Bulldog Athletic Association Member (BAAM) Athletes of the Week
Male: Sam Blevins, Shooting Sports
A graduate student from La Grange, Ky., Sam Blevins won the men’s trap title at the Fort Hays State Intercollegiate Shoot while cracking all 150 targets. Blevins also finished as Concordia’s top overall competitor with a total of 414 out of 500 in the season opening event.
Female: Molli Martin, Volleyball
A senior from Lincoln, Neb., Molli Martin led the second-ranked Bulldogs to a straight-sets win last week at Mount Marty. Martin tallied seven kills and five blocks in Yankton. She ranks third among GPAC players for blocks per set (1.46) this season.
2025-26 BAAM Athletes of the Week
Sept. 9 – Sam Blevins (shooting sports) / Molli Martin (volleyball)
Sept. 2 – Emery Custer (golf); Slade Leicht (soccer)
Aug. 26 – Kierstynn Garner (soccer); Ashley Keck (volleyball); Sean Stratman (soccer)
News and notes:
BAAM luncheons are held every Tuesday (when classes are in session) at 12 p.m. CT inside the Dog House Grill, located in the Janzow Campus Center. The luncheons feature reports from head coaches who are in season at the time. For information on how to join BAAM, click HERE. It is not a requirement to be a BAAM member in order to attend the weekly luncheons.
Women’s tennis earns win over Wartburg: In opening the fall portion of its 2025-26 season, Concordia Women’s Tennis earned a 6-1 home win over NCAA Division III Wartburg College (Iowa) on Sept. 6. The Bulldogs dropped the doubles point before rallying by sweeping singles. The winners in singles were Mariana Molano, Chakira Derman, Alana Lopez Pagan, Ishane Derman, Alexa Richert and Nina Milic. Head Coach Lisa Hart returns the bulk of the 2024-25 squad that won the GPAC tournament and qualified for the national tournament. Both the men’s and women’s teams will compete this Friday and Saturday at the GPAC Fall Individual Tournament. The event will take place at Woods Tennis Center in Lincoln, Neb. The majority of competitions for college tennis occur during the spring semester.
Fall athletic seasons underway: New seasons have gotten underway for each of Concordia’s traditional fall sports teams. Added to the list this past week were football, cross country and shooting sports. For a closer look at each Bulldog fall sports team, check out season previews linked below.
• Football
• Cross Country
• Men’s Golf | Women’s Golf
• Shooting Sports
• Men’s Soccer
• Women’s Soccer
• Volleyball
Concordia Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2025: The Concordia Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2024 was revealed to the public on July 23. The new inductees will include Sarah Kortze ’14, Philly Lammers ’20, Courtney Meyer ’65, Randy Pospishil ’73 and the 2014-15 men’s track & field team. The class will be officially inducted as part of a ceremony on Oct. 10 in conjunction with homecoming weekend on campus. For more details on the Hall of Fame, click HERE.
All-American Henson featured: With All-American safety Daylon Henson, you get a little of the sizzle with the steak. Passionate about fashion, cooking and video games, Henson brings hard work, production and some flair to the Concordia defense. For a profile of the Houston area native, click HERE.
Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show has returned for an 11th year. The show airs live for a half hour every Thursday beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT on KTMX-FM 104.9 Max Country. The weekly feature can also be heard live via 104.9 Max Country’s website or by downloading the Max Country app. Throughout the 2025-26 season, Bulldog football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball contests will be aired live on Max Country. Parker Cyza serves as the host of the coaches’ show as well as the play-by-play voice for football, basketball and volleyball. In addition, Eric Allgood will call select volleyball matches in place of Cyza.
Concordia Sports Network: Live webcasts for most home varsity contests can be accessed by visiting https://www.cune.edu/athletics/watch-bulldogs at game time. Beginning with the 2023-24 academic year, Concordia Athletics began a partnership with Hudl for live video streaming. Live webcast links for away contests are publicized in sport specific releases that preview action for that particular week. Scrimmages, exhibitions and junior varsity events are not broadcasted via the Hudl account. For select JV streams, check out that specific sport’s Facebook page.
