CUNE Track and Field Adds Nationals Qualifiers at Polar Dog Invite
by Morgan Consier
Concordia hosted the 2019 Polar Dog Invite on Jan. 19 in the Walz Fieldhouse. Three other schools participated in the invite: MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kansas), Nebraska Wesleyan University, and Sterling College (Kansas).
Seven Concordia athletes received ‘A’ standards at the meet, including Concordia’s women’s 4×4 team, junior pole vaulter Allison Brooks, junior pole vaulter McKenzie Gravo, freshman pole vaulter Erin Mapson, junior pole vaulter Gavin DeHaai, senior Nathan Matters in the men’s 600m run, and senior weight thrower Johanna Ragland.
Mapson, Gravo, and Brooks also qualified for nationals in Pole Vault at the meet as did the women’s 4×400 relay Squad A.
Men’s Results
In the short-distance runs, Concordia men got multiple top three spots, including senior Nathan Matters coming in first place in the 600-meter run.
400-meter – second place – freshman Gavin Davis – 50.12
600-meter – first place – senior Nathan Matters – 1:21.89
800-meter – second place – sophomore Christian Van Cleave – 2:00.60
1000-meter – third place – freshman Brayden Adams – 2:47.21
5000-meter – second place – sophomore Jordan Lorenz – 16:34.92
third place – senior Evan Asche – 16:37.18
Sophomore Cody Williams came in third place in the men’s 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.43 seconds.
In the 4×400 relay, Concordia’s Squad A came in second place with a time of 3 minutes, 23.34 seconds. Concordia Squad B, Squad C and Squad D came in fourth, fifth, and sixth places, respectively.
Concordia’s Squad A took the first place spot in the 4×800 relay with a time of 8:21.93. Squad B came in third place with a time of 9:03.00.
In the high jump event, sophomore Benjamin Pratt came in first place with a distance of 6’ 2.25”.
Concordia men’s track took the top seven spots in the pole vault event, with junior Gavin DeHaai in first with a height of 15 feet, 5 inches and sophomore Cody Williams in second with a height of 14’ 9”.
Junior Taylor Beck took first in the triple jump event with a distance of 44’ 10.25”.
In men’s weight throw, Concordia swept the top three spots. Junior Jacob Cornelio came in first with a distance of 63’ 7.75”, almost 13 feet farther than junior Liam Hennessy who came in second with a distance of 50’ 10.25”. Freshman Dagne’ Buck took third place with a distance of 49’ 11.25”.
Women’s Results
Freshman Rachel Battershell and freshman Jacee Pfeifer took first and second places respectively in the women’s 200-meter run.
Senior Taylor Grove came in first in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 18:41.87. Grove also set a new personal record at the Sleet and Snow meet.
In the 4×400 relays, Concordia women’s Squad A took first place with a time of 3:58.50, a time which qualified them for nationals in the event. Squad B came in third place with a time of 4:11.04, and Squad C landed a fifth place finish with a time of 4:21.65. Concordia also took the first place spot in the women’s 4×800 run.
Freshman Ally Glaser came first in the women’s High Jump with a height of 5’ 1.75”.
Freshman Erin Mapson, junior MacKenzie Gravo, and senior Allison Brooks took the top three spots in women’s Pole Vault. All three also competed for nationals with their performances at the meet with heights of 11’ 6.5”.
Concordia also swept the first through third place spots in the triple jump event. Freshman Adriana Sims came in first with a distance of 37’ 0.25”. Senior Leah Larson, who holds the school record in the event took second place with a distance of 36’ 9.75”. Junior Jessica Deterding came in third place with a distance of 36’ 9.75”.
Completing a round of first through third place sweeps, Concordia women took all three top spots in weight throw as well. Junior Adrianna Shaw threw a distance of 60’ 6.75”, senior Johanna Ragland had a distance of 55’ 9.75”, and senior Samantha Lierman finished with a distance of 53’ 9.75”.
