The Golden Eagles exemplified both physical strength and mental toughness last weekend in a pair of meets. The Concordia track team competed in both the Bearcat Invite in Maryville, Missouri on Fri., Feb. 3 and 4 and also the Orange Coast College meet in Costa Mesa on Fri., Feb. 3. Both the women and men’s team excelled in their races and there was even a school record broken.

The Bearcat proved to be a highly competitive meet, according to senior Mikayla Butler, who competed in multiple events including the 200-yard dash. “Competition at Northwest Missouri was tight,” Butler said, “Being around that level of performance, however, was a privilege. It brings a different energy out of you.”

Cooper Tirado, a first-year master’s student and captain, said, “Overall the meet went well, I ran a season best in the 60-meter dash running 7.01”. Tirado competed in the Bearcat Invite in Missouri and has been competitively running for the past nine years. 

Tirado also ran the 400-meter leg on the distance medley relay team that broke the school record at the meet. “We all ran phenomenal and ended up smashing the record by four seconds,” he said. Tirado is extremely confident and believes in his team because of the vigorous practicing they do to prepare for their races. 

“This is one of the many records we’ll take down this year,” he added. 

Logan Nelson, a junior and captain of the women’s team, also competed at the meet in Missouri. “Personally, I stayed consistent in my 60 meter races, had a huge PR in the 200 alongside one of my teammates Romane, and I ran a good leg in the 4x400,” Nelson said. 

Nelson has been running track competitively for the past 10 years and hopes to compete in the Olympics one day. “I love the events, the excitement, the culture, the people and honestly just everything,” she continued. 

Graduate business student, Ryann Beveridge ‘22, competed with the team in Missouri. “I was pleased with my performance overall,” Beveridge said. She nearly tied her personal record in both the indoor 200 meter dash and 60 meter hurdles. “I ran two solid 400 meter indoor races once open, and once in the 4x400 meter relay,” she said, adding, “The relay time was three minutes 58 seconds, only three seconds off the indoor school record.”

Beveridge had plenty of praise for her teammates, notably Hector Arteaga, Bryce Tondryk, Cooper Tirado and Noah Plaza who shattered the 16-year-old school record in the men’s Distance Medley. “Also shoutout to Logan Nelson and Romane Baudin for getting first and second in their 200 meter heat and getting massive PRs in a crazy close race between each other. Maria Sartin broke 58 seconds in the indoor 400 meter race. Jori Paradis also got a PR in the 3,000 meter run and led the race. Sarah Fajer always performs well in throws and will be going to indoor nationals for shot put soon,” Beveridge said. 

The athletes that competed in the Orange Coast College meet were also happy with their performances. Junior Hayley Killion competes in the 1500m, 5k and “hopefully the 10k this season.” 

A competitive runner for six years, Killion said, “The meet at OCC was a fun opener, it was my first time running a 3k, so to get that first time experience was really exciting. I was happy with my performance, I just focused on my effort and gave what I had that day. Definitely lots of room for improvement as we continue to build into outdoor season! 

Madilyn Herrera, a senior distance runner, excelled in the 3,000 meter race in Costa Mesa. “For being the first meet of the season, I am very content with how it went. My teammate, Adriana Gil, and I led the 3K race with her coming in first and me in second,” Herrera said. 

Since this is her last year on the team, Herrera is putting an emphasis on honing her skills and reminding her teammates to stay positive throughout the season. “My goal for this year is to not only improve my times, but to be present for every meet as my college career is coming to an end,” she added. 

Overall, the team as a whole is killing it this season. The Golden Eagles have their eyes set on breaking more records and achieving more personal bests. They compete in the Eighth Annual Gorilla Classic in Pittsburg, Kansas this weekend on Feb. 10 and 11 and they have a good chance of placing high in conference for both the men and women. 

 

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