ST. PAUL, Minn. – With one meet already under their belts, the Concordia-St. Paul track and field teams are set to open competition in the 2025 calendar year this week when they head to Mankato, Minn. for the Bearson/Gathje Open on the campus of Minnesota State on Friday.

TEAM OVERVIEW
In the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll released last month, the men's team was picked to finish seventh while the women's team was selected to finish 10^th.

Sam Johnson returns as head coach for his 13^th season with the Golden Bears while assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Jacob Dennison will return for his second season.

The men's roster is made up of 54 athletes this season, including 19 freshmen, 11 sophomores, 13 juniors, and 11 seniors. This unofficially marks the largest men's roster in program history, and one of the youngest in recent history with more than half the roster being first-or second-year athletes.

Speaking on the group of seniors on this year's roster, Johnson said, "There are certainly some very high-achieving men on that side of the roster with big goals ahead of this season. I would say that at least three or four of them have their sights set on being at the national meet."

This year's women's team is comprised of 30 athletes, including 11 freshmen, one redshirt freshman, seven sophomores, five juniors, and six seniors.

When asked about the senior leadership on the women's roster this year, Johnson said, "There are a handful of them, particularly on the distance side, who have been great culture builders for that side of the team. I'm hoping for another healthy season for them."

GOLDEN BEARS TO WATCH: MEN
Back in December, Thomas Dietel and Calder Erick were named the CSP track and field athletes to watch as part of the NSIC preseason poll.

Dietel, a senior sprinter from Jordan, Minn., will compete in his fifth track and field season this year. Last season, Dietel broke the school record in the indoor 200-meter dash with a time of 21.80 seconds to finish fourth at the NSIC Indoor Championships. The senior also recorded a new personal record in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.94 seconds at the St. Olaf Ole Opener.

"He's battled some injury adversity throughout his career, but last year was the healthiest season that he's had so far," said Johnson. "He broke the school record in the indoor 200-meter last year but fell just short of traveling to the national meet for the indoor season, so he's got that on his list of things to accomplish as an individual."

Erick, a senior multi-event athlete from Forest Lake, Minn., returns for his fourth season on the track at Concordia. At the opening meet of this season in Brookings, S.D., Erick set a new personal record in the heptathlon with 5,062 points to claim an individual victory in the event. Last season, Erick finished as the NSIC Champion in the outdoor decathlon.  

"Calder is the next in line of a long list of successful multi-event athletes here at CSP," said Johnson. "The high jump and pole vault are really starting to come around for him, and that's a big deal in the multi. He looks as good as he ever has in those two events, so we're just really excited to see about what the potential might be for him to move his name up the national qualifying list."

GOLDEN BEARS TO WATCH: WOMEN
Sprinter Destiny Mattingly and jumper Cadence Tanner were selected as Concordia's athletes to watch in the NSIC preseason poll.

A senior sprinter from Murrieta, Calif., Mattingly will hit the track for her fourth season at CSP this year. In the last indoor season, she set a new personal record in the 60m with a time of 8.01 seconds at the Snowshoe Open and finished 10^th in the 400m at the NSIC Indoor Championships with a time of 58.97 seconds. Earlier this season at the SDSU Holiday Open, she set a new personal record in the 300m with a 41.63-second clocking.

"She has really anchored our whole long sprint group over the last few years," said Johnson. "She will continue to be a vital part of our relays, but I think the next step for her will be to get on that podium as an individual at the conference meet."

A sophomore jumper and sprinter from Minneapolis, Minn., Tanner will look to build on a strong first year campaign. As a freshman, Tanner achieved personal records in both the high jump and long jump in the outdoor season, placing seventh in the high jump and ninth in the long jump at the NSIC Outdoor Championships.

"Cadence is an immensely talented athlete with a lot of bounce, which is obviously important for a jumper," said Johnson. "She also picked up hurdles last season for the first time. She's still very raw in that event, but as she continues to cut her times down, she has the potential to be a three-event scorer for us in the future."

LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears opened the 2024-25 campaign with a single meet last month, competing at the SDSU Holiday Open in early December.

The men were highlighted by an individual event victory by Calder Erick in the heptathlon with a personal best and NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 5,062 total points. Erick secured first-place finishes in the 60m (7.14), long jump (22' 1"), shot put (42' 2.75"), and 1,000m (2:48.53), a second-place finish in the pole vault (13' 5.25"), a third-place finish in the 60m hurdles (8.65), and a seventh-place finish in the high jump (5' 8") to win the heptathlon by more than 50 points. Jeffrey Odamtten and Will Hugo also competed in the heptathlon, placing fourth with 4,464 points and sixth with 4,235 points, respectively.

Making his collegiate debut for Concordia, Del Johnson Jr. finished in third place in the 200m with a time of 21.92 seconds. Johnson Jr. also competed in the 4x400m relay with Thomas Dietel, Vance Landa, and Drake Daniels, with the squad finishing in sixth place with a time of 3:24.70.

For the women, Destiny Mattingly secured a 10^th-place finish in the 300m, setting a new personal record with a time of 41.63 seconds. Kayla Anderson added another 10^th place finish, finishing 10^th in the 600m with a time of 1:45.90. The women's 4x400m relay squad of Karlina Zimmerman, Erica Padilla, Chidera Osuoha, and Mattingly also fared well, placing ninth with a time of 4:08.89.

Emmett Faltesek rounded out the CSP top-10s on the track, placing third in the 3,000m with a time of 8:44.65.

In the field events, Dan Otto finished in fourth with a toss of 152' 0" while Andrew Giger placed eighth with a distance of 127' 0". Otto also earned a top-10 finish in the shot put, placing 10^th with a throw of 9' 1.75", and the weight throw, placing eighth with a distance of 54' 1". Carter Krummen shattered his personal record in the weight throw, finishing sixth with a mark of 56' 5.75".

In the triple jump, sophomore Arik Nikolas cleared a distance of 42' 6.25" to finish 10^th.

On the women's field side, Cadence Tanner was the highest individual finisher in fourth place in the long jump after clearing 17' 8.25". In the shot put, Maya Lavendusky set a personal record with a toss of 40' 2.25" to claim fifth place. Lavendusky also competed in the discus, placing seventh with a mark of 112' 0". Making her collegiate debut, Bernie Barnhardt finished eighth in the discus with a distance of 110' 2".