Jacob Jennings and Zach Bennetts have been honored as the fourth and fifth 2021-22 Academic All-America award winners from Concordia Track & Field. Jennings garnered his second career Academic All-America honor from CoSIDA.
Four-time national champion Josie Puelz earned yet another major award when she was named the 2021-22 Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year in the NAIA. Teammates Rachel Battershell and Erin Mapson were also recognized.
The Ragland-Concordia connection dates back to 1986 when John Ragland enrolled at Concordia. John and his daughters Johanna and Sarah boast 10 combined All-America awards, but Concordia's meaning to them isn't about the accolades.
Courtesy of their performances at the 2022 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships, 17 Bulldogs have earned All-America honors. The list includes four-time national champion Josie Puelz and 10-time All-American Rachel Battershell.
For the sixth-straight national meet, the women’s program for Concordia Track & Field has placed inside the top five of the NAIA. Between men and women, 17 Bulldogs came away with All-America awards in one or more events.
A group of five Bulldogs from the Concordia University Track & Field program have been honored for their academic and athletic excellence. The Academic All-District award winners include Rachel Battershell, Zach Bennetts, Jacob Jennings, Erin Mapson and Josie Puelz.
The second day of the 2022 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships ended in thrilling fashion for Concordia, which had both of its 4x400 meter relays break school records and qualify for the finals of the event.
Josie Puelz reigned atop the NAIA pole vault world once again while claiming one of four All-America awards won by Bulldogs on Wednesday (May 25). Other All-Americans were hammer throwers Alli Owings, Sarah Ragland and Chris Wren.
Concordia's 2022 outdoor national qualifying field of 35 athletes have combined for 64 career All-America awards. The Bulldogs are bound for Gulf Shores, Ala., where they hope to add to that total during the three-day national meet.
For the 11th time in his career, Ed McLaughlin has been recognized with NAIA Midwest Region Coach of the Year accolades from the USTFCCCA. McLaughlin oversees a women's throws group rated No. 1 nationally in the shot put, hammer and discus.
The collegiate journey for Chris Wren culminated with a hammer throw national title. This mountaintop moment was meant to be for Wren, who looks back at his Concordia experience and how it transformed his life.
While feeling the best she ever has physically and mentally, Hastings native Jenna Esch has thrived in her third and final year as a Bulldog. Says Esch, "It’s been really special what I’ve been able to do, especially with this group of people."
On the heels of a fine indoor season, Concordia Track & Field sets its focus upon the 2024 outdoor campaign. The Bulldogs will attempt to build upon the All-America awards won by 15 individuals at the indoor national meet.
The ‘aha moment’ for Zach Zohner occurred during the middle of the 2023 indoor season when he decided he would no longer let the fear of injury monopolize his thoughts. The right mentality set him on a path to a national title.
Energetic and intensely competitive, Rylee Haecker has been described by coaches as "a gamer." Beyond athletics, Haecker is caring and outgoing, is a positive encourager of her teammates and is devout in her faith.
If the Bulldog Early Bird Meet is any indication, Concordia Track & Field is in for a phenomenal 2023-24 indoor season. The Bulldogs enter 2024 expecting to compete with the best of the GPAC and the NAIA once again.
With only a cinder track and no dedicated indoor facilities, Coach John Knight went to work building up the Concordia Cross Country and Track & Field programs. He succeeded in landing some of the top athletes in school history.
In winding down a fifth year of a remarkable collegiate journey, the triple major Rachel Battershell has rediscovered the joy that made her a champion. Nearing the finish line, Battershell reflected on an experience she calls "really special."
Outdoor track season has nearly arrived for the Bulldogs, who are coming off indoor GPAC placements of first for the women and third for the men. The dynamics change with a different set of events on tap for outdoor track.
Twenty Bulldogs return who experienced the 2022 NAIA indoor national meet. The group includes past national champions Rachel Battershell and Josie Puelz. The program again has high hopes as the 2023 season has arrived.