Concordia Sports - The First 100 Years by Finn Grinaker

"Concordia Sports - The First One Hundred Years"
by Vernon Finn Grinaker
| Return to Index | Chapter 1 | 1903-1921 | 20's | 30's | 40's | 50's | 60' | 70's | 80's | 90's |
Chapter 10-- The 90's

The Nineties -- The End of a Century

One more season will complete a century of men’s sports at Concordia College. There were times of joy and times of disappointment as the Cobbers always gave their best. It’s time to “Stand up and Cheer” for the hundreds of athletes who have left a legacy of pride and dedication for all to follow.

1990 Football

The final year of the first hundred years was a good one for the 1990 Cobber football team. With a conference record of 7 - 2 in the MIAC, they tied with St. Thomas for the league title. This was Concordia’s 16th conference championship since that first one in 1931 and Coach Jim Christopherson’s tenth title in his 22 years at Concordia. An outstanding defensive line and fine quarterback in Chad Walthall were the keys to the Cobber success.

All-conference honors were awarded to Walthall, Mike Gindorff, Shayne Lindsay, Pete Byorth, Thad Tudor, and Mark Pagel. Named to the second team were Mike Grady, Tim Uglem, Kelly Myers, Jamie Hagness, Kevin Pavelko, Mark Lundstrom, and Chris Reimertz. Joel Paschka was named to the prestigious GTE academic all-America team with a 3.77 GPA in political science and excellent football skills.

Others on the roster were Peter Crandall, Todd Twete, Paul Schmidt, Kyle Knutson, Jeff Benson, Dan Sward, Joe Fering, Tim Howard, Steve Trelstad, Pat Dew, Dean Studer, Frank Haughn, Cory Dale, Andy Becker, Mark Ackerman, Bob LaTourell, Eric Fisher, Dave Carlson, Mike Empting, Chad Hansen, Wilbur Reid, Dave Van Hecke, Mark Friske, Jesse Klinker, Pat Beyer, Erik Eliason, Ernie Bear Don’t Walk, Kirk Leinwand, Tom Johnson, Kevin Abbott, Todd Marolt, Skip Heisler, Christ Northrup, Steve Swanson, Dan Thunhorst, Gary Haugo, and Brian Hargraves.

The season’s results were:
Concordia 32 Moorhead State 35
Concordia 24 Carleton 21
Concordia 17 Hamline 14
Concordia 45 Augsburg 7
Concordia 33 Gustavus 28
Concordia 48 Macalester 0
Concordia 24 St. Olaf 7
Concordia 32 Bethel 34
Concordia 7 St. Thomas 21
Concordia 30 St. John’s 29

Final standings in the MIAC race were:
Concordia 7 - 2
St. Thomas 7 - 2
Bethel 6 - 3
Hamline 6 - 3
St. John’s 6 - 3
Carleton 5 - 4
Gustavus 4 - 5
St. Olaf 3 - 6
Macalester 1 - 8
Augsburg 0 - 9

1990-91 Golf

Jerry Pyle took over the coaching duties for the 1990 men’s golf team, which finished in fifth place in the conference. Jeff Penfield placed fifth in the the conference meet and that performance earned him all-conference honors. Those on the squad were Darrin Sheldon, Trevor Monroe, Bob Doce, Jeff Penfield, John Harris, and Paul Achter.

Cross country results were as follows:
Bemidji State Invitational: 7th place
Erv Kaiser Invitational: tied for 5th place
St. John’s - St. Cloud State Invitational: 4th place
College City Classic: 3rd place
Mankato Invitational: 2nd place
MIAC Meet: 5th place

1990 Soccer

Coach Tom Kennedy faced a rebuilding year for the 1990 men’s soccer team, having lost the core of last year’s team and with only four seniors and two other lettermen returning. The team finished the season with a conference record of 4 - 5 - 1 and an overall record of 7 - 9 - 2.