Football
· Current record: 1-0, 1-0 GPAC; ranked No. 21 in NAIA coaches’ poll.
· Last week:
o Won vs. Doane, 35-7, on Sept. 6.
· Links: 2025 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA Coaches’ Poll
· Notable: On a perfect weather night at Bulldog Stadium, Head Coach Patrick Daberkow’s squad kicked off the 2025 season with a 35-7 win over Doane. The highlights included three rushing touchdowns from Carlos Collazo, a 53-yard house call for Adam Van Cleave and a ferocious defensive effort that yielded eight sacks and four turnovers. At quarterback, Gideon Stark made his first career start and threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns (one to Van Cleave and one to Jonny Puelz). Van Cleave finished with career highs of 13 catches for 173 yards and a score while Collazo rushed for 95 yards. Defensively, Terry Sebek led an active defensive line with three sacks and dominant nose guard Carson Fehlhafer registered 1.5 sacks. In the secondary, Will Potratz (38-yard interception return and forced fumble) contributed to two turnovers and Luke Penrod broke up five passes. Linebacker Drake Trent posted a team high 14 tackles. The 21st-ranked Bulldogs outgained Doane, 401-252. Daberkow’s program has now defeated the rival Tigers (0-2) three straight times and has won five of the past six meetings. In addition, Concordia has won 11 of its last 13 games dating back to November 2023 (and has scored 35 or more points nine times during that stretch). The Bulldogs will host a night game for the second consecutive week as they look forward to welcoming Dakota Wesleyan to town on Saturday. The Tigers of Mitchell, S.D., were blown out by No. 19 Dordt, 66-7, this past week. Concordia won last year’s meeting on the road, 42-7.
· For details on each week’s matchup, check out the game notes linked HERE.
· This week:
o Saturday, Sept. 13 vs. Dakota Wesleyan (1-1, 0-1 GPAC), 6 p.m. CT.
Cross Country
· Last season:
o Men – placed 4th/25 at the Augustana Twilight on Sept. 5.
o Women – placed 8th/26 at the Augustana Twilight on Sept. 5.
· Links: 2025 Schedule | Roster
· Notable: The 10th year of Matt Beisel’s coaching tenure officially got underway this past week as the Bulldogs competed at the Augustana Twilight in Sioux Falls, S.D. Both the Concordia men and women beat out all GPAC opposition and nearly all fellow NAIA squads with strong starts to the 2025 campaign. The men placed fourth in the field of 25 teams behind top runner Trey Robertson (a junior from Wallace, Neb.), who ran the four-mile race in 19:22.8. Two of his teammates also came in under 20 minutes: sophomore Vaughn Hendrickson (19:51.0) and junior Aidan Limback (19:58.4). Notably, the men’s team beat out NAIA 14th-ranked Doane (fifth place). On the women’s side, sophomore Keeli Green blazed to the best Augustana Twilight performance in school history as she ran the 5k in 17:31.9. The women finished eighth overall (second among NAIA teams). Three additional Bulldogs placed in the top 100 in a field of more than 300: sophomore Annaka Schlachter (18:54.4), freshman Ashley Robertson (18:58.8) and sophomore Alison Stepanek (19:25.0). Concordia is coming off 2024 GPAC placements of third on the men’s side and fourth on the women’s side. The Bulldogs will have this week off from competition while gearing up for the Greeno/Dirksen Invite in Lincoln, Neb., on Saturday, Sept. 20.
· For additional news and notes on the Concordia Cross Country teams, click HERE.
· Up next:
o Saturday, Sept. 20 at Greeno/Dirksen Invite (Lincoln, Neb.), 10 a.m.
Shooting Sports
· Last week:
o Placed 5th/12 at Fort Hays State Fall Intercollegiate Shoot on Sept. 6-7.
