior Jessup Pederson (26:54.0). The team’s Gold Division roster was rounded out by junior Mark Bultemeier (27:44.9).
Top Dawgs | 8K (Gold Division)
8. Vaughn Hendrickson: 25:32.6
14. Trey Robertson: 25:53.1
29. Justin Sherman: 26:32.7
30. Ransom Watts: 26:33.9
34. Keith Siek: 26:39.0
35. Abram Chance: 26:43.2
36. Aidan Limback: 26:49.3
38. Hector Bonilla: 26:50.9
40. Jessup Pederson: 26:54.0
67. Mark Bultemeier: 27:44.9
In the Black Division, Ethan Theilen paced the Bulldogs by running 27:58.2. He finished in 20th place out of 106 competitors. Concordia was represented by 29 runners between the two races. The Bulldogs placed fourth out of five teams that were scored in the Black Division.
Up Next
After three straight weekends of action, the Bulldogs will take next week off from competition. They will gear up for the Blazing Tiger Classic (Oct. 24) co-hosted by College of Saint Mary and Doane. The location will be Mahoney State Park in Ashland, Neb., with race time at 10 a.m. CT.