ST. PAUL, Minn. – Throughout the duration of the spring semester, cspbears.com will feature its spring senior student-athletes who had their careers cut short due to the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), providing a glimpse into their past, present and future to our followers who were unable to see them compete in 2020.
 
Due to the ongoing changing legislation with college athletics related to the COVID-19 pandemic, spring student-athletes are expected to retain a year of eligibility. Some of the CSP seniors have expressed interest in returning for the 2020-21 academic year with the goal of competing for their full senior year. Since it's early in the process, cspbears.com will not differentiate between seniors who will and won't return and instead will profile each senior consistently.
 

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Today's senior is Cory Warner, a mid-distance runner on the Golden Bear track & field team from Elk River, Minnesota. Since his freshman year, Warner's name has been in the school record book for the Distance Medley Relay (DMR) which he initially started racing in 2017 at the NSIC Indoor Championships, finishing with a time of 10:28.67. His team went on to improve their indoor record during his sophomore year (10:19.18) and broke the outdoor DMR record for the first time at the Drake Relays. Their 10:03.36 fifth place finish still holds the outdoor DMR record at CSP. Warner's DMR team broke the indoor record for a final time during his junior season with a time of 10:17.48 at the NSIC Indoor Championships.
 
All while breaking records with the Distance Medley Relay team, Warner competed in seven other events throughout his career for the Golden Bears. During his senior indoor season, he ran in 12 races and earned 11 top ten finishes, including a first-place finish in the DMR with a time of 10:18.07 at the NSIC Indoor Challenge. He broke his personal record in the 600m at the SDSU DII Invite where he took fifth place (1:23.56). Warner's final race took place at the NSIC Championships where he ran a season-best time in the 800m with a time of 1:58.77 to take seventh place in the conference and earn three points for the Golden Bears.
 
Throughout his career, Warner compiled 54 top-ten finishes. Three of his career-bests stand from his sophomore season: the 1000m (2:33.47), the One Mile (4:26.64), and the 1500m (4:05.78). His career-best performance in the 500m was a time of 1:11.58 in 2019. Warner had a solid outdoor season last year and was expected to build upon his momentum. He broke his personal record in the 400m with a time of 51.65 seconds and in the 800m with a time of 1:54.44.
 

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Head coach Sam Johnson on Cory Warner:
"Cory is as gritty of a racer there is. He was never afraid to put it all on the line during competition. The confidence to do so came largely from his willingness to do the work asked of him everyday. Cory served as an integral member of our leadership council for two years where his input helped reinforce our team culture and environment."
 

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CORY WARNER – IN HIS OWN WORDS
CSP: At what age did you start playing­ your sport?
CW: Freshman in high school.
 
CSP: Why did you choose to attend Concordia?
CW: Great school, community, and atmosphere!
 
CSP: What is your favorite memory as a Golden Bear?
CW: Being able to help lead the men's track team to our best finish in program history in 2019.
 
CSP: What will you miss most about CSP?
CW: The amazing people that I have been blessed to meet and call my friends.
 
CSP: What are your plans after graduation?
CW: To get a job in athletics and continue to run and support the Bears.
 
CSP: Where do you see yourself in ten years?
CW: Hopefully I will have a successful job working in athletics, with a family to go along with it!
 
CSP: Who is a staff member or faculty member at Concordia that left an imprint on your experience?
CW: There are so many but I have to go with Jonathan Breitbarth. My coach for the past four years. He did everything to help me and my teammates be the best we could possibly be as athletes and as people.
 
CSP: What life lessons did you learn as an athlete on your CSP team?
CW: Always give your all for your team, coaches, family, yourself, and for the Lord above.
 
CSP: What advice would you give to an incoming freshman about their time at CSP?
CW: Enjoy every single moment because it flies by. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was moving in freshman year.
 
CSP: What CSP athlete from a different program do you admire and why?
CW: Although he eventually joined the track team, Brian Szutkowski for sure. I had met Brian in classes before he was on the track team and he was an awesome personality who I could see right away was a leader on the football team. Needless to say, I was excited to see that he was joining track at the start of 2019.
 
CSP: Do you have a final personalized message you'd like to share with cspbears.com readers?
CW: Concordia will always have a place in my heart. I gave my all for this program for 3.5 years and I enjoyed every minute of it. I am so sad that won't be able to finish it out with our final season that was supposed to end on our own track. I don't think there will be a day where I don't think about, "what could have been," but I will always remember what we did. CSP Track has been changed for the better over the past four years and I hope that it continues to grow! I'll always be a Golden Bear for life!