· Links: 2025-26 Schedule | Roster
· Notable: The 2025-26 season got underway this past weekend with the Fort Hays State Fall Intercollegiate Shoot in Hays, Kan. Head Coach Dylan Owens’ Bulldogs came away with a fifth-place HOA team finish out of 12 teams in the field. From an individual perspective, Sam Blevins (first place in men’s trap) and Katie Welker (second place in women's doubles skeet) emerged with headlining performances. Concordia’s top five overall competitors at the Fort Hays State Shoot combined to crack 1,971 targets out of a possible 2,250. By discipline, the Bulldogs placed fourth in doubles skeet (231/250), fourth in trap (485/500), fourth in doubles trap (447/500), fifth in sporting (432/500) and sixth in super sporting (418/500). In busting 414 total targets (out of 500) on the weekend, the La Grange, Ky., native Blevins finished only six targets off the overall champion from Fort Hays State, Grant Rainey. Next in Concordia’s top five HOA were Devin Harris (406), Welker (398), Kaylee Hinton (378) and Cael Washburn (375). Both Blevins and Welker took part in shoot-offs. Blevins was a perfect 150/150 after he ran 100 straight in trap before knocking out all 50 targets in the shoot-off. Welker hit 47/50 in doubles skeet before landing in second place in the event. The season will continue this Saturday and Sunday with the Simpson College Invite in Indianola, Iowa.
· This week:
o Simpson College Invite in Indianola, Iowa, Sept. 13-14.
Volleyball
· Current record: 8-1, 1-0 GPAC; ranked No. 2 in the NAIA coaches’ poll.
· Last week:
o Won at Mount Marty, 25-22, 25-13, 26-24, on Sept. 6.
· Links: 2025 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA Coaches’ Poll
· Notable: In the lone outing of last week, the second-ranked Bulldogs got the job done in three sets as they defeated Mount Marty, 25-22, 25-13, 26-24, in Yankton, S.D., in a Saturday afternoon tilt. In highlights of the match, Concordia went on an 11-0 run with Kate Griess on the service line in the second set and shook off a 23-22 deficit in the third set to knock off the Lancers for the 24th straight meeting. Not so surprisingly, All-American Ashley Keck paced the Bulldogs in kill (14). Major contributors also included Griess (ace), Sydney Jelinek (seven kills) and Molli Martin (seven kills and five blocks). Concordia continues to turn in stellar results defensively. It held Mount Maty to an .083 hitting percentage. On the GPAC leaderboards, Keck ranks No. 1 in kills per set (4.14) and Martin ranks third in both hitting percentage (.345) and blocks per set (1.46). As a team, the Bulldogs rank fifth nationally in blocks per set (2.66). In last week’s NAIA coaches’ poll, Concordia moved up two spots to No. 2 and has landed inside the top five in 19 consecutive national polls. Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad looks forward to a return to Friedrich Arena, where it will meet College of Saint Mary on Wednesday. The Bulldogs last played at home on Aug. 16 when they toppled York University in straight sets.
· For additional news and notes on Concordia Volleyball, check out the team’s homepage HERE.
· This week:
o Wednesday, Sept. 10 vs. College of Saint Mary (7-4, 0-1 GPAC), 7:30 p.m. CT.
Men’s Soccer
· Current record: 1-4.
· Last week:
o Lost at Benedictine College (Kan.), 2-0, on Sept. 3.
o Won vs. Central Christian College (Kan.), 3-1, on Sept. 6.
· Links: 2025 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA Coaches’ Poll
· Notable: After dipping to 0-4 on the season, the Bulldogs got their winning vibes back over the weekend by handling Central Christian College (Kan.), 3-1. That victory came three days after a 2-0 loss at Benedictine College (Kan.). The victory signaled a breakout performance from a goal scoring perspective. Transfer Ricards Busmeisters made a clear difference up front as he put away two goals and nearly had a hat trick in the game’s opening 20 minutes. Concordia had three goals that were disallowed, preventing a more lopsided final score. Another newcomer in Jasper Hofland also got on the board with his first career goal as a Bulldog. From a goalkeeper perspective, Head Coach Jason Weides’ squad continues to alternate between Nolan Fuelberth and Inigo Chavarria. They made a combined 15 saves last week. Following the win over Central Christian, the program honored a class of eight seniors, four of whom were in the starting lineup: Oliver Benson, Chavarria, Slade Leicht and Adrian Wambua. A significant challenge looms next as Concordia will take on in-state rival and ninth-ranked Bellevue University on Wednesday. The Bulldogs will then have the weekend off before wrapping up nonconference play next week.
