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 |

1986 Football

The 1986 Cobber football team was predicted to have a building year, but they surprised everyone by winning the conference championship and advanced to the semi-finals of the Division III NCAA playoffs. Because of their outstanding year, Coach Jim Christopherson was named “MIAC Coach of the Year” and 10 Cobbers were named to the all-conference team: Dan Paladichuk, Dale McCullough, Brian Durkop, Russ Winkels, Kevin Hiedeman, Terry Horan, Joel Anderson, Jim Southwick, Tim Kruse, and Mike Schriner. Russ Winkels was team captain.

After losing to Moorhead State in their season opener, the Cobbers defeated Bethel 33 - 0 and went on to win their next ten games. Their conference record was 9 - 0 with an overall record of 11 - 2.

The scores for the season were:
Concordia 0 Moorhead State 21
Concordia 33 Bethel 0
Concordia 38 Gustavus 13
Concordia 21 Carleton 14
Concordia 49 Augsburg 9
Concordia 24 Macalester 7
Concordia 39 St. Olaf 14
Concordia 17 St. John’s 14
Concordia 35 St. Thomas 23
Concordia 19 Hamline 3
Concordia 24 UW - Stevens Point 15
Concordia 17 Central Col., IA 14
Concordia 7 Augustana Col., IL 41

The MIAC football race ended as:
Concordia 9 - 0
Macalester 6 - 2 - 1
Carleton 6 - 3
St. Thomas 6 - 3
St. John’s 4 - 4 - 1
Gustavus 4 - 5
Hamline 4 - 5
St. Olaf 4 - 5
Augsburg 1 - 8
Bethel 0 - 9

On the roster were Dave Ertl, Dan Paladichuk, Mickey Shumaker, David Stover, Randy Cramer, Doug Toivonen, Tim Petersen, Mark Wright, Mike Leach, Gregg Kruse, Paul Lundstrom, Terry Storm, Dale McCullough, Brian Durkop, Jon Florence, Mike Klindt, Russ Winkels, Steve Grove, Paul Bronson, Kevin Hiedeman, Jay Schultz, Brett Garland, Sam Foster, Terry Horan, Paul Haugo, Peter Naugle, Keith Schleeter, Jerry Hughes, Joel Anderson, Troy Teigen, Craig Seaberg, Mark Jondahl, Tim Pillar, Steve Schmitz, Jon Fisher, Steve Connelly, Chuck Miller, Jim Southwick, Mike Schriner, Tom Diekman, Mark Kratzke, Robert McCarthy, Mike Malmberg, Brett Larson, Rodney Thompson, Nate Johnson, Andy Raedeke, Tim Kruse, Brian Bruns, Todd Hauge, and Murray Smith.

J. M. “Jake” Christiansen, head football coach for 28 years and athletic director for 23 years, and Irvin A. Christenson, director of the physical education department for 18 years and athletic director for 12 years, have been selected as the first inductees into Concordia’s new Athletic All of Fame, according to Dr. Armin Pipho, the college’s present athletic director and department chair. The Athletic Hall of Fame will honor outstanding Concordia coaches, athletes, and other individuals who have made significant contributions to the athletic program.

1986-87 Golf

The 1986 men’s golf team finished their season with a fifth place finish in the conference tournament. Team leaders were Lance Butner and Tim Carlin, both with scores of 122. The tournament was shortened to 27 holes because of inclement weather. Head coach John Eidsness stated that the team had an off tournament or they would have place second in the MIAC.

During the season the team competed in the Erv Kaiser Invitational in Fargo, the Bemidji Invitational, the Rochester tournament, and the St. John’s Invitational where Tim Carlin shot a 69, the lowest 18-hole score for a Concordia golfer since 1978.

The team was comprised of A. Andersen, Marc Beulke, Lance Butner, Troy Butner, Tim Carlin, Tom Eide, Tom Fuglestad, Kim Larson, Jeff Mattson, Dave Melin, and Frank Mertz.

1986 Soccer

Varsity men’s soccer will be competing at the intercollegiate level at Concordia, beginning with the 1986 - 1987 academic year, according to Dr. Armin Pipho, athletic director. “It is particularly exciting to see Concordia expanding its athletic teams at a time when many schools are reducing their athletic offerings,” he said.

