Sports Summaries
Men’s Basketball
The accomplishments for Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad included the fourth most wins in a single season in program history (tied with two others), a school record for conference victories, a final NAIA ranking of No. 11, a spot in the national tournament round of 32 and a CIT championship. After opening the season at 7-4, the Bulldogs won 18 of their next 19 games while led by stars in Tristan Smith and Noah Schutte. Plenty of others contributed, including another senior in Brad Benett, junior Zac Kulus and a large sophomore class featuring the likes of Hayden Frank, Lukas Helms, Brooks Kissinger and Jaxon Stueve. Among freshmen, Elijah Gaeth made the biggest impact. His most thrilling moment was a game-winning trey to lift Concordia to a victory over Bethel College (Kan.) in the first round of the national tournament. In other memorable highlights, Schutte became the program’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder, and Smith continually entertained the crowd with thunderous dunks. His 48-point outing in the GPAC quarterfinals will long be remembered. The best atmosphere inside Friedrich Arena came when the Bulldogs hosted Morningside in the GPAC tournament final. The journey ended with a loss at 10th-ranked Baker University (Kan.) in the second round of the national tournament. Next year’s team will look different as Schutte and Smith move on. As players come and go, Limback’s program has been a consistent national qualifier with four-straight appearances and five nationals trips in the past six seasons.
Women’s Basketball
It was a season of close calls and near misses, resulting in the program experiencing the rare feeling of missing out on the national tournament. Some of the best moments from an on-court perspective included an early season win at then sixth-ranked Dakota State, the CIT championship victory (behind MVP Makynna Robbins) at Concordia Ann Arbor and a triumph over Doane in the season’s home finale. As the No. 8 seed in the GPAC tournament, the Bulldogs’ postseason appearance was a brief one as it ended with an 80-66 loss at No. 1 Dordt in the quarterfinals. Two or three additional wins may have put Concordia in the national tournament. It lost twice in overtime to top-ranked Dordt, it fell by three points to No. 2 Southern Oregon, it suffered defeats in the last seconds of regulation to Hastings, Mount Marty and Northwestern, as well as a double overtime downer at Doane. Head Coach Drew Olson came away from the season appreciative for the time he had with Brigham and seniors Abby Heemstra and Abby Krieser. On a balanced roster, there were four players who averaged between 8.8 and 10.8 points per game. Four Bulldogs earned spots on the all-conference team. Next season, Vieselmeyer and Megan Belt will be the two main seniors for a squad that will feature a large junior class led by Raelyn Kelty.
Wrestling
Josh Watts’ first season as head coach was an unquestionable success. The Bulldogs cracked the NAIA top 25 rankings and sent their highest number of qualifiers (eight) to the national tournament since the 2019-20 season. Concordia wound up with a GPAC regular season place finish of tied for second and landed at 17th in the NAIA team standings. The return of Baughman made a major difference as he garnered GPAC champion and NAIA All-America status. A transfer from NCAA Division I Campbell University, Heistand’s run to the 149-pound national championship match included wins over opponents seeded sixth, third and 10th. At the conference championships, Baughman, Heistand, Cole Price (157) and Tommy Wentz (165) each advanced to GPAC finals in their respective weight classes. Seniors such Mason Garcia and Hunter Weimer concluded their college careers by competing at the national tournament. Another major highlight occurred in late January when the Bulldogs placed sixth out of 53 NAIA teams at the Missouri Valley Invite. Concordia will carry plenty of momentum into 2025-26 as Watts continues to put his stamp on the program. The roster this past season featured plenty of former Iowa Western Community College competitors.
Cheer/Dance
The 2025 campaign saw another step forward for the programs led by coaches Mandi Maser and Emilie Ashenbach. In dance, the Bulldogs made a strong push for a national championships bid while ranking 11th in the NAIA in scoring average (82.27). Both Concordia squads placed fourth at the GPAC Championships, which were held inside Friedrich Arena for the first time ever. In terms of scoring, both Bulldog teams saved their best for the conference championships. Dance broke a school record for a single routine with a score of 85.1 in the finals of the GPAC Championships. Cheer achieved the same feat in earning a score of 80.83 in the finals. As part of the season’s journey, dance earned team trophies for placing third at the York Crown Classic and second at the MidAmerica Nazarene Duals. A combined seven Bulldogs garnered all-conference recognition and junior Taylor Larsen was recognized as an NAIA All-American. The standing goal of reaching the national championships will remain in place as Concordia looks ahead to 2026.