· For a closer look at this week’s matchups, check out the game notes linked HERE.
· This week:
o Wednesday, Sept. 10 at No. 9 Bellevue University (4-1-1), 7:45 p.m. CT.
Golf
· Most recent completed tournament:
o Men – Placed 10th/16 (310-307-303–920) at the Blue River Classic on Sept. 3-4.
o Women – Placed T-2nd/14 (320-339–659) at the Mount Marty Invite on Aug. 28-29.
· Men’s Links: 2025-26 Schedule | Roster | Statistics
· Women’s Links: 2025-26 Schedule | Roster | Statistics
· Notable: It’s been wall-to-wall action to begin the week for both of Head Coach Brett Muller’s squads. The Bulldogs were in action on Monday and Tuesday with the men playing at the Siouxland Invite and the women at the Lila Frommelt Invite. The women’s team entered round two of the Frommelt Invite just one stroke behind Iowa Western Community College for first place. Senior Maddie Lewis and sophomore Savannah McFalls shot career lows (80 apiece) in North Sioux City, S.D., in leading Concordia to a round one team score of 336. Lewis, McFalls and Emery Custer each held down spots in the top 10 of the tournament leaderboard after day one. Meanwhile, the men returned to action on Monday in Sioux Center, Iowa, and struggled with two-round team scores of 650 and 655, respectively. Individually, junior Jude Elgert paced the Bulldogs on Monday by shooting 78-78–156 (tied for 39th). The third and final round of the event got started at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Both teams will have the rest of the week off once the Siouxland and Frommelt Invites have concluded. The women’s version of the Siouxland Invite is coming up next week (Sept. 16-17).
· This week:
o Men – Sept. 8-9 at Siouxland Invite (hosted by Dordt / Northwestern).
o Women – Sept. 8-9 at Lila Frommelt Invite (hosted by Briar Cliff).
Women’s Soccer
· Current record: 4-0-2.
· Last week:
o Tied at Bellevue University, 1-1, on Sept. 3.
o Won vs. Kansas Wesleyan University, 3-1, on Sept. 6.
· Links: 2025 Schedule | Roster | Statistics | NAIA Coaches’ Poll
· Notable: Head Coach Nick Smith’s squad faced off with two strong programs last week and claimed a tie and a win. The Bulldogs drew with Bellevue University, 1-1, before earning a 3-1 win over Kansas Wesleyan University on senior day. At Bellevue, Kierstynn Garner gave Concordia a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute with her 56th career goal (seventh this season). The Bruins answered 10 minutes later and the game remained a stalemate the rest of the way. In place of starting keeper Aaliyah Matthews, the Bulldogs turned to Aliya Vidro (10 saves) at Bellevue and Grady Smith (four saves) versus Kansas Wesleyan. In the weekend victory, senior Savannah Andrews produced two goals (26th and 27th of her career) and freshman Charli Preister put the game to rest with a goal in the 75th minute. The Concordia-KWU matchup was one between two sides that received votes in the latest NAIA coaches’ poll. The Bulldogs had most recently cracked the “receiving votes” category in 2018. The season profile includes a win over then No. 4 Columbia College (Mo.) and a draw with then No. 23 University of Science and Arts (Okla.). Through the season’s first six games, Concordia has outscored its opponents by a combined total of 18-7. Prior to the win over KWU, the Bulldogs honored a large class of 11 seniors that includes Garner and other accomplished teammates such as fellow First Team All-GPAC honoree Niah Kirchner. Concordia has this week off from game action with York University on Sept. 17 next on the docket.
· For additional news and notes, check out the program’s homepage HERE.
· This week:
o Off; will return to action versus York University on Sept. 17.