Men’s Cross Country Hopeful for Championship Showing
by Jordan McCoy
The Concordia men’s cross-country team has had a promising season so far. The team placed second overall in their first two meets, and were seventh against all 10 of their conference teams at their third meet.
The Bulldogs are currently standing at sixth in the GPAC. One of their main goals is to place in the top three at the GPAC Championships on Nov. 5, which according to coach Matthew Beisel is highly possible due to the consistent talent the men have this season.
“It’s going to take everything coming together with God’s help for us to hit our GPAC Championships goals,” Beisel said in an email interview.
Two of the most talented Bulldogs are junior Kohlton Gabehart and sophomore Thomas Taylor. Both of these runners have been running all-time personal bests and performing well on a consistent basis. Not far behind these two are junior Pat Wortmann and sophomore Evan Asche, with sophomore Cameron Moes and senior Chris Shelton only seconds behind in times.
“I absolutely love working with these guys and gals,” Beisel said in an email interview. “They inspire and motivate me, and I am blessed to have the opportunity to work with them.”
The men placed second at the Hastings College Bronco Stampede and the Dean White Invitational at Doane University. At the Briar Cliff Invitational in North Sioux City, S.D.,, many Concordia runners set personal or season bests, which helped them to finish seventh overall, beating the teams from Hastings College, Southwestern Community College, Wayne State College in Nebraska, Dakota State University, Dakota Wesleyan University, Mount Marty College, and Briar Cliff University.
According to the runners, the Bulldogs have a very strong core group and have had hardly any serious injuries, which is something they are very grateful for.
“The team is very Christ centered, we take time out of every practice to pray about our run and any major issues any team member may have,” Wortmann said. “I think this makes us much closer as a team.”
“To be improving from race to race is a real positive,” Gabehart said. “That means none of us have peaked yet in the season and it leaves room for improvement for our team going into the conference meet.”
The Bulldogs had fall break to rest and recover but were back in action on Oct. 22 at the Mt. Mercy University Seminole Valley Stampede in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The men gained twelfth place against 25 other teams.
The GPAC Championship will take place on Nov. 5, at Hastings College.
