Concordia Sports - The First 100 Years by Finn Grinaker

"Concordia Men's 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 8-- The 70's

| 1970-1971 | 1971-1972 | 1972-1973 | 1973-1974 | 1974-1975 | 1975-1976 | 1976-1977 | 1977-1978 | 1978-1979 | 1979-1980 |

1975 Football

The 1975 football team under Coach Jim Christopherson was one of on and off football, injuries, and low scoring. The defensive team was very strong and the offensive team was known for its strong line and running ability. The overall record was 5 - 4.and tied for 4rd place in the conference with a 3 - 4 record.

Results were:
Concordia 20 Augustana 14
Concordia 10 Moorhead State 0
Concordia Hamline
Concordia 9 St. Olaf 6
Concordia 15 St. Thomas 7
Concordia 3 Gustavus 20
Concordia 3 UM - Duluth 10
Concordia 31 Macalester 7
Concordia 17 St. John’s 28

Conference standings at the end of the season were:
St. John’s 7 - 0
St. Thomas 5 - 2
St. Olaf 5 - 2
Concordia 3 - 4
Gustavus 3 - 4
Hamline 2 - 5
Augsburg 1 - 6
Macalester 0 - 7

The football roster included Randy Smith, Mike Blum, Dave Brutlag, Steve Allen, Tim Hodel, Bob Schultz, Berry Bennett, Baxter Jones, Rich Moen, Doug Boese, Steve Wonderlich, Larry Seljevold, Tom Bartholemew, Craig Johnson, Chuck Hammer, Greg Hruby, Gary Heide, Mark Hovren, Dave Ross, Steve Dibb, Brad Atchison, Dave Martinson, Ardell Lund, Derek Johnson, Larry Helmen, Don Mooers, Curt Backer, Rod Peterson, Jeff Huot, Bob Heckert, Randy Hanson, Dave Maggit, Mike Johnson, Pete Johnson, Stuart Friese, Dave Verley, Ron Fiemann, Darrell Olson, Craig Jakola, Jeff Wolfe, Dave Angell, Scott Cottington, Bob Bellefeuille, Greg Owens, Jim Bauck, Joe Raiche, Greg Grant, Rick Haley, Dan Naumann, Randy Frisk, Merlin Orvik, Bob Majeski, Jon Johnson, Bruce Senske, Dave Grinaker, Kevin Shipley, Randy Peterson, Brad Ness, Jeff Cragun, Doug Tweet, Steve Bartels, Jim Ostland, Dan Rosenfeldt, Augie Garcia, Tom Anderson, Curt Peterson, and Pat Bradley.

1975 Cross Country

The 1975 cross-country team consisted of only four returning lettermen and promising freshmen. Bob Seim, student coach and captain of the track team, said that Paul Folden, Alan Johnston, Larry Schultz, and Jon Gossett were all back out for cross-country. Their season was short but very worthwhile. Runners were Bruce Turner, Dan Fabian, Paul Folden, Bob Seim, Jon Gossett, Ed Deutschmann, Bob Johnson, Daryl Kosiak, and Larry Schultz. The team tied for first place at the Wahpeton Invitational and placed 6th in the MIAC Conference meet. Results of their other meets were unavailable.

1975 Soccer

Concordia’s soccer team was student-initiated and their coach for the 1975 season was Al Canter from Fargo-Moorhead. Bigger and more enthusiastic, the crowds cheered the team on in their matches which were held against other intercollegiate teams on weekends. Playing on the team were Chuck Morris, Al Canter, Juan Moreno, Mark Mostel, Brian Marshall, William Chaghuza, Steve Nelson, Gary Trott, Ron Burd, Charlie Tveit, Mark Jacobsen, Roy Harrisville, Arnie Ringvold, Nate Hanson, Abdulrahman Fereih, Dean Drevlow, and Paul Heuer. Scores were unavailable.

1975-76 Men's Basketball

The 1975 - 1976 Cobber men’s basketball team held their 5th place standing in the MIAC with a 9 - 9 mark. Overall they were 13 - 13, three up from last year’s record. Coach Sonny Gulsvig said the team made a much better showing in non-conference games — an important factor in team selection for post-season play-offs. Concordia remained practically unbeatable on its home court, losing only two of the ten games played there during the season. Mark Askerooth and Darwin Kreft were both awarded All-Conference honors.

On the roster were Kris Gulsvig, Mike Jones, Brad Atchison, Steve Johnson, Dan Hovland, Paul Pederson, Pete Astrup, Mark Askerooth, Dwight Jones, Scott Atchison, Bill Schwankl, Doug Boese, Darwin Kreft, Len Messerschmidt, Tom Nystuen, Tom Teeters, Rolf Gilberg, Dave Bale, and Brett Nelson.

