KEARNEY, Neb. – A group of 23 Bulldogs entered into competition on Saturday (May 10) at the Loper Twilight hosted by the University of Nebraska-Kearney at Kearney High School. In headlining the efforts of 19 throwers that represented Concordia University, Nebraska Track & Field in Kearney, senior Gretchen Stottlemyre seized the moment by unleashing a personal best in the javelin. The Bulldogs also had three entries in the women’s pole vault and Kiki Nyanok in the women’s long jump in the final outing prior to the national championships.
Head Coach Matt Beisel’s programs hosted the Concordia Twilight on Friday when both Connor Asche and Abi Wohlgemuth turned in hammer throw PR’s and Addie Reimer put herself in prime position for a spot in the heptathlon national field.
A 2024 NAIA All-American in the javelin, Stottlemyre entered Saturday’s action on the bubble in terms of her national qualifying prospects. Her chances have skyrocketed after she popped off a PR on her third attempt at the Loper Twilight. The toss landed at 138’ 8” and put Stottlemyre in third place out of a field of six athletes in Kearney. That mark represents an NAIA B standard and moves the Olympia, Wash., native to 12th on the current NAIA national list.
Stottlemyre’s throw in the javelin was the one big breakthrough on Saturday. Across the throwing events at the Loper Twilight, Concordia’s top marks were delivered on the men’s side by Nathan Baldwin in the hammer (172’ 10”) and discus (167’ 2”), Stephen Meisel in the javelin (159’ 3”) and Asche in the shot put (50’ 11”). On the women’s side, the best efforts came courtesy of Stottlemyre in the javelin, Brittni Kinne in the hammer (150’ 2”), Carissa Kolle in the discus (125’ 11”) and Harper Boche in the shot put (39’ 5 ¾”).
The GPAC runner up in the long jump, Nyanok has consistently eclipsed 18 feet in the event. She did so again on Saturday with a jump of 18’ 2 ½” (the NAIA B standard is 18’ 10 ½”). Meanwhile, in the women’s pole vault, Kayla Svoboda paced a trio of Bulldogs by clearing a season best of 11’ ¾.”
All that remains this season are the 2025 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships. For the third-straight year, the outdoor national meet will be staged in Marion, Ind., home to Indiana Wesleyan University. The meet will run May 21-23. Official national qualifiers will be announced next week by the NAIA.