SEWARD, Neb. – After six weekends of regular season action, members of the Concordia University Track & Field program are gearing up for the 2022 GPAC Indoor Track & Field Championships. The conference indoor meet is headed back to Doane for the first time since 2018. Head Coach Matt Beisel’s squads are coming off 2021 GPAC indoor placements of first on the women’s side and third on the men’s side. The Bulldog women’s program has won each of the past five GPAC championship meets, a run that began with the 2019 indoor season.
Fans who plan to attend the meet this Friday and Saturday must pre-purchase online tickets in order to be admitted. The link to purchase tickets can be found below.
MEET INFO
2022 GPAC Indoor Track & Field Championships
Friday/Saturday, Feb. 18-19
Fuhrer Field House | Crete, Neb.
Event Schedule (PDF)
Live Coverage
--Video Streams:
Friday combined events
Heptathlon/running events/high jump/pole vault
Long jump/triple jump/shot put/weight throw
--Results: Black Squirrel
--Admission: $10 for adults/senior citizens, $3 for K-12; only those with NAIA passes and GPAC student ID’s will be admitted free of charge.
**TICKETS MUST BE PURCHASED ONLINE
So far this indoor season, Concordia athletes have combined for 20 performances that have met the automatic national qualifying standard. Rylee Haecker, Sarah Lewis and Calvin Rohde have each qualified for nationals in multiple individual events. Based on this season’s marks, the Bulldogs garnered NAIA national ratings index positions of No. 2 on the women’s side and No. 20 on the men’s side (released by the USTFCCCA last week). In last week’s ratings, the GPAC was well-represented in the top 25 with five men’s teams and four women’s teams making appearances. All four women’s teams were ranked among the top seven of the NAIA.
Between men and women, the Bulldogs boast 41 marks that rank among the top five of the GPAC across all event groupings. That list includes conference leaders in the women’s 4x400 meter relay, Zach Bennetts (pole vault), Chase Berry (pole vault), Rylee Haecker (1,000 meters), Hannah Newton (high jump), Josie Puelz (pole vault), Sarah Ragland (weight throw) and Amy Richert (high jump). The following Concordia athletes rank No. 2 in the GPAC: the men’s distance medley relay, Haecker (800 meters), Kylahn Heritage (mile), Sarah Lewis (400 meters and 60 hurdles), Erin Mapson (pole vault) and Cora Olson (200 meters).
At the 2021 GPAC indoor meet hosted by Dordt, the following Bulldogs earned GPAC titles: Rachel Battershell (400 meters), Morgan De Jong (weight throw), Heritage (1,000 meters) and Cody Williams (heptathlon). A two-time NAIA national champion, Battershell has collected eight career GPAC event championships (including relays). Twelve Concordia athletes on the current roster have taken home a first-place medal at the conference meet. That group features pole vaulters Erin Mapson and Josie Puelz, who are the clear favorites in that event. The Bulldogs expect to stack points in the pole vault, in the relays and in the weight throw, among other areas.
The Concordia men’s program last celebrated a GPAC title at the 2015 conference outdoor meet. The Bulldogs swept GPAC men’s indoor and outdoor championships in 2014. Since then, Doane has been a dominant force on the men’s side. However, Dordt broke up Doane’s stranglehold on the top spot in the conference by taking the title in 2021. At the 2021 GPAC indoor championships, the Concordia women racked up 217 points while running away from second-place Hastings (137). The Dordt men’s winning point total rested at 184, beating out second-place Doane (152).
During the GPAC era (2000-present), Concordia Track & Field has totaled a combined 12 team conference championships. The program has also produced 26 runner-up team finishes over that same stretch. Beisel has been awarded GPAC Women’s Coach of the Year honors following each of the past five conference titles won by the Bulldog women. The most recent GPAC Athletes of the Year for Concordia were Rachel Battershell (2020 indoor) on the women’s side and Cody Williams (2019 outdoor) on the men’s side.
Once the GPAC championships are in the books, focus will shift to the 2022 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships (March 3-5). The Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex in Brookings, S.D., will be the venue for the national meet for the third time. For additional meet info, check out the NAIA track and field page HERE.
Concordia all-time conference titles
MEN – indoor: 2014 | outdoor: 2014, 2015
WOMEN – indoor: 2010, 2019, 2020, 2021 | outdoor: 1998, 2010, 2012, 2019, 2021
Concordia all-time conference runner-up finishes
MEN – indoor: 2003, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019 | outdoor: 2002, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017
WOMEN – indoor: 2003, 2005, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2016 | outdoor: 2005, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Current Bulldogs with GPAC titles
Rachel Battershell – 8 (2021 outdoor 400 hurdles; 2021 outdoor 4x400m relay; 2021 indoor 400 meters; 2020 indoor 60 hurdles; 2020 indoor 400 meters; 2020 indoor 4x400m relay; 2019 indoor 4x400m relay; 2019 outdoor 400 meters)
Keri Bauer – 1 (2021 outdoor 4x400m relay)
Morgan De Jong – 1 (2021 weight throw)
Kylahn Heritage – 2 (2021 indoor 1,000 meters); 2020 indoor 3,000 meters)
Jacob Jennings – 1 (2021 outdoor 4x100m relay)
Cade Kleckner – 1 (2021 outdoor 4x100m relay)
Sarah Lewis – 3 (2021 outdoor 4x400m relay; 2020 indoor 4x400m relay; 2019 indoor 4x400m relay)
Erin Mapson – 1 (2019 outdoor pole vault)
Colton Meyer – 1 (2021 outdoor 4x100m relay)
Jacee Pfeifer – 2 (2020 indoor 4x400m relay; 2019 indoor 4x400m relay)
Josie Puelz – 2 (2021 outdoor pole vault; 2020 indoor pole vault)
Joel Rathe – 1 (2021 outdoor 4x100m relay)