Outdoor track and field kicks off season in Kearney, breaking school records and meeting NAIA qualifying marks

Junior Adrianna Rodencal (far right) jumps over hurdles in a race (photo from previous meet).

Photo credit: Josiah Seabaugh

By Maddy Peters

Sports Editor

The Concordia Nebraska track and field team officially started their outdoor season at the UNK-Hastings College Central Nebraska Challenge in Kearney on March 28.

Though the event was moved up a day due to a poor weather forecast, the Bulldogs were more than ready with five golds, seven silvers and seven bronzes on the day. On top of that, three athletes hit the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ automatic qualifying mark and two school records were broken.

Junior Adrianna Rodencal broke her own record once again in the women’s 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.45 seconds netting her first place. She blew past the qualifying standard of 13.92 and placed third in the women’s 200-meter dash with a time of 24.35.

Fellow junior sprinter Kayla Kirchner finished with first place honors in the women’s 400-meter dash with a time of 57.96 just two seconds off the automatic qualifying mark.

Concordia was the only team to send athletes for the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. The results had junior Hannah Beintema in first with a time of 13:06.64, freshman Lydia Edmonds in second with a time of 13:39.05 and senior Katelyn Nix in third with a time of 14:53.91. Freshmen Cole Yunker and Jarrett Miles competed in the men’s steeplechase getting second (10:54.02) and third (11:22.43) respectively.

Concordia also took the top spots in the men’s 5,000-meter race walk with sophomore Luke Hammang coming in first with a time of 28:36.33 and freshman Sam Olson taking second with a time of 30:36.27. Notably, freshman Jonny Jurchen did not participate. Jurchen hit the B standard the previous week at the Grand View Viking Relays with a time of 25:24.08. Concordia only sent a handful of distance runners and thus was not on the official schedule.

A couple of women 4×100-meter relay teams hit the podium in Kearney. The first, made up of sophomore Cambria Saunders, Kirchner, senior Emily Loeske, and Rodencal placed second with a time of 48.01. The second made up of freshman Kenedee Canales, freshman Adysen McCarter, freshman Coral Collins and sophomore Kiki Nyanok were third with a time of 48.52.

Nyanok and McCarter impressed in the jumping events as well. Nyanok won first in the women’s long jump with a leap of 5.88-meters or 19’ 3.5”. McCarter, meanwhile, was second in the women’s triple jump, but broke a school record with her 11.88-meters 38’ 11.75 jump. The previous record was 38’ 9.5” set by Charista Zehnder in 2010. Junior Josi Noble placed third in the women’s triple jump with a leap of 11.18-meters or 36’ 8.25”.

Junior Mayson Ostermeyer hit the automatic qualifying mark in style with a massive 5.05-meter or 16’ 6.75” jump. The vault was a big personal record for Ostermeyer who snagged his second All-American award at indoor nationals earlier in the month. Only seven other Bulldogs have taken a higher vault.

The final automatic bid went to sophomore Nathan Baldwin, who threw a 52.96-meter or 172’ 10” in the men’s discus event. Senior throwers Abigail Gerber and Abi Wohlgemuth were third in the women’s shot put and women’s hammer throw respectively. Gerber had a 14.09-meter or 46’ 2.75” throw and Wohlgemuth had a 51.65-meter or 169’ 5” throw. Gerber and Wohlgemuth both hit the B national qualifying mark.

The team comes home for their next event: the Concordia University, Nebraska Invitational on April 5-6. This is one of two home invites the Bulldogs host for the outdoor season with the second coming in early May.