Season
Wrap-Ups Index
The 1997-98 Concordia winter sports scene was highlighted by an MIAC Indoor track and Field championship for the Cobber Women, third place finishes in the MIAC by both men's track and women's basketball, and significant improvement in both the swimming and hockey programs. Two Cobber wrestlers advanced to nationals and men's basketball, after three straight winning seasons, went through a rebuilding year
Women's Track and Field Wins MIAC Indoor Championship
The Cobber women's track and field team captured the 1998 MIAC Indoor Championship Meet March 5-7 in Minneapolis. The last MIAC indoor title for the Cobbers came in 1988.
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| Sarah Severson |
The Cobbers were led by Mollee Ludtke ('98, Albert Lea), who won the 600, and Sarah Severson ('98, Ellsworth, WI). Severson won the triple jump, placed 2nd in the long jump and took 3rd in both the pentathlon and pole vault.
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| Mollee Ludtke |
Other Cobbers earning All-MIAC honors by placing in the top three were Barbara Breidenbach ('99, Buxton, ND, 2nd in the 1000), Karin McGregor ('00, Pelican Rapids, 3rd in long jump), and Becky Kearns ('98, Hopkins, 3rd in the 20# weight).
Three Cobbers advanced to the NCAA National Meet, Severson in the long jump, Kearns in the 20# weight and Laura Utke ('99, Oriska, ND), also in the 20# weight.
Fourth year Cobber head coach, Marv Roeske,
was named Central Region Coach of the Year by the USTCA.
Men's Track and Field takes 3rd in MIAC
The men's indoor track and field team also continued its steady improvement, placing 3rd in the MIAC Championship Meet on the strength of its solid depth. This comes on the heels of a 5th place finish outdoors last spring and three consecutive 7th place MIAC Indoor finishes.
 |
| Adam Strainer |
Freshman Adam Strainer ('01, Helena, MT) was the lone Cobber indoor champion, winning the MIAC triple jump with a leap of 45' 10 3/4". But he had All-MIAC help from Dan Buchholz ('99, Moorhead,3rd in the pentathlon) and Joel Nelson ('01, Fargo, 2nd in the 35# weight and 3rd in the shot put).
Women's Basketball Posts 19-6 Season, Takes 3rd in MIAC
Concordia's women's basketball team recorded a 19-6 season, going 17-5 in the MIAC to place third. This marked the 17th consecutive top-3 finish in the MIAC for the Cobbers.
 |
| Leah Sonstelie |
The mostly-young Cobbers were led by All-MIAC senior center Leah Sonstelie ('98, Fosston). Leah ended the season with 1061 career points, 11th best in Cobber history. She also had a career total of 543 rebounds, also 11th best in Cobber history.
Leah, a History and Spanish major, earned Acadmic All-MIAC honors for a second time. Also earning Academic All-MIAC honors were Steffi Backer ('00, Fargo), Sara Kragerud ('00, Hawley), and Charity Penn ('00, Buffalo, S.D.).
Freshman Sara Spears ('01, Spicer), the Cobbers' leading rebounder and second leading scorer with 10 points per game , was named to the MIAC's All-Freshman team.
Hockey 6th in MIAC, 10-14-1 Overall
A much-improved Cobber hockey team posted their first double-digit win season since 1994 and remained in the hunt for a MIAC playoff spot into the last weekend of the season. Concordia ended up 6th in the MIAC with a 7-8-1 record, 10-14-1 overall.
The Cobbers were led by a pair of All-MIAC Seniors. Forward Josh Arnold (98, Moorhead) led the team in scoring with 8 goals and 28 assists. Greg Salvevold ('98, Moorhead), was second in team scoring with 34 points and earned his second All-MIAC award.
 |
| Josh Arnold |
All-MIAC defensman Rob Gramer ('00, Moorhead), along with freshman goalie Bryan Howard ('01, Gold River, CA), anchored a defense that posted two shutouts.
Two Cobbers earned Academic All-MIAC
recognition, Bryan Knutson ('00, Moorhead),
and Peter Hamilton ('98, Stillwater).
2nd-Year Swim Team Takes 6th in MIAC
The Cobber women's swimming and diving team,
in just their second year of existence, moved
from 10th place last year to 6th
place this year in the MIAC. The Cobbers posted a regular
season dual record of 6-1 and recorded the school's first
MIAC individual event victory.
 |
| Shana Letnes |
Freshman Shana Letnes ('01, Fort Collins, CO) earned all-MIAC honors with her first place finish in the MIAC 100 yd. Breaststroke. Her time of 1:08.16 was .17 seconds shy of getting her a spot at the NCAA National Meet.
The Cobbers also had four athletes earn
Academic
All-MIAC Honors: Anne Mostad ('00,
Minot), Jill Backman ('99, Moorhead),
Lindsey
Bailey ('98, Brainerd) and Becky Howard
('98, Great Falls, MT).
Wrestlers Reiff and Nicholas Advance to NCAA Meet
The Cobber wrestling team finished 5th
in the MIAC Championship Meet and advanced two wrestlers to the NCAA
National Tournament.
 |
| Shawn Nicholas |
 |
| Nathan Reiff |
Junior Nathan Reiff ('99, Whitehall, MT), the 1997 MIAC champion at 177 lbs., finished 3rd in the MIAC this year at 167 lbs. He qualified for the National Meet for a third consecutive year.
Senior Shawn Nicholas ('98, Shepherd, MT)
finished
second at the MIAC Championship Meet at 134 lbs, losing a tough title
match 1-0, and also advanced
to the National Meet.
Young Men's Basketball Team Goes Through Rebuilding Year
After posting a 52-23 record over the preceeding three seasons, a young Cobber men's basketball team struggled through a 3-21 rebuilding year.
The Cobbers were led by senior co-captains Jim Gillhouse ('98, Ronan, MT) and Brian Kjesbo ('98,
 |
| Brian Kesselring |
Among the several underclassmen making significant contributions were junior forward Brian Kesselring ('99, Fargo), the team's leading scorer at 12 points per game, forward Mike Wrobel ('01, Willmar), the team leader in rebounding and a member of the MIAC's All-Freshman team, and sophomore guard Micah Benson ('00, Moorhead), who was 6th in assists in the MIAC and also earned Academic All-MIAC Honors.
Winter 1997-98 Concordia Sports Wrap-Up
| Women's Track | Men's
Track | Women's Basketball | Men's
Basketball | Swimming | Hockey
| Wrestling |