Concordia Sports - The First 100 Years by Finn Grinaker

"Concordia Men's Sports - The First One Hundred Years"
by Vernon Finn Grinaker
| Return to Index | Chapter 1 | 1903-1921 | 20's | 30's | 40's | 50's | 60' | 70's | 80's | 90's |
Chapter 9-- The 80's

| 1980-1981 | 1981-1982 | 1982-1983 | 1983-1984 | 1984-1985 | 1985-1986 | 1986-1987 | 1987-1988 | 1988-1989 | 1989-1990 |

1983 Football

After a strong start that included a 17 - 7 victory over cross-town rival Moorhead State University, the 1983 Cobber football team ended the season with a sixth place finish in the MIAC with a 4 - 5 record, 5 - 6 overall. Coach Jim Christopherson had six players winning all-conference honors. On the first team were Tom Shepley and Roger Lindahl. Lindahl was also co-MVP in the MIAC and received all-district honors and All-American honors in the NAIA, Division II.

Scores for the season were:
Concordia 14 U of M-Morris 23
Concordia 17 Moorhead State 7
Concordia 24 Augsburg 20
Concordia 14 St. Olaf 9
Concordia 14 Macalester 10
Concordia 3 Carleton 17
Concordia 23 Bethel 14
Concordia 3 Hamline 14
Concordia 7 St. Thomas 12
Concordia 7 St. John’s 17
Concordia 14 Gustavus 24

Conference standings were:
St.Thomas 9 - 0
St. John’s 7 - 2
Hamline 6 - 3
Gustavus 5 - 4
Macalester 5 - 4
Concordia 4 - 5
Augsburg 3 - 6
St. Olaf 3 - 6
Bethel 2 - 7
Carleton 1 - 8

The roster included Shawn Anderson, Reid Christopherson, Dave Phillipe, Stuart Stangeland, Kurt Waters, Alan Klingbeil, Howard Berglund, Kiel Pridey, Lance Stover, Jon Hegre, Neil Fuller, Mark Wright, Dave Vandersteen, Kirk Nelson, Darren Kessler, John Pratt, Paul Rihiluoma, Wayne Hansmann, Bob Michaelson, Kent Kuball, Dale McCullough, Brian Durkop, Steve Ringdahl, Chuck Ross, Mike Enslin, Russ Winkels, Nelson Rotto, Kevin Hamm, Craig Sawyer, Joe Savageau, John Stearns, Ryan Haaland, Doug Link, Paul Samuelson, Dan Hertel, Steve Rohloff, Scott Knutson, Craig Clarin, Allen Larson, Mark Anderson, Pat Emerson, Davin Heyd, Kevin Hines, Steve Emerson, Robert Bye, Matt Appleby, Shannon Farley, Allan Haugo, Roger Lindahl, Todd Ruppert, Jim Cleveland, Tim Scott, Donnie Klatt, Steve Schmitz, Scott Schultz, Mark Kratzke, Charles Miller, Mike Schriner, Steve Thompson, Bruce Winter, Kris Lahren, Lee Crum, Stuart Alger, Harry Teaster, Tony Paul, Craig Simmons, Rodney Thompson, Tom Shepley, Howard Heisler, Chuck Sanders, Todd Schierkolk, Mark Rice, Pete Seljevold, Brian Leines, Dan Hauer, Joe Neely, Mark Kindem, Jeff Olson, Mike Hoganso, Todd Hauge, Mark Nelson, and Mark Thornton.

1983-84 Golf

The 1983 Cobber men’s golf team opened their season without two all-conference performers from the previous year. However, the Cobbers placed in the middle of the pack at each of their first two tournaments while coming in third at the NDSU Invitational. Concordia finished fourth at their own invitational and fourth in the conference meet.

Golfers were Chuck Nervick, Michael Johnson, Jim Rasmussen, Dave Elton, Dave Melin, and P. W. Stageberg. John Eidsness coached the team.

1983 Cross Country

The 1983 cross-country team, under Coach Paul Fredrickson, edged out Bethel College by one point for fifth place at the MIAC championship and then placed 11th out of 16 teams at the NCAA, Division III Regional meet. David Johnson led the Cobber men at the MIAC meet with a 16th place finish and 24th at the regionals.

1983-84 Basketball

Running Cobber basketball for 1983 - 1984 ended their season with a 13 - 13 overall record and finished in fifth place in the MIAC with a 10 - 10 record under Coach John Eidsness. Dale Moe was named to the all-conference team and also to the NAIA District 13 team.

Those on the team were Dan Jaworski, Dale Moe, Bob Nelson, Brad Willis, Dan Douglas, Darrel Pederson, John Riewer, Tim Knotek, Craig Wolhowe, Mitch Moser, Kurt Kenna, Kurt Larson, Dennis Krull, and Jon Rorem.

