Sports Summaries

Cross Country 

Strong seasons were enjoyed by the men’s and women’s programs as Head Coach Matt Beisel’s squads competed closely with their top rivals in the GPAC. At the conference championships held in North Sioux City, S.D., the Bulldogs turned in place finishes of second on the women’s side and third on the men’s side. Ranked as high as No. 6 in the NAIA coaches’ poll, the Concordia women earned an at-large berth to the NAIA National Championships. They wound up placing 18th in the NAIA in national competition in Vancouver, Wash. A highlight of the regular season for the women’s team came at the Blazing Tiger Classic where the Bulldogs defeated two NAIA top 10 squads. 

While wrapping up her cross country career, Kylahn Freiberg placed 16th nationally and became the program’s first All-American since Sarah Kortze in 2012. Freiberg was joined on the GPAC all-conference list by Hannah Beintema, Keeli Green, Julie McIntyre and Calvin Rohde. McIntyre placed as the GPAC runner up. On the men’s side, Rohde qualified for nationals individually and finished his cross country career at the NAIA meet. 

Football 

A shootout with top-ranked Northwestern (48-35 loss) in the season opener showed Concordia was capable of competing with the best in the NAIA. Ultimately, the Bulldogs settled for a 5-5 overall record and a tie for fourth place in the final GPAC standings. Head Coach Patrick Daberkow’s crew finished strong by blowing out Doane, 55-26, on senior day before wrapping 2023 up with a 45-21 win at Mount Marty. A couple of heartbreaking setbacks at home (16-12 versus Dakota Wesleyan and 39-37 in overtime versus Midland) kept Concordia from celebrating a winning season. However, the team’s offensive firepower proved to be a positive as the Bulldogs posted their highest scoring average (30.3 points/game) since 1972. They also broke a school record with an average of 415.3 offensive yards per game. 

Quarterback DJ McGarvie finished his junior season as the program’s all-time record holder for career passing touchdowns (54) and passing yards (6,679). McGarvie connected often with receiver Austin Jablonski, who set a new school single season record with 1,174 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on an NAIA best 91 catches. All-GPAC selections included Jablonski (first team), Kyle Sterup (first team), Michael Grindey (second team), McGarvie (second team), Tyler Walford (second team), Devin Zeigler (second team), Carson Fehlhafer (honorable mention), Devon Polley (honorable mention) and Blake Schlegel (honorable mention). 

Golf 

For Concordia Men’s Golf, the fall slate was made up of five official varsity tournaments. The best place finish came at the Blue River Invite in Lincoln, where the Bulldogs placed third out of 16 squads. Over 13 fall rounds, Concordia averaged a team score of 301.6 while led by Drew D’Ercole (74.0). The Papillion, Neb., native finished the fall on a high note in placing in the top five of the Nebraska Intercollegiate and earning GPAC Golfer of the Week accolades. The next best individuals in the Bulldog lineup, according to season average, were Justin Webert (75.5) and Jake Richmond (76.2). 

Five varsity events also filled up the fall schedule for Concordia Women’s Golf. The fall portion of the 2023-24 season came to an end with the Bulldogs placing fifth at the Nebraska Intercollegiate. Named last season’s GPAC Newcomer of the Year, sophomore Emery Custer owns the team’s top scoring average at 84.6. Head Coach Brett Muller’s squad got a boost from the return of Logan Eschliman for a fifth year and the additions of two student-athletes who formerly competed in other sports at Concordia: Maddie Lewis (volleyball) and Jennifer Gillotti (softball). The season will resume for both the men and women in the spring of 2024. 

Lifting Sports 

Head Coach Freddie Myles has beefed up the program rosters as Concordia powerlifting and weightlifting are in the midst of their second seasons of existence. As for powerlifting, the Bulldogs competed in two events during the fall semester: the UNL Husker Strong Collegiate Meet and the Central Collegiate Regional Championships. Sophomore Rylee Ladd (Chetek, Wis.) made waves at the Husker Strong meet in being named the Best Female Lifter of the competition. She was one of six Bulldogs champions at the meet in Lincoln. Then in November, 15 Concordia athletes placed within the top three of their weight classes at the Central Regionals in Fremont. Championships were won by Ladd, Mackenzie Houser, Nic Kriech and Taylor Meyer. The national championships will take place in April 2024. 

In weightlifting, sophomore Evan Fukuhara of Sacramento, Calif., has starred. At the Iowa Championships in early November, Fukuhara posted a snatch and clean and jerk total that ranked eighth best in the nation for college-aged lifters at the time. Through the two meets, the Heartland Strength Omaha Classic and the Iowa Championships, Concordia has been represented by eight athletes. Seven Bulldogs qualified for nationals at the Omaha Classic. Before wrapping up the semester, the Bulldogs will be headed to the North America Open Finals. The University Weightlifting Nationals will take place in March 2024. 

