SIOUX CENTER, Iowa – In one of the best and most competitive track & field conferences, Concordia University, Nebraska Track & Field emerged with two third-place team finishes. The highlights of the 2026 GPAC Indoor Track & Field Championships (Feb. 20-21) for the Bulldogs included four separate GPAC event titles and a meet record for both Jonny The Jet Jurchen and Adrianna Rodencal. Additionally, conference champion Adysen McCarter again reset her school triple jump record. The meet was hosted in Sioux Center, Iowa, by Dordt.
Head Coach Matt Beisel’s squads finished with point totals of 113 on the men’s side and 90 on the women’s side. Concordia managed to distance itself significantly from the fourth-place teams with the help of GPAC championships won by the men’s 4x800-meter relay, Jurchen in the racewalk, McCarter in the triple jump and Rodencal in the 60 hurdles.
“We knew it was going to be tough to break into the top two and third was never guaranteed,” Beisel said. “We were able to score plenty of points and solidify ourselves as top three. It was one of the higher scores our guys have put together for indoor in a while, so we’re gaining ground. The throws came through strong on both sides. Pole vault was really good and the running events, hurdles, sprints, relays went really well. To have Ady hit another school record was very cool. I could go on and on. It was a full team effort. All the different pieces contributed.”
After sweeping GPAC Women’s Athlete of the Meet honors in 2025, Rodencal strategically took on a lighter load at this year’s conference indoor meet. On Saturday, the Lincoln Lutheran alum ran 60-meter hurdles times of 8.42 in the prelims and 8.44 in the finals. Both times broke her own GPAC indoor meet record of 8.49 from a year ago. In this go-round, the 11-time GPAC champion Rodencal also placed fifth in the 200 meters (25.36) and capped the meet by helping the 4x400-meter relay to a third-place finish (3:57.09). She was joined on the relay by McCarter, Tayden Kirchner and Kayla Kirchner (a sixth-place finisher in the open 400 meters).
A first-time GPAC champion, McCarter scored 11 points thanks to her efforts in the triple and long jumps. The Overton, Neb., native landed at 39’ 6” in the triple jump while surpassing her school record. The women’s side of the jumps yielded additional lofty conference placements for Makenna Starkey (second in the high jump) and Hayley Miles (third in the long jump). Kiki Nyanok also placed sixth in the long jump. Starkey holds an NAIA auto mark in the high jump.
Currently No. 2 on the NAIA 3,000-meter racewalk list, Jurchen produced Concordia’s first GPAC title of the day. The Jet crossed the finish line in 12:43.38 for a meet record and his third career conference racewalk championship. He was followed in the event by teammates Jack Habegger (13:35.86) and Luke Hammang (14:12.51) in second and third place, respectively. On the women’s side, Hannah Beintema finished the racewalk in 19:39.26 (currently top 20 in the NAIA).
The men’s 4x8 put 10 team points on the board when it clocked in at 7:52.41. The group featured Keith Siek, Trenton Kumm, Lucas Corwin and Justin Sherman. Corin and Kumm also contributed to the 4x4 (along with Avery Eaves and Grant Kehren) that placed fifth in a time of 3:26.70. Meanwhile, the women’s 4x8 finished fourth (9:50.30) and was made up of Landri Loos, Ashley Robertson, Claire Beikmann and Rachel Harris. In open events, Corwin placed fifth in the 600 meters, Jessup Pederson finished fourth in the 1,000 meters and Aidan Limback landed fifth in the 5,000 meters.
Said Beisel of the championship 4x8, “They were happy, but they were hoping to get that 7:51 a little bit lower and solidify their chance of going to nationals. We’ll have to see how that shakes out. We have a lot of depth on the guys’ side in the 800. Keith Siek led off with a strong leg and got us in good position from the start and Justin Sherman was able to power past the Dordt guy and pull off the win. Really gutsy performance form those guys.”
A freshman from Tomball, Texas, Avery Eaves led the men’s team in point scoring as he placed second in two individual events: the 60 and 200 meters. Eaves ran a PR of 6.84 in the finals of the 60 dash (.01 off the school record) and just missed the NAIA provisional standard. Eaves then ran 22.35 in the 200 meters. Teammate Xavier Marburger backed Eaves in the 60 meters by placing fourth (6.95).
The weight throw proved fruitful for the Bulldogs, which went 2-3-8 – Josiah Edwards, Nathan Baldwin and Thomas Thomas – on the men’s side and 2-7-8 – Harper Boche, Marissa Heins and Brittni Kinne – on the women’s side. Edwards produced a personal best (60’ 5 ¼”) that moved him up the national list. In addition, Nathan Baldwin hit PRs in the weight throw (59’ 7”) and shot put (53’ 3 ½”) that give him a chance at qualifying for nationals in both events. Baldwin also placed third in the GPAC in the shot put. As for Boche, she recorded a personal best in the weight throw (B standard of 55’ 11”) and was the women’s highest finisher in the shot put (sixth; 42’ 5 ½”).
Other not previously mentioned GPAC runners up from Concordia included Braxton Borer in the 60 hurdles and Jax Jacobson in the pole vault. Both events were good to the Bulldogs, who had the second and third place finishers in the men’s 60 hurdles (with Hayden Kluthe in third) and in the men’s pole vault (with Evan Hill in third). Jacobson again cleared 15 feet (15’ 3”) in a stellar effort. Concordia also came away with three all-conference placements on the women’s side of the vault (with Kayla Svoboda’s sixth-place finish leading the way).
A Bulldog finished third in both of the multi-event competitions as Hank Moore (4,772 points) excelled in the heptathlon and Addie Reimer (3,050 points) starred in the pentathlon. Moore stood in first place at the conclusion of day one of the meet (after four events scored). Concordia earned a total of five All-GPAC placements in the combined events.
In providing some final thoughts, Beisel stated, “No matter how we ended up doing, we’ve been so blessed with an incredible group of friends and teammates and coaches who give so much. All of it is by the good grace of God, so all glory to Him. That’s very important to recognize because we couldn’t do any of this without God.”
2026 GPAC Indoor Champions
· Lucas Corwin: 4x800-meter relay (7:52.41)
· Jonny Jurchen: 3,000-meter racewalk (12:43.38)
· Trenton Kumm: 4x800-meter relay (7:52.41)
· Adysen McCarter: triple jump (39’ 6”)
· Adrianna Rodencal: 60-meter hurdles (8.42-prelims; 8.44-finals)
· Keith Siek: 4x800-meter relay (7:52.41)
· Justin Sherman: 4x800-meter relay (7:52.41)
NOTE: Individuals who place in the top eight and relays that place in the top three garner GPAC All-Conference awards. A complete list of Concordia’s all-conference honorees will be released online next week.
Official national qualifiers will be announced next week by the NAIA. For the qualifiers, the next stop on the journey will be Gainesville, Fla., site of the 2026 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships. The national championship meet will run March 5-7 from the Alachua County Sports & Events Center at Celebration Pointe.