SEWARD, Neb. – The outdoor season is upon Concordia University, Nebraska Track & Field. The Bulldogs will compete in Saturday’s Central Nebraska Challenge, co-hosted by the University of Nebraska-Kearney and Hastings, as the 2026 season’s first full-scale meet. Though the new campaign, is just getting started, the GPAC Championships (May 1-2) are just over a month away. Between now and then, Head Coach Matt Beisel’s squads are slated to be represented at six regular season meets.
Central Nebraska Challenge
Saturday (March 28) | Kearney HS (Kearney, Neb.)
--Meet Schedule (PDF) | Live Results
--Live Webcast: MIAA Network
A detailed outdoor season preview can be found HERE. All-American race walker Jonny Jurchen got a jumpstart on the ’26 outdoor season by competing at last week’s Viking Relays hosted by Grand View University. Jurchen clocked a new personal best of 22:28.39 in the 5,000-meter race walk. That time places Jurchen at No. 2 on the program’s all-time list, behind only Chris Tegtmeier.
The 2025-26 indoor season concluded with three Bulldogs earning All-American medals as Nathan Baldwin placed third in the weight throw, Jurchen placed sixth in the 3,000-meter race walk and Adrianna Rodencal reached the mountaintop while winning the 60-meter hurdles. Both Jurchen and Rodencal broke school records with their performances in the finals. Concordia placed third at the GPAC Indoor Championships for both men and women. The team placements at the NAIA Indoor Championships were tied for 31st on the women’s side and tied for 33rd on the men’s side.
The Central Nebraska Challenge is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday with throwing events. The meet is slated to wrap up around 8 p.m.
Following this Saturday’s meet, the Bulldogs will look forward to hosting the Concordia Invite on April 2-3. It will be one of two outdoor home meets this season. The meet schedule can be found HERE.