Shooting Sports 

The majority of fall weekends were spent on Nebraska shooting ranges as the Bulldogs competed in seven events from September through early November. Concordia placed in the three as a team in six of those outings with second-place claims coming at the Mid-Plains Community College Fall Flurry and the program’s own Concordia Sporting Invitational. The fall portion of the 2023-24 season wrapped up for Head Coach Dylan Owens’ squad with a trip to Waco, Texas, for the Waco Trap & Skeet Invitational. The result was a third-place team finish. The Bulldogs placed third at the Prairie Circuit Conference Championships. 

Senior Jack Nelson of Kimberly, Idaho, put a bow on the fall season by winning the overall individual title at the Waco Invitational. Throughout the fall, there were a number of individuals who notched perfect scores in specific disciplines. For example, Nelson ran 100 straight in skeet at the Hastings Invite and similar results were turned in by Sam Blevins in skeet at the Midland Open and by Blevins and Katie Welker at the Fort Hays State Shoot. At the conference shoot, Claire Kee won a sporting clays title and Kaylee Hinton won a championship in trap. The season will resume in the spring of 2024. The national championships are slated to be held in San Antonio, Texas, in March. 

Men’s Soccer 

A season of high achievement ended with an untimely loss to Dordt in the GPAC quarterfinals. That defeat prevented the Bulldogs from earning one of the final at-large berths into the national tournament. However, Head Coach Jason Weides’ 2023 squad could take solace in knowing it was the first in the program’s history to both finish the regular season undefeated (13-0-4) and to crack the NAIA coaches’ poll top 25. Concordia peaked at No. 18 in the coaches’ poll and spent seven-straight weeks in the national rankings. The Bulldogs placed third in the GPAC during the regular season and wound up outscoring their opponents by a combined total of 43-13. 

A junior from Gretna, Neb., Carter Hinman enjoyed a breakthrough season that saw him lead the team with 10 goals. All-GPAC honors were awarded to Ferdi Hagen (first team), Hinman (first team), Matt Schultz (first team), Nolan Fuelberth (second team), Jarrod Henson (second team), Isaiah Shaddick (second team), Braden Spath (second team) and Gabriel Mendoza (honorable mention). Both Schultz and Shaddick played the fifth years of their Concordia careers in 2023. 

Women’s Soccer 

It was a bounce-back season for the Bulldogs, who vaulted from seventh place in the GPAC in 2022 to second place in 2023. Head Coach Nick Smith led Concordia to a record of 13-4-3 (8-1-3 GPAC) in his first season leading the program. After starting the campaign at 3-2, the Bulldogs went 10-1-3 over their next 14 games. The season concluded in the GPAC semifinals with a 2-0 loss to Midland. The results on the other side of the conference bracket prevented Concordia from earning the GPAC’s second automatic bid to nationals. Over 20 games in 2023, the Bulldogs outscored their foes by a combined total of 51-16. Forty-nine of the team’s 51 goals were scored by players expected back in 2024. 

In her fifth season at Concordia, Grace Soenksen added to her legacy in earning GPAC Defensive Player of the Year accolades. She collected four First Team All-GPAC honors in her career. She was joined on the first team all-conference list by teammates Savannah Andrews, Kierstynn Garner, Hannah Kile and Niah Kirchner. Meanwhile, Sierra Springer landed on the second team and Bradi Ore and Taylor Slaymaker were honorable mention selections. Garner led all GPAC players during the regular season with 19 goals. 

Volleyball 

In another season that goes down as one of the greatest in program history, the Bulldogs twice garnered the No. 1 ranking in the NAIA coaches’ poll. Additional accomplishments included a share of the GPAC regular season championship, a third-straight appearance in the GPAC tournament final, a fifth-consecutive trip to the final site of the national tournament and a 25-4 overall record. Head Coach Ben Boldt’s squad claimed a share of the conference title (program’s first since 2000) with a four-set win at Midland in the regular season finale. The 14 league victories for the 2023 Concordia squad represented a school record. All fall long, the Bulldogs led the nation in kills per set while ranking near the top in hitting percentage. A 17-0 start to the season included a four-set win over then 14th-ranked Jamestown in front of a particularly raucous Friedrich Arena crowd. 

A loss to Midland in pool play at the national tournament marked the end of the line for nine Bulldogs, including fifth-year competitors in Bree Burtwistle and Camryn Opfer. Both Burtwistle and Opfer were named First Team All-GPAC selections, along with Gabi Nordaker. Burtwistle was also recognized as the GPAC Setter of the Year and additional all-conference accolades went to second teamers Ashley Keck and Carly Rodaway and honorable mention status was placed upon Becca Gebhardt and Cassidy Knust. The Seward native Opfer concluded her storied career with all-time program rankings of third for both kills (1,561) and digs (1,671).