The season’s results were:
Concordia 67 UM - Morris 57
Concordia 55 St. John’s 76
Concordia 43 Hamline 44
Concordia 50 St. Thomas 73
Concordia 56 MSU   61
Concordia 65 Valley City State 72
Concordia 61 Sioux Falls 66
Concordia 79 Carleton 57
Concordia 70 Gustavus 65
Concordia 61 St. Mary’s 58
Concordia 67 MSU   65
Concordia 68 St. Olaf 65
Concordia 56 Carleton 54
Concordia 64 Augsburg 50
Concordia 76 Bethel   79
Concordia 49 Macalester 46
Concordia 52 St. John’s 74
Concordia 72 Gustavus 58
Concordia 63 St. Thomas 73
Concordia 44 Hamline 40
Concordia 64 St. Mary’s 65
Concordia 57 St. Olaf 63
Concordia 65 Carleton 53
Concordia 58 Augsburg 72
Concordia 75 Macalester 54
Concordia 48 Bethel   54

Standings in the conference were:
Augsburg 17 - 3
St. John’s 16 - 4
St. Thomas 15 - 5
Hamline 11 - 9
Concordia 10 - 10
St. Mary’s 9 - 11
St. Olaf 9 - 11
Gustavus 8 - 12
Bethel 6 - 14
Carleton 5 - 15
Macalester 4 - 16

It was shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday morning when a Concordia basketball van carrying eight persons slid off an icy Interstate 94 three miles north of Fergus Falls and rollwed twice down a snowy embankment before coming to rest in an upright position in the bottom of a ditch. Two players, Brad Willis and Craig Wolhowe, and team manager Matt Lemke received minor injuries.

1983-84 Wrestling

Three members of the 1983 - 1984 wrestling team competed in the NCAA Division III tournament — Jeff Neil, Scott Putz, and Thomas Raedeke. Finishing in fourth place in the MIAC, the team was hampered by injuries to key team members. In dual meets, Concordia was 6 - 7.

Cobber wrestlers were Wade Christensen, Jim Cleveland, Paul Donner, Steve Emerson, Ryan Haaland, Rob Hasse, Fred Knudsvig, Neal Mobraten, Paul Morlock, Jeff Neil, Mike Poore, Scott Putz, Tom Raedeke, Harry Teaster, and Mike Werner. The team was coached by Finn Grinaker.

Results of the season were:
St. Cloud Tournament: 9th place out of 16 teams
North Country Tournament: 2nd place out of 11 teams (Haaland and Morlock, 1st place)
All-Lutheran Tournament: 3rd place out of 7 teams (Morlock, 1st place)
MIAC Conference Meet: 4th place out of 9 teams (Neil and Donner, 1st place)
Concordia 12 UM - Morris 29
Concordia 8 Valley City State 31
Concordia 19 St. John’s 23
Concordia 51 Gustavus 0
Concordia 24 Moorhead State 19
Concordia 12 Augsburg 38
Concordia 47 Hamline 12
Concordia 19 UND 28
Concordia 42 St. Olaf 15
Concordia 16 Mayville 35
Concordia 12 St. Thomas 31
Concordia 40 Bethel 6
Concordia 42 Carleton 6

1983-84 Hockey

The 1983 - 1984 hockey team had a tough season with a disappointing 3 - 11 - 1 conference record and overall 4 - 21 - 1 record. Coach Al Rice felt that the record did not reflect the outstanding team effort that characterized the season, noting that the team lost nine games by one goal, including five losses in overtime.

Andy Odegaard and Erick Grafstrom were named to the MIAC honorable mention hockey team.
The roster included Steve Kuttkem Brad Bergstrom, Clayton Wiffen, Ron Clark, Mel Baily, Andy Odegaard, Steve Nornes, Shawn Anderson, John Stensgard, Erick Grafstrom, Larry Goos, Shawn Lund, Mike Pitsenbarger, Bart Grafstrom, Rich Larson, Sam Bakken, Jamie Seyberth, Andy Mack, Dave Swanberg, Mark Vatnsdal, Craig Shaw, David Larson, Kirk Arnold, John Breyer, Joel Duray, Dave Lamb, and Mike McDonald.

Scores for the season were:
Concordia 1 Bemidji State 8
Concordia 3 U-A Anchorage 12
Concordia 2 U-A Anchorage 5
Concordia 3 U-A Fairbanks 6
Concordia 1 U-A Fairbanks 10
Concordia 3 St. John’s 6
Concordia 5 St. John’s 4
Concordia 4 U of Winnipeg 8
Concordia 5 U of Winnipeg 6
Concordia 3 Bethel 4
Concordia 4 Bethel 7
Concordia 5 St. Olaf 7
Concordia 5 St. Olaf 7
Concordia 5 St. Mary’s 6
Concordia 1 St. Mary’s 2
Concordia 6 Hamline 5
Concordia 5 Hamline 5
Concordia 3 Bemidji State 7
Concordia 5 St. Thomas 18
Concordia 4 St. Thomas 9
Concordia 8 St. Cloud State 7
Concordia 5 Augsburg 4
Concordia 5 Augsburg 7
Concordia 7 St. Cloud State 8
Concordia 4 Gustavus 10
Concordia 5 Gustavus 12

In the MIAC race, the schools ranked as follows:
Gustavus 13 - 2 - 1
St. Thomas 13 - 3
Augsburg 10 - 6
Hamline 8 - 7 - 1
St. John’s 6 - 10
St. Olaf 6 - 10
Bethel 6 - 10
St. Mary’s 5 - 9 - 1
Concordia 3 - 12 - 1

1984 Tennis

Coach Bob Nick led his 1984 tennis team to its second best team in Cobber history with a 19 - 5 record, 15 - 3 in conference play. Team members included Corey Bell, Scott Engum, Vic Youngs, Eric Ziegler, Andy Odegaard, Tyler Johnson, Dave Vandersteen, Dan Vandersteen, and Dave Eidsmoe.

