Concordia cross country takes third at Briar Cliff Invite
Section of the Concordia cross country practice course.
Photo: Leo Lopez
By Kai Olbrich
After an early wake-up call, the Concordia cross country team bested all other National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics teams at the Briar Cliff Invite, taking third on the men’s and women’s sides and placing three athletes in the top-10.
The men earned a team score of 64 and were led by 2024 NAIA cross country All-American, junior Vaughn Hendrickson. Hendrickson ran a 26:19.5 in the 8k race and finished seventh. He was closely followed by senior Trey Robertson in ninth, senior Aidan Limback in 11th, senior Ransom Watts in 18th and sophomore Keith Siek in 19th. Senior Justin Sherman and junior Mark Bultemeier rounded out the top seven Concordia runners.
The women combined for 75 team points and were headed up by freshman Hope Beck, who placed sixth with a 23:32.8 over the 6k course. Freshman Rachel Prince came in 13th, freshman Amanda Smith got 16th, sophomore Ashley Robertson finished 19th and freshman Katie Johnsen was the final scorer and placed 23rd. Sophomore Izzi Brumbaugh and senior Macee Ripke filled the sixth and seventh Concordia spots.
The first race began at 8:30 am. And with Concordia University over two hours away from South Sioux City, Nebraska, the Bulldog athletes departed well before first light. It did not seem to have a big negative effect on Concordia, as they bested all other NAIA competition, including some familiar Great Plains Athletic Conference competition, including Hastings, Morningside, and Briar Cliff.
The Bulldogs have just a week before their next competition, when they will travel to Dordt University for the Holiday Inn Express Classic. It is another morning start time and will begin at 10 am.
Concordia has only the Holiday Inn Express Classic and the Blazing Tiger Invite on Oct. 24 to prepare for the GPAC Championship meet on Nov. 7.
