Bookends Lead MIAC Marksmen At Bison Open

FARGO, N.D. (2/03/24)---It was another week of excellence for Cobber bookends Cooper Folkestad, Wade Rhonemus and Brady Goss. Seniors Folkestad and Rhonemus and freshman Goss all posted MIAC Top 3 marks and led Concordia at the NDSU Bison Open.

Folkestad, Rhonemus and Goss were a part of a group of nine Cobber athletes who all posted marks that are in the Top 15 of the conference this season.

Folkestad, who was already at the top of the list in the shot put, bettered his previous season-best by posting a distance of 53-10.25 in the shot put, which was good for third place in the event that featured 46 athletes from NCAA Division I, II and NAIA. His mark is second farthest in the conference this season.

Goss nearly came through with a pair of times that reached the Top 3 in the MIAC. He opened his weekend by recording a time of 2:34.61 in the 1000 meters. His finishing mark earned him a second-place finish among 22 competitors. It is also the fourth-fastest time in the league this year and pushes him into the Top 20 on the school's all-time list.

Goss finished off his meet at NDSU by getting into the MIAC Top 3 in the mile. He crossed the line in a time of 4:19.39. That time is the third fastest in the conference this year and No.3 in the history of the program.

Rhonemus started the final multi-event campaign of his college career by nearly posting a PR in the heptathlon. He finished the seven events with a total of 4,634 points, which was third-best at NDSU in a field of 16. Rhonemus' final score is No.2 in the MIAC this year and only 30 points shy of his career-best mark, which he posted at the conference meet in 2022.

The top event at the Bison Open for the Cobbers came in the field events where CC had three athletes record distances that are in the Top 15 of the MIAC. Besides Folkestad's No.2 conference mark, senior Dominik Hillstrom came through with a distance of 46-02.00 and freshman Sam Dioszeghy posted a mark of 43-09.75. Hillstrom's distance is No.8 in the MIAC this year and Dioszeghy is No.11. The Cobbers have four athletes in the Top 11 in the conference in the shot put this season.

Dioszeghy also dropped into the Top 15 in the weight throw. He came up with a distance of 42-08.00 on his second attempt which is the 14th best in the conference.

A trio of juniors also found their way into the MIAC Top 15 over the weekend. Peyton Johnsrud joined the party in the high jump, while Jordan Petron and Gavin Groshelle did the same in track events.

Johnsrud cleared the bar at 6-0.75 in the high jump to record a season-best mark and move into the Top 10 spot in the league.

Petron's Top 15 time came in the 200 meters, where he crossed the line in 23.41. That time is No.12 in the MIAC.

Groshelle accomplished his MIAC mark in the middle distance. He clocked a 1:58.95 and is now No.15 in the conference.

UP NEXT: Concordia will head to more familiar Division III surroundings next weekend when they participate in the St. John's Invitational on Feb. 10.