Folkestad Leads PR Parade At NDSU Tune-Up Meet

FARGO, N.D. (5/03/24)---It was a good day for PR performances for the Cobbers at the windy NDSU Tune-Up Meet in Fargo. Concordia had numerous athletes record personal-best marks in the final competition before the MIAC Championship Meet.

The main PR culprit for Concordia was senior Cooper Folkestad, who posted ginormous marks in the shot put and discus. He started the day on the bubble for an NCAA Championship Meet berth in the shot put and finished Friday with certain tickets to the national meet in both events.

Folkestad opened his career day by recording a distance of 54-04.00 in the shot put on his second attempt. It was his only clean throw of the day and earned him a second-place finish in the event in a meet that had athletes from NCAA Division I, II and NAIA. Folkestad's second-place distance is the No.1 mark in the MIAC this year and No.13 in DIII.

Freshman Sam Dioszeghy also posted a personal best in the shot put. He came through with a mark of 49-02.50 on his last attempt of the meet which vaulted him into fourth place for the day and is the No.5 mark in the conference in 2024.    

Folkestad backed up his performance in the shot put by going bonkers in the discus. He opened the event with a 20-foot PR when he unleashed a distance of 170-05. That mark was good for third place with the Top 2 finishers coming from DI schools. And also like the shot put, that is the best distance in the MIAC this year. His 170-plus foot throw is No.10 in DIII this season and will earn him a trip to nationals.

Dioszeghy also doubled up on season-best distances in the discus. He let go a throw of 139-10 which is No.10 in the conference.

Concordia had one other Top 3 finish at the meet. First-year thrower Elijah Hayes recorded a second-place finish in the javelin, which took place on Thursday in between rain drops. Like Folkestad, Hayes recorded a distance that was a PR and tops in the MIAC. And also like Folkestad, his best mark of the event came in attempt No.1. He posted a distance of 187-05, which is his best mark of the year by over two feet.

Junior Gabe Thompson had another huge PR for the Cobbers. He used a strong tailwind to record a distance of 21-06.25 in the long jump. That mark is over a foot better than his previous PR and is No.6 in the MIAC this year.

Other MIAC Top 30 season-best marks for Concordia were turned in by Jordan Petron in both the 100 and 200 meters, Ben Peterson in the high jump, Jack Cella and Josh Peterson in the pole vault, Nick Hermes in the long jump, Blake Houska in the discus and hammer throw and Jakob Brown in the hammer.      

UP NEXT: Concordia will head down Interstate 94 to compete in the MIAC Championship Meet on May 10-11 at Hamline University.