Currently, Concordia is the only school in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference not fielding a team in men’s soccer. While the MIAC soccer schedule is complete for the 1986 season, Pipho indicated the Concordia team would be palying a combination of games with varsity and junior varsity teams. He feels that there are a number of good soccer players already at Concordia, but the disadvantage is that they do not have collegiate-level experience.

While not winning many victories the men’s soccer team gained valuable experience for the coming year when they will become official members of the MIAC conference. Coach Tom Kennedy led the squad to a 2 - 4 - 1 record in the first abbreviated season of varsity competition.

The team, anchored by an entirely freshman defense, posted 1 - 0 and 3 - 1 victories over Augsburg and St. Olaf (JV), respectively, and solid midfield play kept them close in 3 - 4 and 0 - 2 losses to Hamline and Macalester.

Starring for Concordia were Cekiel Danielson, Craig MacBean, Jaren Anderson, Chris Lehman, and Brian Stone. Others on the team were Greg Gamache, Erling Romsaas, Joe Fisher, Jon Fuglestad, Ron Fee, Don Ertl, Leith Swanson, C. B. Eidum, Terrell Carr, Kevin Erickson, Tim Olson, Garnet Wahlund, Bruce Elson, Pat Arney, Rod McCutcheon, Michael Leffel, George Pomonis, John Seipp, Jon Benson, Dave Kroonblawd, Philip Anderson, Brad Bielenberg, and Darren Paulson.

1986 Cross Country

Major improvement marked the the season for the 1986 cross country team, coached by Tom Dahlen, who was optimistic about the team’s future. Greg DeFor led the way for Cobbers, finishing as Concordia’s top runner in several meets. At the regional meet, all the runners turned in their personal best times.

Running for the Cobbers were Pete Langer, Jon Zielske, Ron Baglien, Steve Eckert, Tom Ness, Brian Fisher, Roger Dorsey, Tim Miekle, Scott Rup, and Dan Lamken.

1986-87 Basketball

John Eidsness’ Running Cobber basketball team in 1986 - 1987 had a very successful year even though the team lost seven of its top nine players of the previous year. With a 11 - 9 record in conference play, the team ended in a four-way tie for third place. Their overall record was
14 - 11.

Perhaps the highlight of the season was the first place finish for the Cobbers in their Holiday Tournament where they defeated the NDSU Bison team for the first time in seven years.

The Cobbers set a school record for defense by allowing an average of only 58.3 points per game, the third best record nationwide.

Named to the all-conference team were captains Marv Eberling and Rodger Taylor while Mike Schwarz, Wade Hanson, and Mark Thimjon received honorable mention honors. Others on the roster were K.C. Ahrens, Paul Susag, Dan Chisholm, Keith Pearson, Brian Flam, Perry Tinjum, John Klinkosh, Steve Molstre, Bjorn Vellan, Tim Housholder, Chris Grussing, and Tim Gullingsrud.

The season’s results were:
Concordia 67 Moorhead State 69
Concordia 62 Bethel   78
Concordia 60 Gustavus 61
Concordia 47 St. Thomas 44
Concordia 89 Moorhead State 70
Concordia 60 Luther   57
Concordia 56 NDSU   50
Concordia 58 St. Mary’s 52
Concordia 61 Carleton 49
Concordia 57 St. John’s 61
Concordia 56 Hamline 46
Concordia 73 Macalester 57
Concordia 52 Augsburg 49
Concordia 49 St. Olaf 60
Concordia 62 Bethel   68
Concordia 57 Gustavus 70
Concordia 60 St. Thomas 59
Concordia 56 St. Mary’s 58
Concordia 61 Carleton 63
Concordia 50 St. John’s 55
Concordia 58 Hamline 50
Concordia 69 Macalester 56
Concordia 69 St. Olaf 59
Concordia 75 Augsburg 72

Conference standings were:
St. John’s 16 - 4
Gustavus 12 - 8
Concordia 11 - 9
Augsburg 11 - 9
Carleton 11 - 9
St. Mary’s 11 - 9
St. Thomas 10 - 10
Hamline 9 - 11
St. Olaf 9 - 11
Bethel 7 - 13
Macalester 3 - 17

1986-87 Hockey

Steve Baumgarner, a 1982 graduate of Concordia, and a standout hockey player who is now serving as the sports program technician for the city of Regina, Saskatchewan, has been named the new head Cobber hockey coach effective with the 1986 - 1987 season, according to Dr. Armin Pipho.
Baumgartner takes over the head coaching position from Al Rice, who has had the top slot for the past 18 years. Rice, who tallied his 200th career win toward the end of the 1986 season, will assume assistant coach status and continue his teaching duties.