The season’s results were:
Concordia 89 Northern State 86
Concordia 77 Moorhead State 78
Concordia 86 St. Olaf 81
Concordia 76 NDSU 111
Concordia 96 St. Mary’s 78
Concordia 83 Black Hills State 75
Concordia 82 Northern, MT 94
Concordia 85 Chadron State 62
Concordia 67 NDSU 87
Concordia 70 St. John’s 73
Concordia 60 Hamline 83
Concordia 74 UM-Duluth 68
Concordia 81 St. Thomas 80
Concordia 66 Macalester 56
Concordia 102 Moorhead State 84
Concordia 83 Gustavus 91
Concordia 72 Augsburg 74
Concordia 82 St. Olaf 85
Concordia 62 St. John’s 82
Concordia 77 Hamline 60
Concordia 67 UM-Duluth 61
Concordia 66 St. Thomas 83
Concordia 96 St. Mary’s 85
Concordia 63 Macalester 61
Concordia 74 Gustavus 80
Concordia 71 Augsburg 82

1975-76 Hockey

Coach of the 1975-1976 hockey team, Al Rice credited the freshman line for giving this team the additional strength it needed to get the Cobbers through the season in 3rd place MIAC standings. The Cobbers skated to an 8 - 5 - 1 conference record and 13 - 11 - 1 overall. Cobber icemen bagged a small victory when they defeated Gustavus on its own rink, a first home defeat in the school’s history. Named to the all-conference team were Gary Samson and Garth Lutz, with Lew Erickson and Jeff Frider earning honorable mention status.

On the hockey roster were John Rehkamp, Kevin Sorenson, Gary Samson, Jim Kallevig, Gary Johnson, Lew Erickson, Joe Mireault, Greg Simoneau, Ed Webb, Jeff Frider, John Villalta, Ray Weisgarber, Dieter Hoch, Rob Verchota, Ron Torfin, Garth Lutz, Lynn Hanson, Rod Winkler, Dave Perry, Randy Beck, Craig Broman, Jon Donavan, Jim Nelson, Dave Morinville, Jim Froeber, John Homola, and Brian Kines.
Scores for the season were:

Concordia 3 UND JV 6
Concordia 12 UM-Crookston 4
Concordia 5 Superior State 6
Concordia 2 Superior State 5
Concordia 6 St. Cloud State 2
Concordia 4 Air Force 5
Concordia 4 Air Force 14
Concordia 6 Mankato State 2
Concordia 5 Mankato State 4
Concordia 4 St. Cloud State 6
Concordia 5 St. John’s 6
Concordia 5 St. Olaf 0
Concordia 7 St. Olaf 1
Concordia 1 Hamline 4
Concordia 3 Hamline 0
Concordia 9 St. Thomas 2
Concordia 4 St. Thomas 4
Concordia 15 St. Mary’s 3
Concordia 10 St. Mary’s 3
Concordia 2 Gustavus 10
Concordia 6 Gustavus 5
Concordia 3 St. John’s 4
Concordia 5 Augsburg 2
Concordia 5 Augsburg 9

1975-76 Wrestling

The 1975 - 1976 wrestling team had an excellent season. They took second place in the MIAC conference and placed well in other tournaments. They were a young team and were especially strong in the middle and upper weights. Barry Bennett, Kevin Lindberg and Dave Smith advanced to the NAIA wrestling championships. Lindberg finished in 5th place in the 167-pound class. Barry Bennett took first place in the heavyweight division.

The matmen were Creg Ward, Jeff Poliak, John Erpestad, Chuck Thompson, Jerry Thompson, Tom Sahl, Jeff Mann, Matt Valan, Dave Smith, Dan Dierks, Bruce Anderson, Steve Egland, Mark Hagen, Mark Jensen, Steve Johnson, John Rasmussen, Vic Galfano, Steve Simonson, Tom Sorbo, Gerry Howard, Dick Dissmore, Larry Helmin, John Holler, Kevin Lindberg, Barry Bennett, Tim Hodel, Randy Hanson, Gregg Morlock, and Paul Swenson.

Results of the season were:
St. Cloud Tournament: 9th place out of 16 teams
Bethel Tournament: 1st place out of 10 teams
All-Lutheran Tournament: 5th place out of 10 teams
MIAC Conference Meet: 2nd place out of 9 teams
Dual Meets: Won - 7     Lost - 7
Concordia 26 St. John’s 15
Concordia 38 St. Olaf 15
Concordia 22 Valley City State 23
Concordia 13 UND   33
Concordia 0 NDSU   42
Concordia 20 Moorhead State 26
Concordia 20 Nebraska Omaha 24
Concordia 47 Gustavus 3
Concordia 36 Hamline 15
Concordia 13 Bemidji State 30
Concordia 10 Augsburg 24
Concordia 44 St. Mary’s 0
Concordia 42 UM - Duluth 8
Concordia 28 St. Thomas 18

