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Home Sports Concordia Sports Teams Gear up for Fall

By Morgan Consier

 

Cross Country

As the Concordia men’s and women’s cross country teams begin their third season with Head Cross Country and Track & Field Coach Matt Beisel, they are ready to start the season building off the foundation from the last couple years.

“We are returning almost everyone, having graduated only three seniors. We have another talented freshman class coming in this fall, and we are ready to work and compete hard. Our athletes have been training over the summer, and it will pay off big this fall,” Beisel said in an email interview.

This year, the program numbers 50 runners between the two teams, compared to 27 runners in 2016 and 38 in 2017. Beisel believes that these larger numbers will help the runners as they prepare for meets.

During the 2017 season, the women’s team placed fifth at the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Championships, with the men coming in sixth. This season, Beisel says that both teams are working hard and are setting their sights high.

“I am grateful to God for this new opportunity to work together as a team. He’s blessed us with outstanding recruits the past two years and helped us to develop all of our athletes. Our men and women are both in a position to place top three in the GPAC come November, and potentially qualify both individuals and teams for nationals. Whatever happens, it’s all to the glory of Christ,” Beisel said.

 

Football

As student athletes on the football team return to campus and start practices, Head Football Coach Patrick Daberkow is ready for them.

“I’m looking forward to working with all of these young men and pushing them as a team,” Daberkow said in an email interview.

Later in the last season, the team made it into the national rankings, finishing third in the conference and ending with six wins, giving Daberkow the second best record in the program’s history for number of games won as a first-year head coach.

As Daberkow begins working with the team in his second year as head coach, the team is picked fourth in the conference by a pre-season coaches’ poll.

“We’re building toughness right now and spending time teaching the guys the fundamentals of their position and the schemes that we’ll be using this fall,” Daberkow said.

 

Golf

As Head Golf Coach Brett Muller and the men’s and women’s golf teams prepare for their season, key returners and newcomers bring hope for the program.

According to Director of Athletic Communications Jacob Knabel, newcomers to the men’s team Devin Koob, Joshua Schaefer and Colton Zulkowski are all transfers who had good records at their previous schools.

During last year’s season, the team equaled the program single-round record in the GPAC Championships with a score of 288.

For the women, Knabel named junior Murphy Sears as a key returner and freshman Kendra Placke as a key newcomer.

“(Placke) is actually from Seward High School, and there was a lot of competition to get her in recruiting because she was really good in high school. She should help them right away,” Knabel said.

After finishing 10th as a team last year, Knabel hopes that this year’s women’s team will help the golf program move up in the conference.

 

Men’s Soccer

After losing multiple seniors from last year’s record-setting team, the men’s soccer team will have to work on replacing them.

In last year’s season, the team set a school record for number of wins in a season, with 16 wins and only three losses and one tie. The previous record for number of wins in a season was 12.

“It will be difficult to surpass the success of 2017, but we have a good team that is capable of setting new heights. The expectations of our program have been rising each year, and these guys expect to return to the GPAC championship game for the fourth consecutive year,” Head Men’s Soccer Coach Jason Weides said in an email interview.

As they enter into this season picked second in the GPAC by a preseason coaches’ poll, Weides says this season isn’t going to be easy.

“(W)e won’t fly under the radar as we have done in previous years, which ensures our competition will be well-prepared to play us. The best way we can prepare to succeed is to simply give our best each day and commit to improve upon our best,” Weides said.

 

Women’s Soccer

Finishing last year’s season undefeated and winning the GPAC regular season title in their game against Hastings College, then later coming in as runner-up in the GPAC tournament championship game, the women’s soccer team was on a roll.

This year, under the direction of Head Women’s Soccer Coach Greg Henson, the team has been picked to finish second in the conference.

Last year marked the fourth year that the team made it to the GPAC tournament.

“They’ve become one of the better programs on campus. You can see what Greg Henson has done. His coaching record is really impressive—70 wins and only 25 losses,” Knabel said.     

After coming out of last year’s season with nine wins, one tie, and no losses, and with many of the players returning for another year, the team has high expectations for this season.

 

Volleyball

Concordia’s volleyball team is in for a reboot this season as they come from last year’s 9-19 season. This year will be their first season under the direction of Head Coach Ben Boldt and his wife and assistant coach Angie Boldt.

Ben Boldt says that the team has been focusing on serving and passing, fundamentals of the game, as they prepare for the coming season.

“If we can control that part of the game, we will put ourselves in a position to compete with any team in the nation,” Ben Boldt said.

As they put their effort toward their practices, the team is looking to move past themselves as they play.

“We are looking forward to the opportunity to compete with the best teams in the nation.  Our team is hungry to show what they can do. We want to be a team that inspires you with our effort,” Ben Boldt said.

The team is picked to finish eighth in the GPAC, according to a preseason coaches’ poll.

Returning players this season include all of the all-conference players from last year, sophomore Emmie Noyd, freshman Tara Callahan, and sophomore Alex La Plant.

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