The soccer squad included:Matt Benson, Brian Johnston, Korey Hlebichuk, Ben Haugen, Rob
Zimmerman, Sam Nehemia, Bruce Bundgaard, Andy Stotts, Mark Bergen, Mike Skjerven, Steve Morris, Pat Clary, Peter Tueten, Justin Sewell, Jeff Christensen, Jon GilbertsonJon Benson, Toby Johnson, Don Ertl, Mark Sander, Josh Alexander, Brian Peterson, Mark Schliemann, Mike Wamboldt, Eric Hanse, Matt St. Martin, and Kurt Guthmueller.

Soccer scores were:
Concordia 2 Steven’s Point 1
Concordia 1 Northland Baptist 2
Concordia 3 Luther 1
Concordia 0 St. Scholastic 0
Concordia 2 St. Thomas 6
Concordia 0 Bethel 2
Concordia 0 St. Olaf 5
Concordia 0 St. John’s 4
Concordia 5 Carleton 1
Concordia 3 Augsburg 0
Concordia 2 Gustavus 2
Concordia 0 Macalester 4
Concordia 2 Hamline 1
Concordia 2 UW - Plattville 0
Concordia 1 Colorado Christian 1
Concordia 0 U of S. Colorado 2
Concordia 0 U of Denver 1
Concordia 1 St. Mary’s 0

Second-year coach Mike Paul led his 1990 men’s cross country team to a seventh place finish in the MIAC. Jason Trichler placed sixth at the ten-team meet and went on to qualify for the NCAA Division III nationals with a ninth-place finish at the regional.

1990 Cross Country

On the cross country roster were Erik Johnson, Matt Taylor, Mark Engebretson, Craig Grundstrom, Matt Knudsvig, Bob Bauck, David Pipho, Chris Vitalis, Jeff Louk, Paul Jones, Jason Day, Kyle Johnson, and Jason Trichler.

Results for the team were:
St. John’s Invitational: 7th place
Bison Cross Country Invitational: 4th place
St. Olaf Invitational: 6th place
Northern State Invitational: results unknown
U of M Invitational: results unknown
Jim Drews Invitational (UW-LaCrosse): 20th place
MIAC Meet: 7th place
NCAA Regional: 14th place

1990-91 Basketball

The Running Cobber men’s 1990 - 1991 men’s basketball team started slowly but finished strong, winning six of their last eight games over some leading teams. Their overall record was 11 - 14 and they tied for seventh place in the conference with a 9 - 11 record. The Cobbers were led by all-conference player Eric Gardner who shot 62 percent from the field and averaged 13.4 points per game. John Eidsness was in his 13th year as coach of the team.

The basketball squad included Tim Boudreaux, Steve Schirm, Brad Anderson, Mike Curfman, Mike Hilley, Bryan Flam, Michael Horton, Eric Gardner, Pete Myrvik, Mark Johnson, Craig Johnson, and Brad Keenan.

Scores for the basketball season were:
Concordia 88 Dordt College 91
Concordia 101 Macalester 65
Concordia 78 Moorhead State 87
Concordia 45 Hamline 67
Concordia 97 Bethel 77
Concordia 52 St. Olaf 58
Concordia 65 St. Scholastica 77
Concordia 91 Lakehead U (Ontario) 81
Concordia 68 Carleton 73
Concordia 67 St. John’s 78
Concordia 78 Augsburg 75
Concordia 74 Macalester 51
Concordia 58 St. Mary’s 63
Concordia 66 Gustavus 71
Concordia 51 St. Thomas 66
Concordia 76 Hamline 92
Concordia 71 Bethel 80
Concordia 48 St. Olaf 46
Concordia 67 Carleton 86
Concordia 68 St. John’s 67
Concordia 73 Augsburg 75
Concordia 75 Macalester 69
Concordia 65 St. Mary’s 58
Concordia 84 Gustavus 78
Concordia 65 St. Thomas 63

Conference standings were:
Gustavus 17 - 3
St. Thomas 17 - 3
Carleton 14 - 5
Bethel 12 - 8
Hamline 12 - 8
St. John’s 10 - 10
St. Olaf 9 - 11
Concordia 9 - 11
Augsburg 6 - 14
St. Mary’s 3 - 17
Macalester 1 - 19

