SEWARD, Neb. – For their performances at the 2022 GPAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, 46 Bulldogs were recognized as all-conference athletes in one or more events. All-GPAC awards are handed out to the top eight place finishers in individual events and to athletes who contribute to relays that place within the top three at the conference championships. Honors for the 2022 GPAC track season were officially announced by the conference on Thursday (Feb. 24). The complete list of Concordia All-GPAC athletes can be found at bottom.
After leading the Concordia University Women’s Track & Field program to a sixth-straight GPAC title, Head Coach Matt Beisel was selected as the 2022 Jim McMahon GPAC Women’s Indoor Coach of the Year. Beisel has been named the GPAC Coach of the Year six times for track and field and once for cross country. At last week’s conference championship meet, the women claimed the title while winning six GPAC event titles and racking up 194.5 points. Meanwhile, the men placed fourth with a total of 67 points.
Following another record-breaking performance, Josie Puelz was honored with the 2022 GPAC Indoor Women’s Field Performance of the Meet. In the process of winning her third career GPAC pole vault title, Puelz cleared 13’ 5” at the 2022 conference meet. That mark represented both a school record and GPAC meet record. The Lincoln Lutheran High School alum now owns school records in both the indoor and outdoor pole vault and holds GPAC conference meet indoor and outdoor records. Her all-time best in the pole vault was 13’ 7 ¼” at the 2021 conference outdoor meet.
The all-conference list below includes additional 2022 GPAC indoor champions in Zach Bennetts (pole vault), Morgan De Jong (weight throw), Rylee Haecker (mile and 1,000 meters) and Jordan Koepke (600 meters). Conference runner-up placements were claimed by the men’s 4x400 meter relay, the women’s 4x400 meter relay, the women’s 4x800 meter relay, Jordyn Anderson (shot put), Rachel Battershell (400 meters), Kylahn Heritage (mile), Erin Mapson (pole vault), Sarah Ragland (weight throw) and Amy Richert (pentathlon). Like Puelz, Richert broke a school record. Her point total of 3,479 in the pentathlon is a new program standard.
Seventeen Bulldogs garnered all-conference recognition in multiple events. The individual point scorers on the women’s side were Haecker and Richert with 20 apiece. De Jong and Sarah Lewis both contributed 11 points. On the men’s side, Bennetts and Calvin Rohde paced the squad with 10 points each while Chris Wren was close behind with nine.
On Friday, the NAIA will officially announce qualifiers for the 2022 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships. The national meet will be staged at the Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex in Brookings, S.D., March 3-5.
2022 GPAC Indoor Track & Field All-Conference Award Winners
MEN
· Andy Amos – weight throw (7th)
· Zach Bennetts – pole vault (1st)
· Cameron Gray – 4x800m relay (3rd)
· Ethan Ideus – 4x800m relay (3rd)
· Jacob Jennings – 4x400m relay (2nd); 400 meters (5th)
· Cade Kleckner – 4x400m relay (2nd); 200 meters (7th)
· Wyatt Loga – high jump (4th)
· Colton Meyer – 4x400m relay (2nd); 400 meters (8th)
· Sam Plante – 4x800m relay (3rd)
· Joel Rathe – long jump (8th)
· Calvin Rohde – 1,000 meters (4th); mile (4th)
· Xavier Ross – 4x400m relay (2nd); 400 meters (7th)
· Darien Semedo – shot put (8th)
· Camden Sesna – 3,000 meters (3rd)
· Micah Willweber – 4x800m relay (3rd)
· Chris Wren – weight throw (3rd); shot put (6th)
WOMEN
· Brittney Aitken – 60 meters (5th)
· Jordyn Anderson – shot put (2nd)
· Elena Batenhorst – pentathlon (6th)
· Rachel Battershell – 400 meters (2nd); 4x400m relay (2nd); 200 meters (8th)
· Keri Bauer – 600 meters (5th)
· Erin Boggs – pole vault (6th)
· Kaylee Boyle – pentathlon (8th)
· Morgan De Jong – weight throw (1st); shot put (8th)
· Gabby Diamond – triple jump (3rd)
· Abigail Gerber – shot put (3rd)
· Rylee Haecker – 1,000 meters (1st); mile (1st)
· Kylahn Heritage – mile (2nd); 1,000 meters (6th)
· Rhaya Kaschinske – 4x800m relay (2nd)
· Jordan Koepke – 600 meters (1st); 4x400m relay (2nd)
· Sarah Lewis – 4x400m relay (2nd); 60 hurdles (3rd); 400 meters (4th)
· Emily Loseke – 400 meters (6th)
· Erin Mapson – pole vault (2nd)
· Hannah Newton – high jump (6th)
· Grace Oberg – 4x800m relay (2nd); 600 meters (8th)
· Cora Olson – 200 meters (4th); triple jump (8th)
· Jacee Pfeifer – 600 meters (6th)
· Josie Puelz – pole vault (1st)
· Sarah Ragland – weight throw (2nd)
· Sydney Reichert – pole vault (5th)
· Grace Reiman – 1,000 meters (7th)
· Amy Richert – pentathlon (2nd); high jump (4th); long jump (5th); 60 hurdles (6th)
· Kaia Richmond – 4x800m relay (2nd)
· Katie Severt – triple jump (7th); long jump (8th)
· Trinity Tuls – 4x400m relay (2nd)
· Faith Williamson – 4x800m relay (2nd); 800 meters (8th)