Rodencal ends perfect season as track national champ
Adrianna Rodencal (middle) wins the 60-meter hurdles at the NAIA Track and Field National Championships.
Photo submitted by Concordia Athletics.
By Kai Olbrich
Sports Editor
This article is featured in the April print edition of the Sower newspaper.
Senior track and field athlete Adrianna Rodencal capped off her perfect season in the 60-meter hurdles on March 7 with a personal best and first-place finish at the 2026 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Indoor Track and Field National Championships in Gainesville, Florida.
Rodencal breezed through the preliminaries with 8.38 seconds before turning on the jets in the final race. Her time of 8.25 seconds was 0.19 seconds faster than second place and earned her the first national title of her college career. That time improved her own school record, one she continued to push throughout the season.
Adrianna Rodencal. Photo: Concordia Athletics.
Throughout 15 hurdles races this season, from prelims to finals, Rodencal never found herself anywhere but first when crossing the finish line. The national championship adds to Rodencal’s long list of accolades. Including indoor and outdoor track and field, Rodencal is an 11-time Great Plains Athletic Conference champion in various events, a four-time Great Plains Athletic Conference Athlete of the Year, a five-time All-American, and she now has a national championship to cap it all off.
Going into college, Rodencal had the goal of achieving All-American status, and when that happened in her junior year, she set her eyes on the national title.
The beginning of the season is always daunting for Rodencal, as the fear that she may have peaked is in the back of her mind, but a strong and consistent start was a big confidence booster.
“Starting the season where I ended last time was super promising, and then just continued to grow on that,” Rodencal said. “To finally get to do it on the big stage in front of everyone, and let alone win, but also PR (personal record) was something that I was very grateful for, and I’m very happy that senior year is where it’s happening.”
Track and Field Coach Matt Beisel said that Rodencal’s national championship was one of the highlights of his coaching career. Beisel emphasized how difficult it is to reach the level Rodencal has, and how an athlete needs to do just about everything right to have even a chance. He said that many talented athletes have come through the program, but for various reasons, did not have the desire to make the necessary sacrifices to reach the elite level.
Beisel spoke to the resilience Rodencal has shown throughout her career, from mineral deficiencies early on to missing the 60-meter hurdle finals at nationals during her sophomore season by one 100th of a second. He said that nearly all of his top athletes faced setbacks in their athletic journeys.
“I could literally list you pretty much every All-American, every conference champion, every national, top three finisher, and every single one of those guys and girls did not have a straight linear path to success,” Beisel said. “Many of them had significant setbacks, and many of them had to learn the hard way about just what they can and cannot do to reach those levels, but, you know, they managed to do it, and they didn’t throw in the towel when they were faced with adversity.”
Along with being a top performer on the track, Beisel knows Rodencal to be a leader on the team, in ways he has seen firsthand, and in ways that he knows from his running days, often don’t get seen by the coaching staff.
“Ninety percent of the stuff that really built those relationships with my teammates happened away from practice. And my coach had no idea. Oh, we were having that dinner, going out to the movies, or whatever. And I think that that’s something that she’s been intentional about, and she’s not the only one,” Beisel said.
Looking forward to the outdoor season, Rodencal is hoping to win both the 100- and 400-meter hurdle national titles, as well as compete on a strong 4×1 and 4×4 team.
“I’d like to sweep all the hurdles. I think I’ve put in the work and put in the effort, definitely doable. But yeah, I think the 100 hurdles is something I want to definitely work on a lot more,” she said. “The 400 hurdles, I don’t know, I want to do all of it. That’s the problem. I want to do all of it, but the hurdles, yeah, are my babies. I love them.”
Beisel is rooting for Rodencal all the way and wants to see her do her very best.
“I’m just incredibly proud of her and, you know, praying that she stays healthy and is able to accomplish her outdoor goals because, you know, she’s worked really hard for it,” Beisel said.