Coach Ron Nellermoe finished his sixth year as coach of the 1990 - 1991 Cobber wrestling team and turned over the reins at the end of the season to Doug Perry. The team finished fourth at the conference meet. Concordia was led by seniors Chip Halverson and Kirk Leinwand and junior Steve Larson On the roster were Mario DeFronzo, Chris Sweeney, Shawn Osborne, Todd Johnson, Dan Schultz, Todd Bentram, Chad Schaunaman, Chris Mantey, Brian Weisgram, Mike Bjork, Andy Mjoness, John Bergeland, Lee Burud, Steve Larsen, Chip Halverson, Scott Lewis, Lance Holk, Kirk Leinwand, Brandon Hiatt, and Ernie Bear Don’t Walk.

The Cobber wrestling schedule was as follows:
NDSU Bison Open: no placers
Augsburg Open: 9 placers
UW - River falls Open: 2 placers
St. Cloud State Open: 9th place
Concordia 25 Mayville State 22
North Country Tournament (MSU): 5 placers
Northern Open (Aberdeen): 2 placers
Dual Meet Tourney (St. John’s): 4 - 3
Concordia 11 Moorhead State 32
Concordia 5 Valley City State 39
Concordia 12 Jamestown 28
Concordia 10 UM - Morris 36
All-Lutheran Tourney: 1 placer
MIAC Meet: 4th place

1990-91 Hockey

Concordia’s 1990 - 1991 hockey team’s conference record of 9 - 7 and overall record of 16 - 11 did not reflect the qulity and talent shown during the season, especially at the end. Coach Steve Baumgartner’s team’s early season tally was 1 - 7, but they staged a spectacular comeback to win twelve games in a row. The team finished in fifth place in the conference.

Hockey players were Ted Fresvik, Mark Stilwell, Jason Hanson, Steve Glassbrenner, John Grafstrom, Wade Hanson, Doug Prokop, Derek Gullet, Janni Karstu, Mike Hassman, Derek Farr, David Prokop, Todd Berntsen, Greg Bird, John Town, Troy Boschee, Shawn McGurran, Thad Jenson, Brad Yzeman, Darren Zinger, Lance Holk, Peer Erickson, Andrew Hanson, Mark Terris, Dennis Petronack, Steve Nelson, Ted Hasse, Steve Thompson, Corey Hanson, and Andy Brotzler.

Scores for the hockey team were:
Concordia 6 Mercyhurst College 7
Concordia 5 North Adams 2
Concordia 9 St. Scholastica 6
Concordia 3 St. John’s 6
Concordia 3 Bethel   4
Concordia 12 Bethel   1
Concordia 7 Bethel   4
Concordia 8 Hamline 4
Concordia 7 Hamline 5
Concordia 10 Hamline 4
Concordia 4 St. Olaf 5
Concordia 6 St. Olaf 5
Concordia 4 Gustavus 5
Concordia 2 Bemidji State 9
Concordia 4 St. Mary’s 8
Concordia 5 St. Mary’s 6
Concordia 3 St. Thomas 7
Concordia 2 St. Thomas 5
Concordia 7 NDSU   3
Concordia 7 NDSU   4
Concordia 4 St. John’s 2
Concordia 5 St. John’s 4
Concordia 6 Augsburg 3
Concordia 8 Augsburg 4
Concordia 7 St. Norbert’s 4
Concordia 8 St. Norbert’s 4

1991 Baseball

The 1991 baseball team had an up and down year, under Coach Don “Bucky” Burgau, with a strong beginning at the Christian College Tournament in Lake Wales, Florida, a slump in mid-season, and a good finish. The team’s final standings were 11 - 9 for seventh place in the MIAC and 18 - 12 - 2 overall. On the baseball squad were Troy Olson, Scott Engelmann, Chad Shelstad, Brad Baker, Jason Tibbits, Robin Schepper, Phil Lien, Mike Jousman, Tim Pederson, Chad Mattson, Wade Beavers, Mark Sonnes, Scott Arnseth, Brad Keenan, Jeff Morken, and Dan Holgate.

