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.
Next in the Senior Spotlight Series is
Brian Szutkowski, a sprinter from CSP's track and field team. The Wittenberg, Wisconsin native began his time at Concordia as a defensive back on the Golden Bear football team in 2015. Upon finishing his senior year, Szutkowski chose to go after his master's degree in Coaching and Athletic Administration and joined the track and field team as a sprinter. Since his first time on the track in January of 2019, he has been a confident competitor and a strong point earner for his team.
He is the CSP record holder in the 100-meter dash, breaking the record at the 2019 NSIC Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a time of 10.42 seconds. At the same meet, he placed fourth in the 200m (21.64) and third in the 4x400 (41.56) with his teammates. Szutkowski had 23 top-five finishes during his first season on the track and placed first in eight races. At the start of this season, he sprinted in 22 races for the Golden Bears and finished in the top-ten in 21 of them.
The two-time NSIC All-Academic award winner (for track and field) was the champion of the 60-meter dash twice during the 2020 indoor season, finishing with a time of 6.95 seconds at the Minnesota Open (Jan 11) and 7.07 seconds at the SDSU DII Invitational (Jan 24). He competed in the 60m 16 times and ended in the top-five on 11 different occasions.
Head Coach Sam Johnson on Brian Szutkowski:
"After finishing a career in football, Brian joined the track team last year and made an immediate impact on our sprint squad by scoring in events at both the indoor and outdoor conference championships. This year Brian brought the vocal leadership that our sprint group desperately needed and provided guidance and mentoring to several young student-athletes."
BRIAN SZUTKOWSKI – IN HIS OWN WORDS
CSP: At what age did you start playing your sport?
BS: 12
CSP: Why did you choose to attend Concordia?
BS: After an injury forced me to lose walk on opportunity at the DI level, I restarted my recruiting process after my senior year and I ended up getting a call from Coach Lardinois two weeks after signing day asking if I wanted to play offense of defense (for football). After concluding my football career, I ran one season of track intending to be a one and done, then found success and a master's program and decided to come back.
CSP: What is your favorite memory as a Golden Bear?
BS: Breaking the school record in the 100m dash at the NSIC Outdoor Championships. The joy I felt in that success can only be compared to the fear I had being tacked and hugged by coach Sam and coach Peeps.
CSP: What will you miss most about CSP?
BS: The memories I've created and being able to see my Golden Bear family as a daily routine.
CSP: What are your plans after graduation?
BS: If the Olympics get postponed, hopefully qualifying for team USA and competing in the track and field world meet.
CSP: Where do you see yourself in ten years?
BS: In 10 years I hope to be a strength and conditioning professional and leading others as I have been led.
CSP: Who is a staff member or faculty member at Concordia that left an imprint on your experience?
BS: I would say my top three would be Coach Gary; bless his soul and may he rest in peace, Coach Sam Johnson, and the strength and conditioning staff from 2015-until now; there's a lot of them but they have always supported me.
CSP: Who is your role model?
BS: My mother and father.
CSP: What life lessons did you learn as an athlete on your CSP team?
BS: There are trials everyday as an athlete, we need to continue to put work in and stay positive when everything around us may be negative.
CSP: What advice would you give to an incoming freshman about their time at CSP?
BS: Love your teammates and trust your coaches, this is an experience not everyone gets so enjoy every minute of it.
CSP: What CSP athlete from a different program do you admire and why?
BS: BILLY BROWN. #26 played here and he did everything right and welcomed anyone into that program [football] with a warm heart and warm soul. He made CSP feel like a home when I stepped onto campus.
CSP: Do you have a final personalized message you'd like to share with cspbears.com readers?
BS: GB4L
