Celebrating the 2021-2022 Year

MEQUON, Wis. – Another year has come and gone. Concordia Wisconsin athletics soared through the year. The Falcons had a lot to celebrate this past year.

Winning

The Falcons finished the year with a 233-187-5 record for a .554 winning percentage. The Blue and White protected the nest with a 98-61-2 (.615) record at home. The Falcons soared in conference matchups with a 145-82-3 (.637) winning record.

Postseason Play

Concordia Wisconsin had two teams and one individual compete in postseason play during the 2021-22 season. Senior Gideon Cain (Cedarburg, Wis.) represented CUW at the NCAA Division III Men's Indoor Track & Field Championships. The two teams that represented CUW in postseason play were the acrobatics & tumbling and softball teams. The acrobatics and tumbling team represented CUW in the first-ever NCATA Division III National Championship. Rounding out the 2021-22 season was the CUW softball team. The Falcons soared to the NCAA Division III Regional Championship.

All-American Honors

CUW landed six All-American selections during the 2021-2022 season. Senior Jordan Johnson (Cedarburg, Wis.) was named to NABC Division III All-American Third Team. Senior Gideon Cain (Cedarburg, Wis.) earned All-American Honors at the NCAA Division III Men's Indoor Track & Field Championships with an eighth-place finish in the shot put. Sophomore Spencer Herman (Appleton, Wis.) was named to the NVA/AVCA All-American Honorable Mention. Sophomore Maycee Karpfinger (Wauwatosa, Wis.) earned AVCA All-American Division III First Team. The duo of senior Gina Followell (Romeoville, Ill.) and junior Claudia Utz (Lockport, Ill.) claimed All-American Honors on the softball diamond. Followell earned NFCA All-American First Team selection. Utz claimed NFCA All-American Third Team.

Academic All-Americans

The Falcons finished the year with eleven athletes earning Academic All-American Honors. Jordan Johnson was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-American Third Team for the second-straight year. Women's hockey excelled in the classroom with five student-athletes qualifying for AHCA Krampade All-American Scholars. The five student-athletes that qualified were senior Emily Reimche (Billings, Mont.), junior Annalina Van Hercke (Castle Rock, Colo.), senior Sarah Tretina (Plainfield, Ill.), freshman Kami McCardle (Jackson, Wis.), and freshman Cheree Peters (Vernon, B.C.). Senior Kelsey Bollon (Orangeville, Ill.) is the first CUW student-athlete in any sport to claim CoSIDA Academic All-American First Team honors. For the second year in a row, wrestling landed four individuals on the NWCA Scholar All-American list. Earning the honor for the Falcons were juniors Jack O'Donnell (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Quinn Hoopman (Cedar Grove, Wis.) as well as sophomores Lucas Regnier (Bradley, Ill.) and Peyton Smith (Milwaukee, Wis.).

Champions!

The Falcons claimed six team titles and five individual golds throughout the 2021-22 athletic season. In the fall, the women's soccer team won the regular season NACC title. The winter season ended with two gold individual medal performances and one team title. Senior Gideon Cain (Cedarburg, Wis.) earned gold at the Indoor NACC Championships with a gold medal in the weight throw and shot put. The men's basketball team won the regular season NACC title. In the spring the men's track & field team earned three individual golds and the softball, acrobatics & tumbling, and dance teams triumphed in their seasons. Gideon Cain won the gold in both shot put and the hammer throw. Junior Seth Day (Sunset Hills, Mo.) defended his crown in the javelin throw. The CUW dance team won the MCDC championships. The acrobatics and tumbling team won the NCATA Division III National Championship. Rounding out the spring was the softball team winning both the regular season title and the NACC Tournament.

Players of the Year

This year, some superb student-athletes were recognized for their play on the field and or court. The following is a list of those individuals: junior Emily Binley from Suffolk, Va. (Field Hockey – SAA Defensive Player of the Year), senior Jordan Johnson from Cedarburg, Wis. (Men's Basketball – NACC Most Valuable Player), junior Selena Esten from Cedarburg, Wis. (Women's Soccer – NACC Offensive Player of the Year), sophomore Maycee Karpfinger from Wauwatosa, Wis. (Women's Volleyball – NACC Player of the Year), and senior Gina Followell from Romeoville, Ill. (Softball – NACC Pitcher of the Year).

Coaches of the Year

CUW had one coaching staff recognized by others in the NACC conference for being the best in their respected sport. The CUW softball coaching staff, led by Steve Crook was recognized as the NACC Coaching Staff of the Year.

All-Conference Accolades

CUW Falcons soared once again in the All-Conference lists throughout all sports. The Blue and White had an all-time high of a total of 89 student-athletes receiving All-Conference honors. Any player who was listed on a first or second team, or honorable mention

Academic All-Conference Honors

Concordia Wisconsin broke the school record once again with 272 NACC Scholar-Athlete Award winners. The field hockey team brought in ten SAA All-Academic Team selections, the men and women's hockey team brought in 16 NCHA All-Academic Team selections, and the wrestling team brought in five CCIW All-Academic Team selections. 

Conference Player of the Week

CUW posted a total of 50 student-athletes claiming conference player of the week honors. Any athlete who was listed as student-athlete, offensive or defensive, track or field athlete of the week was listed.

National Athlete of the Week

Four Falcons were named the national athlete of the week by their respected national organizations. Senior Sam Beers (Janesville, Wis.) claimed the Player of the week for The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA).  Senior Jordan Johnson (Cedarburg, Wis.) was named to the D3Hoops Team of the Week by D3Hoops.com. Senior Keijo Day (Esko, Minn.) represented the Falcons by claiming a spot on the 2022 Division III Dynamic Team of the Week by The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA). Sophomore Spencer Herman (Appleton, Wis.) was named National Player of the Week by The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).

Esports

The CUW esports team competed in a variety of games throughout the season and won over 100 competitions. The big splash of the year was the Rainbow 6 winning the NECC National Championship.

Social Media

The Concordia Wisconsin Department of Athletic Communications aims to connect with its fans through social media. The department focused its efforts this year on providing a higher experience through game day photos, videos, and posts. The 2021-22 season brought CUW a count of 5,215 Twitter followers with 636 new followers and over 4,001 Instagram followers with 396 new followers. CUW spent hours every day working on improving content on all social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Tik Tok. Photos and highlight videos took over the social media accounts throughout the season. CUW produced 234 posts on Instagram, 244 photo albums, 133 highlight videos posted on YouTube, and 12 on TikTok.

Live Stream Broadcasts

CUW's Department of Athletic Communications produced a record high of 206 live stream broadcasts of home events during the 2021-22 season. Whether it was in the R. John Buuck Fieldhouse, the Ozaukee Ice Center or outside on the many facilities on the CUW campus, the "Voice of the Falcons" showed up to cover the majority of the broadcasts. A special thank you to Matt Menzl ("Voice of the Falcons") for covering most of the broadcasts and hosting 24 episodes of the Falcon Focus and other programs throughout the 2021-22 season. Morgan Bolz also hosted 23 episodes of Inside the Nest.