Baseball
Behind All-American Jaidan Quinn, the lineup continued to slug opponents as Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad dominated its conference regular season schedule. The Bulldogs posted a 25-3 league mark and went on a 14-game winning streak during GPAC play. The offense kept churning out big numbers beyond Quinn as Jaeden Jordahl, Ty Nekoliczak and Matt Rhoades enjoyed First Team All-GPAC accolades and Brad Hallock blossomed as the GPAC RBI leader. In April, Quinn broke former teammate Joey Grabanski’s program record for career home runs and ended his four-year run with 98 career blasts. For the season, Concordia piled up 96 home runs, averaged 9.2 runs per game and slugged .544. In a feel-good season, Alex Johnson returned from injury and starred as the GPAC Pitcher of the Year. The Bulldogs led the conference in both runs scored and team ERA. Johnson was joined in the rotation by Braxton Greenburg, Christian Gutierrez and Micah Sweeton. This past season, Gutierrez became the program’s all-time wins and innings pitched leader. Dupic was named the GPAC Coach of the Year after leading the Bulldogs to the national tournament for the seventh time in his tenure. The program said goodbye to a class of 13 seniors. The four-year players in that group contributed to four-straight seasons of 40+ wins.
Golf
Men
It was an up and down spring for Head Coach Brett Muller’s men’s squad, which placed 10th in the GPAC. The impressive spring for Jake Richmond stood out as a major highlight. Richmond won two GPAC Golfer of the Week awards and paced the squad in season scoring average (75.7). Three others averaged scores in the 70s: Justin Webert (76.6), Jake Hagerbaumer (77.0) and Jaxson Fullerton (79.3). Throughout 2024-25, Concordia shot five rounds of 300 or lower with a season best of 295 coming at the Mount Marty Invite. The Bulldogs placed fifth at the Mount Marty Invite. The season included nine varsity tournaments and two match-play events.
Women
On the women’s side, the Bulldogs saved their best for the conference tournament as they shot season low totals of 332 and 329 on the first day of the GPAC Championships. Concordia sat in fourth place in the conference after two rounds before slipping to seventh in round three. A Broken Bow, Neb., native, Custer shot 80-77-79–236 at the GPAC Championships and placed fifth on her way to First Team All-GPAC accolades. Custer averaged a team best 82.1 for the season while followed in the lineup by Maddie Lewis (87.3), Savannah McFalls (89.9) and Jennifer Gillotti (90.3). As part of the spring season, the Bulldogs ventured to the Phoenix area for spring break.
Shooting Sports
Head Coach Dylan Owens’ squad emerged from the 2025 ACUI National Championships in San Antonio, Texas, with a seventh-place finish, one target out of sixth. The Bulldogs cracked 2,740 targets towards the high overall (HOA) team leaderboard. Of the seven events that took place prior to the national championships, Concordia placed fourth or better in seven of them. The Bulldogs claimed the team title at the Hastings Invitational back in October and placed second at the Southeast Community College Invitational later that month. In addition, Concordia turned in place finishes of third at the Prairie Circuit Conference Championships and fourth at the Simpson Invite, Midland Open, Concordia Sporting Invitational and Iowa Western Community College Invite. All-conference awards were won in the fall at the Prairie Circuit Conference Championships by Sam Blevins and Katie Welker and all-freshman honors went to Trevor Burch and Carter McKenna. As part of the team championship at the Hastings Invite, Kaylee Hinton and Breyer Meeks captured HOA individual titles. In closing the fall at the SECC Invite, Devin Harris took home the skeet championship. The 2024-25 season marked Owens’ third at the helm of the program.
Softball
Head Coach Brock Culler’s program took another step forward in 2025 as the win total jumped by four compared to the previous campaign. The Bulldogs were riding high moving into GPAC play as they went 7-1 at the Tucson Invitational. Then in early April, senior Megan Eurich tossed a shutout to beat Midland, an NAIA World Series qualifier. Eurich polished off a standout career in 2025 and moved to No. 3 on the program’s all-time strikeout list. Based on GPAC awards, Taryn Ganstrom, Jennifer Katz and Delanie Voshell emerged as the top Dawgs. Late in the season, Ganstrom produced her ninth triple of 2025, breaking a program record for a single campaign. Both Katz and Ganstrom were major stories as breakout performers. Katz starred in center field while Ganstrom proved capable of playing all over the diamond. In the pitching circle, Eurich combined with sophomore Kaylei Denison on a solid 1-2 punch. The senior class numbered eight strong and featured the likes of Eurich and Katz. Four seniors earned All-GPAC recognition. After placing fifth in the GPAC in 2025, Culler and company hope to challenge for a GPAC championship in 2026.