Coach Steve Baumgartner in his first year as head coach, led the 1986 - 1987 Cobber hockey team to first place in the MIAC conference and a berth in the NCAA Division III Hockey Tournament. Their conference record was 12 - 4 while their overall record was 17 - 14 - 1. Baumgartner was named MIAC Coach of the Year.

Mark Rice was named the MIAC Most Valuable Player and Brian Johnston, Mark Rice, Colin Kerslake, and Todd Thompson were voted to the all-conference team. An Academic All-American Award was given to senior Ron Clark. Baumgartner stated that the team’s success did not come in individual flash, but in the 28 players’ team effort and that the Cobbers had the most balanced scoring of any team in the conference.

Other players on the team were Kirk Arnold, John Breyer, Ron Clrk, Larry Goos, Guy Distad, Bruce Elson, Greg Gamache, Brad Lacomy, Liam McDonald, Joe Snippes, John Bowkus, Rob Deics, Chris Miller, Brian Odland, Ross Richards, Garnet Wahlund, Brad Bielenberg, Greg Bird, Brett Erdmann, Ron Fee, Mark Jenson, John Kozichi, Roger Ohe, and Mark Wheeler.

The scores for the season were:
Concordia 4 Bemidji State 11
Concordia 12 St. Olaf 1
Concordia 6 Gustavus 5
Concordia 1 St. Thomas 9
Concordia 4 Bethel 2
Concordia 5 Bethel 1
Concordia 2 St. Cloud State 7
Concordia 5 St. John’s 3
Concordia 3 St. John’s 9
Concordia 2 St. Cloud State 12
Concordia 5 Hamline 3
Concordia 4 Hamline 3
Concordia 6 Augsburg 5
Concordia 6 Augsburg 7
Concordia 5 Air Force 6
Concordia 4 Air Force 6
Concordia 8 St. Olaf 2
Concordia 9 St. Olaf 4
Concordia 4 Gustavus 7
Concordia 6 Gustavus 3
Concordia 5 NDSU Club 4
Concordia 7 St. Mary’s 5
Concordia 5 St. Mary’s 4
Concordia 0 Bemidji State 4
Concordia 4 St. Thomas 1
Concordia 5 St. Thomas 8
Concordia 3 St. John’s 3
Concordia 9 St. John’s 3
(Concordia wins series 12 - 6)
Concordia 3 St. Thomas 4
Concordia 4 St. Thomas 2
(Concordia wins series 7 - 6)
NCAA Division III Quarter finals:
Concordia 1 Bemidji State 3
Concordia 6 Bemidji State 8
(Bemidji State wins 2 games to 0)

Conference results were:
Concordia 12 - 4
St. Mary’s 11 - 5
St. Thomas 10 - 6
St. John’s 9 - 7
Hamline 8 - 8
Augsburg 6 - 10
Bethel 8 - 8
Gustavus 6 - 10
St. Olaf 2 - 14

1986-87 Wrestling

For the 1986 - 1987 wrestling squad, it was a year of individual successes rather than as a team which finished in fifth place in the MIAC tournament. Ron Nellermoe was the team coach. Brett Larson was the individual winner for the Cobbers in the meet in the tournament. He had an overall record of 24 - 9 which placed him on the all-conference team and gave him a chance to compete in the NCAA Division III tournament.

Wrestling for Concordia were Joe Klingfus, Barron Johnson, Milan Larson, Matt Brasel, Kurt Scheer, Dave Erickson, Paul Gafstrom, Kevin Erickson, Todd Larson, Todd Risa, Mark Kratzke, Andy Raedeke, Steve Tonder, Brett Larson, Chris Nellermoe, and Shane Miller.

Barry Bennett, ‘78, a member of the New York Jets, was inducted into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Wrestling Hall of Fame. The induction took place at the NAIA National Tournament held in March at West Liberty (VA) State College.

Bennett, a North St. Paul native, won the NAIA heavyweight crown in 1976 and 1977 and captured the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III title in 1978. He was also a Minnesota All-Conference and All-American performer in football.

