Brooks reaches new heights, Bulldogs produce four fresh 'A' marks

By Jacob Knabel on Jan. 31, 2020 in Track & Field

MEET RESULTS

SEWARD, Neb. – A few days after checking in with No. 2 national rankings for both men and women, the Concordia University track and field programs backed up the hype. Senior Allie Brooks rose to new heights, freshman Colton Meyer starred and Bulldog athletes combined for 10 event titles and 11 performances that met the automatic national qualifying standard while hosting the Concordia Classic (Jan. 30-31). It marked the third home meet this indoor season.

The national qualifying marks are piling up for head coach Matt Beisel’s athletes, who recently earned two NAIA National Athlete of the Week awards. There’s no doubting this is a powerhouse program.

“I’m just humbled by it,” Beisel said. “All of this great stuff comes from so many moving pieces working together. None of it could happen without God being a huge part of that. I’m aware of it every day. This is an awesome thing to be a part of. I feel like there’s huge momentum continuing to build. It didn’t just start today. These are the fruits of three years of recruiting classes and decades of building a culture. So many people have worked so hard over the years.”

Two Bulldogs broke school records they had already held: Brooks in the pole vault and Adrianna Shaw in the weight throw. The confidence has fully returned for Brooks, who has taken over the NAIA national lead with her clearance of 13’ ¼” on Friday. With that effort, she became the first female vaulter in school history to crack 13 feet.

The record she previously held had been three years old. It took some time and some struggles to return to such an elite level. Said Brooks, “It was crazy. It was amazing. I’ve dreamed of clearing 13 feet for a very long time so it felt pretty good. It’s surreal for sure.”

Meyer, a product of Lincoln Lutheran High School, will be one to keep an eye on moving forward. He felt like he had something to prove in his rookie season after an injury sidelined him during his senior year of high school. He locked up his spot at nationals with a brand new automatic standard of 8.21 in the 60 meter hurdles, good for first place.

Meyer clearly brings a lot of energy, as evidenced by the excitement shown when he and his 4x400 meter relay teammates closed the Concordia Classic by clocking a fresh national qualifying time of 3:20.47. He was joined in the race by sophomore Xavier Ross, freshman Camden Miller and junior Christian Van Cleave. Said Beisel, “If you saw Colton Meyer jumping around afterwards, I think he physically captured how I feel every time we find out a new mark has been set.”

Said Meyer, “I really wanted a little bit of redemption (in regards to the injury). Our coaches have been great though. They’ve been really understanding about it all. It healed a lot over the summer. It’s worked out so well.”

Others who have now guaranteed spots at nationals include the women’s distance medley relay and Sarah Ragland in the weight throw. The Bulldogs did not have any competition in the DMR, but still galloped to a time of 12:26.04 thanks to the legs of Rebekah Hinrichs, Sarah Lewis, Alyssa Fye and Kylahn Heritage. Meanwhile, Ragland was one of three Concordia women to eclipse the ‘A’ standard in the weight throw.

Shaw proved her efforts last week were no fluke in breaking the school weight throw record in back-to-back weeks. She won the event by nearly six feet with her mark of 62’ 9 ¼.” She also went past 46 feet in the shot put (third place) once again.

Fresh ‘B’ marks were turned in by Jamey Broman (long jump), Lewis (60 meter hurdles) and Jacee Pfeifer (pole vault). Others not previously mentioned who repeated automatic national qualifying performances were Jacob Cornelio (weight throw), Morgan De Jong (weight throw), Gavin DeHaai (pole vault) and Josie Puelz (pole vault). Cornelio continues to lead the nation in the weight throw while DeHaai and Puelz sit third in their respective crafts.

In addition to the first-place finishes of the women’s DMR and Meyer, four others won races on the track: Lydia Cook (5,000 meters), Heritage (3,000 meters), Lewis (hurdles) and Jordan Lorenz (3,000 meters). In the multi-events, Kennedy Mogul (3,230 points; first place) and Jeremiah Reeser (4,252 points; second place) went past the minimum qualifying standard. Reeser did so for the first time this season.

There were plenty of other fine performances by the Bulldogs. Beisel continues to like what he sees with his distance and middle distance runners. And even though he competes for Doane, it’s worth noting that Tyce Hruza cleared an incredible 17’ 8 ½” in the pole vault to break a longstanding program record.

Brooks and Hruza both put on a show. Said Beisel of Brooks, “She’s done the hard part and has worked her way back. She’s going beyond what she’s ever done and we’re all so proud of Allie. She’s a true representation of what it is to be a Concordia Bulldog.”

The indoor season will continue next week with the Fred Beile Invite (Feb. 7-8) hosted by Doane and the Sevigne Husker Invite (Feb. 8) hosted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The Bulldogs will host one final time during indoor when the Concordia Invite is held Feb. 14. The conference championships are just three weeks away.