1975-76 Golf

The 1976 golf roster, under Finn Grinaker, were all lettermen — Joe Mireault, Tom Sorbo, Randy Johnson, Bob Macaulay, Bert Olson, Mark Skaar, Tom Anderson, and Arlo Kluver.
Scores for the season were:
Concordia 409 Moorhead State 393
Cobber-Dragon Invitational: 4th place out of 9 teams
Concordia 397 NDSU 397
Morris Invitational: 4th place out of 9 teams
MIAC Conference Meet: 6th place out of 9 teams
Honeywell Invitational: 11th place out of 20 teams

1976 Baseball

The 1976 baseball team was made up of mainly freshmen and sophomores and they struggled to a 7 - 11 record in the MIAC for 9th place and a 11 - 13 record overall. Al Rice was coach of the team. Team members were: Jeff Poliak, Steve Holmquist, Randy Hanson, Bob Majeski, Howard Melzer, Ken Lychek, Jack Smokrovich, Kris Gulsvig, Bob Johnson, Bob Gullick, Jay Froehle, Steve Youso, Bob Quinn, Dean Levinski, Randy Smith, Dave Freeman, Greg Hruby, Rock Messerschmidt, and Brian Wagner.

Results posted were:
Concordia 3 NDSU   11
Concordia 7 NDSU   6
Concordia 3 Valley City State 1
Concordia 6 Valley City State 4
Concordia 4 UM-Duluth 0
Concordia 3 UM-Duluth 1
Concordia 2 St. Thomas 17
Concordia 0 St. Thomas 3
Concordia 7 Moorhead State 10
Concordia 2 Gustavus 4
Concordia 3 Gustavus 9
Concordia 6 Hamline 7
Concordia 10 Hamline 3
Concordia 0 St. John’s 3
Concordia 6 St. John’s 8
Concordia 7 Moorhead State 5
Concordia    Macalester Forfeit
Concordia    Macalester Forfeit
Concordia 3 St. Mary’s 5
Concordia 12 St. Mary’s 3
Concordia 8 Augsburg 10
Concordia 7 Augsburg 8
Concordia 3 St. Olaf 6
Concordia 3 St. Olaf 0

1976 Tennis

Bob Nick’s 1976 tennis team had a very successful season with 15 wins and 3 losses. The team finished in first place in the MIAC. Competing in the District 13 tournament a week later, the Cobber contingent wound up second -- to Gustavus. Playing for the Cobbers were Kent Stadum, Chuck Hawkins, Grady Kjesbo, Dale Rehkamp, Scott Chapman, Mark Anderson, Blake Skarnes, Chuck Olson, Bob Lund, Geofrey Rasmussen, Mark Hagberg, Brent Reichert, and Steve Gabrielson.

The season’s scores were:
Concordia 8 Stout State 1
Concordia 1 Gustavus 8
Concordia 8 Mankato 1
Concordia 9 Moorhead State 0
Concordia 8 UND   1
Concordia 8 NDSU   1
Concordia 8 Bemidji 1
Concordia 9 Moorhead State 0
Concordia 7 UND   2
Concordia 8 St. Olaf 1
Concordia 5 St. John’s 4
Concordia 8 St. Thomas 1
Concordia 7 NDSU   2
Concordia 1 Bradley 5
Concordia 5 SDSU   0
Concordia 3 St. Cloud State 6
Concordia 7 Winona State 2
Concordia 8 UM-Duluth 1

1976 Track

The 1976 men’s track team repeated as a strong team again after a successful season the previous year. Ed Langsdorf was the team’s coach. Competing for Concordia wereJonathan Zimmerman, John Lund, Paul Folden, Bob Seim, Dan Fabian, Jon Burkhart, Larry Seljevold, Paul Ludtke, Pete Haddeland, Rolf Lund, Rich Westland, Bruce Senske, Mike Paul, Greg Melver, Bob Westland, Pat McDermitt, Jan Hanson, Dave Bandy, Steve Wonderluch, Arne Benson, Bob Heckert, Mike Ranum, Tim Price, Dave Grinaker, Larry Schultz, Roy Plankers, Steve Fox, Tom Nystuen, Mike Eisert, Jay Monson, Curt Baldwin, and Gary Johnson.

The team results were:
Intercity Meet: Moorhead State - 90, NDSU - 69, Concordia - 21
Concordia 110 UM - Morris 17
Concordia 51 Jamestown 76
Triangular Meet: Concordia - 74, Valley City - 58, Dakota Wes. - 26
Concordia 23 Moorhead State 104
SDSU Invitational: No team points
Manitou Relays: No team points
Cougar Invitational: 4th place out of 8 teams
Bethel - Mac Relays: 1st place out of 8 teams
Moorhead State Invitational: 4th place out of 8 teams
Conference Meet: 3rd place out of 8 teams

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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.