Results for the team were:
Concordia 7 Messiah College 1
Concordia 24 Judson College 5
Concordia 4 Greenville College 4
Concordia 4 Taylor University 4
Concordia 11 King’s College 1
Concordia 2 Huntington College 19
Concordia 10 Messiah College 4
Concordia 1 Taylor University 11
Concordia 7 NDSU   6
Concordia 7 NDSU   6
Concordia 6 St. Mary’s 8
Concordia 5 St. Mary’s 0
Concordia 5 Valley City State 1
Concordia 3 Valley City State 6
Concordia 5 St. Thomas 4
Concordia 7 St. Thomas 8
Concordia 2 Hamline 3
Concordia 4 Hamline 13
Concordia 10 Gustavus 5
Concordia 0 Gustavus 10
Concordia 1 St. John’s 5
Concordia 7 St. John’s 0
Concordia 2 Carleton 1
Concordia 10 Carleton 0
Concordia 4 Augsburg 0
Concordia 5 Augsburg 0
Concordia 7 Bethel   5
Concordia 2 Bethel   4
Concordia 1 St. Olaf 7
Concordia 2 St. Olaf 5
Concordia 15 Macalester 1
Concordia 6 Macalester 1

1991 Tennis

In 1991 the Cobber men’s tennis team had a good season, according to team coach, Bob Nick, as they
finished in fifth place in the conference, one place higher than the previous season. With no seniors on the team, the entire squad will be returning for the following year. Their season record was 12 - 6. Playing for Concordia were Troy Johnson, Jason Beckerman, Cory Lepper, Mark Roisum, Matt Jensen, Jeff Peterson, Zachary Madison, Luke Taylor, and Scott Jeffers.

Team scores were:
Concordia 8 Glendale College 1
Concordia 6 Bethel 3
Concordia 0 St. Thomas 9
Concordia 2 St. Olaf 7
Concordia 9 Macalester 0
Concordia 0 Gustavus 9
Concordia 9 U of Mary 0
Concordia 9 St. Mary’s 0
Concordia 8 Hamline 1
Concordia 9 Augsburg 0
Concordia 2 Scottsdale CC 7
Concordia 9 U of Mary 0
Concordia 3 Carleton 6
Concordia 5 UW - Stout 4
Concordia 1 St. John’s 8
Concordia 9 Bemidji State 0
Concordia 5 Augustana 4
Concordia 5 USD 4
MIAC Tournament: fifth place

1991 Track

The 1991 men’s track team, under Coach Doug Perry, had some outstanding performances and finished in third place in the conference indoor meet and sixth place in the outdoor meet. Kyle Johnson won the 800 meter dash and Jon Ault in the shot put qualified for the nationals in shot put at the indoor championships. In the outdoor championships Kyle Johnson placed first in the 800 meter dash and Jon Ault qualified for nationals in the hammer throw.

Trackmen on the squad were Chuck Banks, Tim Howard, Eric Johnson, Mark Kellner, Paul LaBelle, Brent Reber, Steve Senger, Jon Ault, Mark Engebretson, Scott Gorder, Rich Jorgenson, Mark Lundstrom, Jason Banks, Bob Bauck, Andy Becker, Jason Day, Frank Haughn, Gary Haugo, Greg Heinecke, Mike Jeseritz, Kyle Johnson, Jason Schlepp, Jason Trichler, Josh Behl, Ryan Beil, Steve Branter, Philip Glover, Harold Hegg, Brian Johnson, Paul Johnson, Paul Jones, James Lehnhoff, Jeff Louk, Emry McAlear, John Peyerl, David Pipho, John Renneke, Shawn Roberts, Jed Sheldon, Kelly Skogrand, Chad Stanius, James Taves, and Chris Vitalis.

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These pages are maintained by Jerry Pyle - pyle@cord.edu and Finn Grinaker - cgrinaker@juno.com. These pages are copyrighted © and may not be published or reproduced without the express permission of Finn Grinaker.