Sower sports roundup, April 10
By Kai Olbrich
Powerlifting
The powerlifting team exceeded expectations at nationals on April 3-6, earning a team banner, four top-four individual placements, and a national champion.
Junior Rylie Ladd was the headline act for the Bulldogs as she outshone her competition in the 52 kg raw category to claim the national championship. Ladd had a 385 kg total which broke down to a 130 kg squat, 150 kg deadlift, and a national record 97.5 kg bench.
Junior Taylor Hedke was the next-best Bulldog competitor as she placed third in the 60kg department. She mustered a 170 kg squat, 82.5 kg bench and 170 kg deadlift for a 422.5 kg total score.
Sophomore Teya Badger rounded out the top three for the women with a fourth-place finish in the 100 kg division. She squatted 190 kg, benched 92.5 kg, and deadlifted 185 kg for a 467.5 kg total.
Freshman Wyatt Hosick was the top performer for the men’s team. Hosick placed fourth in the 60kg weight class with a 190 kg squat, 115 kg bench, and 220 kg deadlift for a total of 525 kg.
The women’s team did not just supply some good individual performances. Collectively, they were able to supply 29 team points and earn fifth place, just one point off of the two teams tied for third.
The Bulldogs will host the final powerlifting meet of the year on April 12 in the PE Center Gym.
Men’s Golf
The men’s golf team took sixth place and had a top 10 individual competitor at the Bethel College Invite on April 5-6.
The Bulldogs finished right in the middle team-wise, sixth place out of 11 with a stroke total of 636 across two rounds. The first round at Hesston Golf Course totaled 320 for Concordia, and they hit 316 in round two at Sand Creek Station.
Junior Jake Richmond was the top Bulldog athlete as he came sixth overall. He shot 75 in the first round and 76 in the second for a 151 total which was just three strokes off of second place.
The next three Bulldogs all finished close in score to each other. Sophomore Jacob Dowd got 27th with a 160 total, senior Justin Webert came in 30th with 162, and senior Jaxson Fullerton came 31st with 163. All three of them were in the top half of the 63-man field.
The next varsity competition for the Bulldogs is the Bulldog-Tiger Cup on April 12 in Cairo, Nebraska.
Softball
The softball team struggled on offense and was defeated twice in its doubleheader against Morningside on April 8. 8-0 in the first game, 7-1 in the second.
The first game started off quite poorly for the Bulldogs as they found themselves 4-0 behind after just two innings. Things didn’t get any better as Morningside added four more runs in the fourth inning. After the Bulldogs failed to score in the fifth inning, the game was ended early.
Senior Megan Eurich started the game on the mound and pitched two innings, giving up four runs on six hits and striking out one. Junior Taryn Ganstrom relieved Eurich and also pitched two innings. Ganstrom conceded four runs off of three hits.
Things started off better for Concordia in the second game of the series as the third inning was reached without a run for either side. That quickly changed, however, in the bottom of the third as Morningside ran up the scoreboard with five runs on four hits.
The lone Bulldog run was scored by Ganstrom in the top of the fifth off of a Jennifer Katz double.
Sophomore Kaylei Denison had the bulk of the Concordia pitches. In 5.2 innings she gave up 11 hits, seven runs, and struck out five Morningside batters. Sophomore Jordan Head pitched the final .1 inning and recorded a strikeout.
The Bulldogs sit at 20-14 overall, 5-7 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference, and will look to bounce back in a double-header away at Doane on April 11 at three and five p.m.
Tennis
The men’s tennis team completed a comfortable 7-0 sweep over Hastings at home on April 9 to give them five wins out of their last six games.
The match started with the doubles competitors, and the Bulldogs won all three games to earn the point. Juniors Hugo Fuentes and Nick Velders, freshman Ben Chisholm and junior Santiago Abadia, and seniors Grady Works and Manuel Rodriguez were the doubles partnerships.
The Bulldogs then proceeded to win all six singles points. Fuentes, Velders, Chisholm, Works, sophomore Joseph Melzer and sophomore Michael Bedrosian were the victors.
The win puts the Bulldogs up to 11-6 on the season and 3-1 in the GPAC. The Bulldogs are back in action on April 11 in Fremont, Nebraska to take on Midland.
The women had exactly the same result as the men, a 7-0 sweep of the Broncos at home on April 9.
Freshman Ishane Derman and junior Mariana Molano, sophomore Chakira Derman and junior Alana Lopez Pagan, and sophomore Alexa Richert and senior Tessa Blough were the doubles winners for the Bulldogs.
The singles matchups were also a clean Concordia sweep and included Molano, Derman, Lopez Pagan, Derman, Richert, and freshman Nina Milic. The win is the seventh sweep of the season for the Bulldogs who sit second in the GPAC standings with a 4-1 conference record, 13-2 overall.
The next match for the Bulldogs is on April 10 away at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska.