Tennis results were:
Concordia 7 Moorhead State 2
Concordia 8 NDSU   1
Concordia 2 St. John’s 7
Concordia 2 St. Olaf 7
Concordia 8 Carleton 1
Concordia 5 Northern State 4
Concordia 0 UM - Duluth 9
Concordia 8 St. Scholastica 1
Concordia 9 UM - Morris 0
Concordia 9 Northern Michigan 0
Concordia 7 Moorhead State 2
Concordia 9 Valley City State 0
Concordia 9 Bethel   0
Concordia 9 Hamline 0
Concordia 0 St. Thomas 9
Concordia 5 Gustavus 4
Concordia 9 NDSU   0
Concordia 9 S. Dakota Tech 0
Concordia 8 Minot State 1
Concordia 9 Valley City State 0
Concordia 6 Northern State 3
Concordia 9 Valley City State 0
Concordia 7 St. Mary’s 2
Concordia 7 Macalester 2

1984 Baseball

With an overall record of 27 - 8 and a conference record of 12 - 5, the 1984 Cobber baseball team, coached by Don “Bucky” Burgau, had its best season ever. Co-captains Howard Berglund and Mark Nelson, along with Kent Kuball, were named to the all-conference baseball team. Berglund also received all-American honors. Mark Nelson led the team in defense and offense.

Players were Howard Berglund, Dan Hertel, John Kost, Craig Simmons, Mark Nelson, Craig Smith, Tim Anderson, Ray Brekke, Kent Kuball, Craig Sawyer, Dan Solbrack, Craig Emerson, Doug Kovash, Paul Hanson, Mark Rice, John Riewer, John Stearns, Greg Toivonen, Kent Amundson, Todd Larson, Doug Link Kevin Moe, Chris Napierala, Doug Schwab, and Chris Swanson.

Team results were:
Concordia 2 Hamline 3
Concordia 4 Hamline 3
Concordia 5 St. John’s 4
Concordia 11 St. John’s 6
Concordia 2 Valley City State 1
Concordia 6 Valley City State 0
Concordia 10 Valley City State 0
Concordia 2 Valley City State 0
Concordia 2 UND   1
Concordia 1 UND   4
Concordia 3 NDSU   0
Concordia 3 Minot State 2
Concordia 1 NDSU   2
Concordia 11 Minot State 7
Concordia 8 Bethel   3
Concordia 10 Bethel   4
Concordia 14 Dickinson State 3
Concordia 12 Dickinson State 0
Concordia 11 Valley City State 1
Concordia 13 Valley City State 4
Concordia 4 St. Thomas 6
Concordia 2 St. Thomas 7
Concordia 1 St. Mary’s 4
Concordia 4 St. Mary’s 5
Concordia 12 Hamline 10
Concordia 15 Hamline 5
Concordia 8 Carleton 4
Concordia 2 St. Olaf 1
Concordia 6 St. Olaf 1
Concordia 10 St. John’s 2
Concordia 15 St. John’s 6
Concordia 11 Macalester 0
Concordia 15 Macalester 2
Concordia 2 Gustavus 3
Concordia 6 Gustavus 3

The conference standings were:
St. Olaf 16 - 4
St. Mary’s 15 - 5
Concordia 12 - 5
Augsburg 11 - 7
Gustavus 11 - 7
St. Thomas 12 - 8
Hamline 9 - 9
Bethel 6 - 12
St. John’s 6 - 12
Macalester 4 - 16
Carleton 1 - 18

1984 Track

The 1984 Cobber track team had two new additions — a new coach, Doug Perry, and the Irv Christenson all-weather outdoor track. The track provided the runners with one of the finest facilities in the nation on which to train and compete. Dave “D.J.” Johnson and Pete Seljevold were team captains.
Concordia trackmen were Bob Hinman, Todd Finlayson, Henrik Pedersen, Clay Loeffler, Paul Yetter, Jeff Kemmet, Ron Baglien, Clayton Wiffen, Brian Durkop, Bryan Bannmiller, Tim Boie, Kurt Waters, Dave Johnson, Wayne Hansmann, Nick Newton, Pete Seljevold, Greg Enerson, Bruce Fuller, Keith Schleeter, Steve Schmitz, Reid Christopherson, Paul Miller, Al Haugo, Nate Lund, and Phil Elkin.

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These pages are maintained by Jerry Pyle - pyle@cord.edu and Finn Grinaker - cgrinaker@juno.com. These pages are copyrighted © and may not be published or reproduced without the express permission of Finn Grinaker.