Track and Field athletes compete in 44 different events in Crete’s Jim Dutcher Memorial Classic

Senior sprints/hurdles runner Marc Freiberg II dashes alongside the home bleachers during a race. 

Photo credit: Josiah Seabaugh (photo from previous event) 

By Cohen Carpenter

The Bulldogs were in Crete over the weekend for the Jim Dutcher Memorial Classic hosted by Doane University, where they put on another dominant showing, finishing the meet with 47 podium finishes across 44 different events.

The action began Thursday and Friday with some of the field events, including the javelin throw. Most notable for the Bulldogs among these performers was sophomore Matthew Boyer, who qualified for nationals in the javelin throw with a heave of 66.78 meters (219’ 1”). Not only was this toss good for gold at the meet (the second farthest throw was 56.88 meters) but it was also good for a Concordia school record. The previous record, set by Kevin Baker, had been held for 38 years at 62.6 meters.

Boyer wasn’t the only Bulldog who threw the javelin well on Friday, as senior Amy Richert and freshman Emma Kircera finished one and two on the podium for the women in the heptathlon heat. Both setting new personal records, Richert threw for 35.33 meters (115’ 11”) and Kucera tossed 35 meters (114’ 10”) flat.

Also in the field for the women was junior Abigail Gerber, throwing a personal record and qualifying for nationals in the shot put with a 14.53-meter (47’ 08”) toss – best in the meet by almost a full meter. In the heptathlon heat for women’s shot put, Concordia took spots 2-5, with sophomore Josie Noble and junior Elena Batenhorst throwing 11.04 meters and 10.43 meters respectively to take home second and third.

The male throwers were on their A-game as well. Senior Darien Semedo qualified for nationals and took gold in shot put, tossing a season best of 16.45 meters (53’ 11.75”). Along with Semedo, juniors Austen Rozelle (discus and hammer) and Connor Asche (hammer) finished on the podium. Rozelle finished second in discus with a throw of 47.22 meters (154’ 11”) and third in the hammer throw with 51.43 meters (168’ 8”). Asche bested Rozelle in the hammer throw and fell short of first by less than a meter, going for 53.17 meters (174’ 5”).

In the women’s pole vault, sophomore Kayla Svoboda took home the bronze with a 3.25-meter jump. Also finishing third for the men was freshman Jax Jacobson. He, along with Rafer Severson from Hastings, tied for the bronze at 4.10 meters.

In the high jump, while none of the Bulldog women made the finals, two freshmen, Zoey Walker and Addie Reimer, finished first and second respectively in the heptathlon heat. Both women jumped for 1.59 meters, which proved to be a personal best for Reimer.

In the long jump finals, the underclassmen shined. Freshman Kiki Nyanok took home gold with a jump of 5.42 meters. Jumping just short of her was sophomore Hayley Miles, who finished in third place with a leap of 5.35 meters. In the heptathlon heat, Richert took second and recorded a personal season best with her jump of 5.42 meters, just missing out on the gold by .02 meters.

On the track, it was business as usual for the Bulldogs. Sophomore Kayla Kirchner took home bronze in the 200-meters with a time of 26.03 – good for a season best. Also in the 200, in a different heptathlon heat, sophomore Josi Noble ran a 26.30, a season best, and Richert added to her medal collection, getting third with 26.48.

In the women’s 400, Jenna Esch ran a 55.8, good for first at the meet. The senior set a personal record with this time and qualified for nationals. Finishing closely behind her was Kirchner. The short-distance specialist took home the bronze with a 28.72.

Esch continued to impress in the women’s 800, finishing with yet another personal season record and gold, running a 2:18.21. Also on the podium, finishing third, was junior Rhaya Kaschinske, who set a personal record at 2:21.20. In the separate heptathlon heat for the 800 meter, Noble finished second, setting a personal season record with a 2:29.72.

The Concordia women continued to dominate in the long distance events. Bulldogs finished one and two in the 1500 with junior Kylahn Freiberg running a personal best at 4:36.15 and freshman Claire Beikmann running a personal best of 5:03.81. In the 5000, sophomore Ellie Jander took silver with a season best of 20:22.54, and freshman Josie Smith finished with a personal best of 20:26.58.

In the women’s hurdle events, junior Isabelle Salters finished first in the 100 meter finals with a 15.97, followed immediately by sophomore Landrey Walter in second, who finished second with a season-best 16.40. In the 400, junior Jordan Koepke finished first with a 1:02.15 and Salters followed behind, finishing third with a 1:07.16, a personal best.

In the heptathlon 100 meter hurdles, Batenhorst ran a 15.55, coming in just a hair ahead of Noble, who finished with a time of 15.60. Those times were good for second and third and were both personal bests.

Rounding out the women’s performances was Hannah Beintema. The sophomore finished first with a 12:00.44 in the 3000-meter steeplechase, a personal best.

Due to their stellar performances across multiple events, Richert and Noble garnered heptathlon points that will be crucial as they make their final push towards nationals. Richert finished the meet second in total points with 4,600, a season record, and Noble was close behind her teammate, finishing third with 4,534 points to her name, a personal record.

On the men’s side, Liam Fagan was the lone podium finisher in the short distance races. The sophomore finished third in the 400 meter finals with a 51.72. The men also only had one podium finish in the medium distances races as well, with the sophomore Trevor Kuncl setting a personal season best running a 1:58.91 in the 800.

The men did sweep the 5k, however, as senior Calvin Rhode (14:58.96), freshman Trey Robertson (15:21.29) and Kuncl (15:23.26) finished first, second, and third, respectively. Also, in the 10k, freshman Benjamin Ehrenberg finished third with a personal record of 35:55.36.

In the men’s hurdle events, freshman Hayden Kluthe finished with a 15.88 in the 110 meter hurdles, good for third in the finals. In the 400 meter hurdles, junior Teagan Myer finished with a 57.42, also good for third.

Finally, in the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase, sophomore Westley Determan finished third with a 10:18.21.

When all was said and done, the Bulldogs had 11 first place finishes and five athletes qualified for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national tournament.

Concordia will be back in action April 25 for the Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolf Invite in Lincoln.