ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's and women's basketball teams kicked off their seasons on Wednesday, October 17th with Hoops Madness sponsored by Buffalo Wild Wings as students and fans were able to meet the teams at the event hosted at Gangelhoff Center.
The event is tailored at student engagement while introducing the basketball teams to the public shortly after the teams conduct their first in-season practice sessions.
Sophomore Cody Carlson won the dunk contest, as the sophomore bested Bryndan Matthews in the championship and Evan Wesenberg in the earlier rounds. Sophomore Riley Wheatcraft of the women's basketball won the three-point competition, beating Hayden Baughman (freshman on the men's team), 15-9.
The event opened up with the shooting stars competition, as two teams (comprised of a men's basketball player, a women's basketball player, and a fan) had to make a layup, a three-point shot, and a half-court shot. In that contest, senior Kyrah Fredenburg and junior Max Keefe won with softball player Emma Adamek joining as the fan participant, as Keefe sank a half-court shot for the win.
A knockout dribbling contest was next, with three players each from the women's and men's basketball team and five fans participating in the competition. Football player Andrew Costello was the last fan left in the competition, with senior Hanna Vidlund, sophomore Lee Higgins, and senior Elliot Kane finishing as the last basketball players remaining.
In the free throw competition, sophomore Sydney Weierke and football player John Damrow took down freshman Nathan Oakes and softball player Sammy Sullivan. That was followed by the skills challenge, as four women's basketball players weaved through cones, passed, and had to make three-pointer in the least amount of time to win. Sophomore Danielle Schaub bested fellow sophomore Ellie Gess in the finals of that competition.
The event also included another rendition of the Blazin' Challenge as four students squared off in a contest to see who could eat the most Blazin' wings in six minutes. Lacrosse player Lexi Stanley won the challenge before time expired.
The women's basketball team opens up play with an exhibition matchup against St. Kate's on November 6th. They start regular season action when the travel to Kansas City to take on Harding (Ark.) on November 9th and Washburn (Kan.) on the 10th.
The men's team will see their first action on November 10th, taking on Arkansas-Monticello at the Gangelhoff Center. They will then face Arkansas Tech on the 11th, also at the Gangelhoff Center.
