SEWARD, Neb. – After earning lofty rankings in the first U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association computer ratings, the Concordia University track and field squads enjoyed another stellar meet inside their home venue of the Fieldhouse. Senior Leah Larson broke her own record in the triple jump and seven Bulldogs posted automatic national qualifying marks during Friday (Jan. 25)’s action. Athletes from seven opposing institutions joined Concordia at the meet.
Head coach Matt Beisel’s squads (ranked second nationally on the women’s side and sixth on the men’s side) produced a combined nine Concordia Classic event titles. The Bulldogs competed favorably against conference schools such as Dakota Wesleyan, Doane and Mount Marty. Concordia University, Irvine also made the journey to Seward.
By meet’s end, the season count of automatic national qualifying marks had reached 21. The latest to join the national qualifying field were the men’s 4x400 meter relay, Gavin Davis (200 meters), Jodi Fry (shot put), Josiah McAllister (1,000 meters), Tristen Mosier (pole vault), Johanna Ragland (shot put) and Cody Williams (pole vault). That doesn’t include Williams’ big performance in the heptathlon, an event he won with 5,096 points, which could put him atop the nation when all meet results for the weekend are in the books.
A native of Norfolk, Neb., Larson is one of many Bulldogs who continue to reach new heights. Her winning triple jump measured in at 38’ 2 ¾” at the Concordia Classic. She remains a step ahead of a talented group of teammates in the event.
The Bulldog pole vault crew has flooded the 2019 indoor national championship field. Seven are now qualified after Mosier (11’ 6 ½”) and Williams (15’ 9”) added their names to the list on Saturday. On the women’s side, Erin Mapson, Mosier and Jacee Pfeifer placed 1-2-3 in the pole vault with all three clearing the national qualifying height. For the second meet in a row, Gavin DeHaai valuted 15’ 5.” Three men also hit the ‘B’ mark: Zach Bennetts, Tucker Platt and Sam Sisco.
Other winners on the day were the men’s 4x4, Jacob Cornelio (weight throw), Taylor Grove (one mile; 3,000 meters), Angelo Hurtado (600 meter hurdles) and NAIA Field Athlete of the Week Addie Shaw (weight throw). The men’s 4x4 featured Davis, Nathan Matters, Xavier Ross and McAllister. They clocked in at 3:20.04, nearly two seconds faster than second place Mount Marty. Meanwhile, Cornelio bested his personal best from a week ago with his weight throw of 64’ 11 ½.”
Not only did Shaw win the win the women’s weight throw competition, Bulldogs placed fourth, sixth and seventh. Ragland threw 55’ 4 ¼” and Mariah Huneke and Morgan De Jong both achieved ‘B’ marks. In the women’s pentathlon, Jessica Deterding and Kennedy Mogul posted personal bests and reached the minimum totals needed to go to the national championships.
The results from the Concordia Classic should solidify the Bulldogs’ position as a national top 10 team on both sides. Concordia had entered the meet already situated within the top five nationally in six events: women’s 4x400 meter relay, Cornelio (weight throw), Larson (triple jump), Matters (600 meters) and Shaw (shot put; weight throw).
Williams is a blossoming star who earned indoor All-America honors as a freshman. He is following in the footsteps of former pole vault national champion Lucas Wiechman as the program’s next big thing in the multi events.
Most Bulldog athletes will be headed to the Fred Beile Invitational hosted by Doane next Saturday (Feb. 2). Select Concordia athletes will also be at the Sevigne Husker Invite (Feb. 1-2) hosted by the University of Nebraska.