1987 Tennis

The men’s 1987 tennis team was coached by Bob Nick, placed eighth in the conference meet, and had a dual meet record of 8 - 10. Playing for Concordia were Leif Johnson, Tom Ness, Dan Vandersteen, Todd Webb, Mike Leffel, Barry Furuseth, Todd Spicer, and Brian Stone.

Their dual meet scores were:
Concordia 0 UND   9
Concordia 6 NDSU   3
Concordia 6 Macalester 3
Concordia 9 St. Mary’s 0
Concordia 8 Moorhead State 1
Concordia 9 UM - Morris 0
Concordia 1 St. Olaf 8
Concordia 0 Carleton 9
Concordia 0 St. Thomas 9
Concordia 3 Macalester 6
Concordia 1 UND   8
Concordia 6 Moorhead State 3
Concordia 4 Bethel   5
Concordia 5 NDSU   4
Concordia 4 St. John’s 5
Concordia 1 UM - Duluth 8
Concordia 0 Gustavus 9

Dan Vandersteen ‘87 is co-winner of the Arthur Ashe Award for outstanding achievements on and off the tennis court. It is the most prestigious honor given to a college tennis player. Vandersteen was cited for his accomplishments, both academic and as a tennis player, and for his sportsmanship and humanitarian qualities.

A high school tennis standout, Vandersteen developed his talents in college as Concordia’s No. 1 player for four years and maintained a 4.0 GPA.

1987 Track

The 1987 men’s track team had a very successful season with ten members receiving all-conference honors. They were Steve Schmitz, Jon Faust, Clint Faust, Jay Forgenson, Toni Urdahl, Greg DeFor, Michael Bouressa, David Burd, David Schweitz, and Kent Fritze. Doug Perry was head coach of the track team.

The team ran in nine meets excelling in middle-distance races, hurdles and field events which allowed them to place high in several meets. Concordia placed third in the Wahpeton Invitational and came within one point of winning their Irv Christenson Invitational. The 4 x 800 relay team, comprised of Greg DeFor, Jon Faust, Jim Lundstrom, and Bart Mueller, set a school record of 7.44 and was one of only 16 teams to qualify for the prestigious Drake Relays held in Iowa. DeFor was also named to the MIAC Academic All-Conference team.

Those on the track team were David Schwietz, Jon Faust, Ron Baglien, Jim Lundstrom (captain), Todd Johnson, Kent Fritze, Barb Mueller, Jon Zielske, Marc Johnson, Jack Danielson, Jeff Grasto, Michael Bouressa, Jason Dale, Pat Arney, Don Worchester, Scott Swedin, Andy Louvar, Peter Langr, Tony Urdahl, Ross Anderson, David Burd, Matt Taylor, Steve Schmitz, Jay Ness, Tom Bowman, Jay Jorgenson, Brian Barstad, Greg DeFor, Andy Babcock, Chris May, Steve Eckert, Clint Faust, and Paul Lundstrom.

1987 Baseball

It was a building year for the 1987 baseball team as they finished the season in seventh place with their 9 - 11 conference record and 17 - 21 overall record. Receiving honors were pitcher Colin Kerslake, named to the all-conference team, and Kevin Hiedeman, named to the MIAC Academic All-Conference team. Kerslake and Mark Rice were voted the team’s most valuable players. Don (Bucky) Burgau was the team coach.

On the team were Todd Larson, Mark Rice, Jon Sannes, Joel Smith, Kent Amundson, Jay Harter, Colin Kerslake, Paul Gade, Al Hanson, Kevin Hiedeman, Todd Johnson, Dan Leer, Scott Lundy, Scott Oeffling, David Pryzmus, Steve Rohloff, Chris Wasberg, Dean Atchison, Chad Campbell, Wade Hanson, Terry Horan, Doug Toivonen, Mike Leach, Darin Orr, Rick Schumaker, Joe Bjelland, Scott Bjerke, Dave Daniels, Jack Gehrke, Ty Goschen, Mike Klindt, Darin Miller, Jay Peterson, Kevin Ousdigion, Keith Pearson, Roger “Chip” Oie, Jay Sannes, Pete Wasberg, and Rick Westra.
Scores for the season were not available.

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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.