Goodbye Waverly, Hello Winston-Salem

WAVERLY, IOWA (03/05/22)--- After Saturday's events at the Wartburg Last Chance Qualifier Meet, there is only one thing to tell Cobber track & field athletes Cooper Folkestad, Cal Wright, Jesse Middendorf, Colin Schuller and Tommy Kern – say goodbye to Waverly, Iowa and hello to Winston-Salem, N.C.

Those five Concordia athletes all made good on their very last chance to qualify for the national indoor meet next weekend. All five posted marks in the Top 6 of the nation which will earn them a ticket to North Carolina.

Folkestad came up huge on his last attempt in the shot put on Saturday, while Wright, Middendorf, Schuller and Kern ran a 4x400-relay race for the ages and jumped all the way to No.3 in the nation.

Folkestad put up five ordinary marks during the prelims and finals in the shot put at Wartburg before posting a personal-best distance of 54-01.25. It is the first time he has eclipsed the 54-foot barrier and his finishing distance is now the sixth farthest in DIII this year which will earn him a spot at the NCAA National Meet.

Folkestad's mark is also the second farthest in school history, and he inches closer to the school record of 59-09 set by Aaron Banks in 1996 which was thought to be untouchable.

The 4x400-meter team not only dropped the mic in Wartburg, they stomped on it, kicked it out the door and flexed for everyone to see in the arena.

Wright, Middendorf, Schuller and Kern entered the race seeded third in the race and facing national-level competition in their heat – which was the final one of the meet. They set the arena on fire by clocking a 3:16.87 which broke the old school record by almost 3 full seconds, and is the third fastest time run in the nation this year.

And oh yeah, they also won the race. And almost went wire-to-wire in doing it.  

Wright started the race and ran a 49.06 for his 400. He grabbed the lead in the final 100 meters, and gave way to Middendorf who opened up a big lead at the halfway point of the race.

Middendorf clocked 49.18 and then gave way to Schuller who was in charge of keeping the lead so that freshman speedster Kern could finish.

Schuller proceeded to run the fastest 400 of his career, kept the Cobber lead intact and gave way to Kern after running a 50.86.

Kern, who owns the school record in the 400 was not about to let any of the other three runners in the race catch him. He cruised to a 47.78 and held off a late comeback attempt from the finisher for Wartburg. Kern's time was a personal best in the 400 meters.

Concordia had several other athletes participate in the meet. Junior Wade Rhonemus tried to better his mark in the pentathlon but come up short and will have to wait and see if he gets a bid to the national meet. He posted a score of 4,664 points at the MIAC Meet last weekend which is currently No.18 in DIII this year.

UP NEXT: Concordia will find out on Sundat at 6 p.m. (cst) which athletes will get a chance to participate in the NCAA National Indoor Meet. Wright and Kern should get a bid in the 400. Middendorf is also a lock in the 800, and Folkestad in the shot put. The 4x400-meter relay team should also be on the plane to NC this week.