Comeback Kids Earn First Top 6 Finish Since 2009

NORTHFIELD, Minn. (3/02/13)—Concordia staged a huge late-meet rally to come away with its best finish at the MIAC Indoor Championship Meet since 2009. The Cobbers overtook a pair of teams in the final two events of the meet to finish in sixth place.  
               
In addition to the best team finish in four years, Concordia produced nine all-time top 10 program marks, had three all-conference award winners and had 10 all-conference honorable mention performances.

The climactic moment for Concordia at the meet came in the final race on Saturday. The Cobbers entered the final two events of the meet in eighth place – five points behind Gustavus in sixth place. After Bruce Shields helped Concordia into a tie for seventh place with his fourth-place finish in the 200 meters, the CC 4x400-meter relay team of Alex Benzegala, Logan Carlson, John Buckanaga and Erik Bye sped to the seventh fastest time in school history and gave Concordia enough points to pass Carleton and Gustavus to finish sixth.    

Senior Bradley Johnson started the meet off for the Cobbers by finishing third in the heptathlon on Thursday and Friday. Johnson's success kick started Concordia's terrific indoor meet finish. Johnson had a final total of 4,543 points in the heptathlon which is the second highest in program history. Johnson was sixth in last year's indoor heptathlon with a mark of 4,255 points.

The other two all-conference performers (finishing in the top 3 in an event) were also turned in by field athletes for Concordia. Freshman Brandon Zylstra placed second in the high jump while senior Levi Bachmeier was third in the pole vault. Zylstra and Bachmeier are not newcomers to success in 2013. Both athletes have had great indoor seasons. Zylstra cleared 6-07.00 in the high jump which is a career best and the third highest jump in school history. He also earned all-conference honorable mention honors by placing fourth in the long jump. Bachmeier finally caught teammate Erik Olson in the race for the school record in the pole vault. Bachmeier cleared 15-00.25 which ties Olson's record set earlier this season.

Olson was one of four Cobber field athletes to earn all-conference mention honors. He finished fourth in the pole vault with a final height of 14-08.25. Simon Erlandson and Mark Goss gave Concordia three athletes in the top 6 in the high jump. Both athletes cleared 6-04 and tied for sixth place. Nick Anderson also finished sixth in a field event. He posted a distance of 42-05.50 in the triple jump.

The top track finish was turned in by Shields who started the Cobber late-meet rally when he ran a 22.92 in the 200 meters and finished in fourth place. It is the second straight week he has posted a sub 23-second 200 meters and his time is the second fastest in school history.


Cobber All-Time Performance List
Levi Bachmeier, PV, =#1, 15'0.25", 4.58m (tied school record set earlier this year by Erik Olson)
Bruce Shields, 200M, #2, 22.92
Brad Johnson, Heptathlon, #2, 4543pts
Brandon Zylstra, HJ, =#3, 6'7", 2.01m
Scott Anderson, Logan Carlson, John Buckanaga, Ryan Sederquist, DMR, #4, 10:42.72
Josh Murrey, PV, #6, 14'2.5", 4.33m
Charlie Alvarez, PV, #6, 14'2.5", 4.33m
Alex Benzegala, Logan Carlson, John Buckanaga, John Bye; 4x4, #7, 3:26.89
Nikolaj Hagen, Heptathlon, #9, 3274pts
Ryan Sederquist, 3000M, #12, 8:55.47
Scott Anderson, 1000M, #16, 2:35.56

All-Conference (top 3 per event, top 1 relay)
2nd, HJ, Brandon Zylstra
3rd, PV, Levi Bachmeier
3rd, Heptathlon, Brad Johnson

All-Conference Honorable Mention (4th-6th per event, 2nd-6th in relays)
4th, 200M, Bruce Shields
6th, 1000M, Scott Anderson
3rd, 4x200, Bruce Shields, Alex Benzegala, Logan Carlson, John Bye
6th, 4x400, Alex Benzegala, Logan Carlson, John Buckanaga, Erik Bye
5th, DMR, Scott Anderson, Logan Carlson, John Buckanaga, Ryan Sederquist
4th, LJ, Brandon Zylstra
6th, TJ, Nick Anderson
6th, HJ, Simon Erlandson
6th, HJ, Mark Goss
4th, PV, Erik Olson

Other Placers
8th, PV, Josh Murrey