Tennis
Women
April 26 marked a triumphant day as Head Coach Lisa Hart’s squad claimed the GPAC tournament title with a 4-2 win over Morningside. At the No. 6 spot in the singles lineup, Nina Milic came through and clinched the victory over the Mustangs, the GPAC’s regular season champion. In the thrilling postseason run, the Bulldogs avenged regular season losses to Doane and Morningside. The 17-5 overall record made the ’25 squad the winningest team in school history. Five Bulldogs in the singles lineup posted double-digit win totals: Ishane Derman (18-2), Chakira Derman (17-4), Alexa Richert (14-3), Mariana Molano (14-6) and Alana Lopez Pagan (13-5). That group pushed Concordia to a national tournament appearance in Mobile, Ala., where it was defeated by Marian University (Ind.). The lone senior on the roster was 2024 Arthur Ashe award winner Tessa Blough.
Men
It was a record-breaking season for men’s tennis as the Bulldogs equaled a school standard for wins in a season while led by individual standard setters in Nick Velders (with 19 singles wins) and Santiago Abadia (with 16 doubles wins). Concordia ascended to the status of GPAC runner up in regular season and postseason. In the GPAC tournament title match, the Bulldogs were defeated by Morningside, 4-0, in a battle that was closer than the final score indicated. Collectively, Concordia posted duals records of 81-44 in singles and 43-23 in doubles. The program’s lone senior, Grady Works, is planning to return to the team for another season of eligibility in 2025-26. The tennis programs are on the rise under the direction of Coach Lisa Hart.
Outdoor Track and Field
Women
With Adrianna Rodencal leading the way, the Bulldogs earned outdoor place finishes of second in the GPAC and ninth in the NAIA. As part of her GPAC Outstanding Athlete of the Meet performance at the outdoor conference championships in Hastings, Rodencal broke GPAC meet records in the 100 hurdles and 400 hurdles. Then at the national meet, Rodencal ran 59.28 in the 400 hurdles and placed second, 13.54 in the 100 hurdles and placed third and 3:51.02 as part of the 4x4 and placed seventh. Rodencal was joined on the 4x4 by Kayla Kirchner, Isabelle Salters and Trinity Tuls. Additionally, senior Abby Gerber capped her career by placing as the NAIA national runner up in the shot put. In other major accomplishments, Abi Wohlgemuth won the GPAC in the hammer throw and Adysen McCarter became the new school record holder in the triple jump.
Men
A solid outdoor season saw the Bulldog men place fourth in the GPAC. At the conference outdoor meet in Hastings, Nathan Baldwin emerged as the standout as he won the discus title and placed third in the hammer and fourth in the shot put. Other GPAC champions were Emery Gutz in the javelin, Jonny Jurchen in the 5,000-meter race walk and Mayson Ostermeyer in the pole vault. At the national meet, things did not quite come together as hoped. Baldwin posted the one team point by placing eighth in the discus. An injury limited Ostermeyer, a two-time pole vault All-American. Concordia spent much of the outdoor season rated in the top 25 of the USTFCCCA computer ratings.
Powerlifting
The program advanced in obvious ways in year three of its existence. Head Coach Freddie Myles’ squads posted their highest-ever nationals finishes as the women took home a fifth-place banner. Junior Rylee Ladd experienced the highest of highs in winning the 52-kilogram national title with a total of 385 kilograms. She broke her own female collegiate national bench press record by lifting 97.5 kilograms. The individual national medalists included Ladd, Taylor Hedke (third place), Teya Badger (fourth place) and Wyatt Hosick (fourth place). For their top three placements, Ladd and Hedke earned All-America awards. The program took 17 competitors to the national champions in Oklahoma City, April 3-6. The powerlifting season included four other meets, including a home competition in mid-April.
Weightlifting
Major gains were made as the Bulldogs took home nationals place finishes of fourth for men, sixth for women and fifth in the co-ed category. The 2025 Collegiate Weightlifting National Championships took place in Columbus, Ohio, Feb. 27 – March 2 and featured 13 Concordia competitors. Most notably, sophomore Kaiden Mima won the 61-kilogram national title as he totaled 212 kilograms. Four Concordia athletes placed inside the top five of their respective weight classes, including runner up Evan Fukuhara at 73 kilograms. The other top-five place finishers from Concordia were Taylor Hedke (59 kilograms) and Enzo Mancini (96 kilograms). The weightlifting season featured three additional meets.