Wauneta’s Rozelle All-American at Concordia

    In highlighting day two of the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships, the Concordia women’s 4x400 meter relay blazed to a first-place time in its heat of the prelims and Austen Rozelle crashed the All-America party in the discus.
    In sum, 12 Bulldogs represented Concordia University Track & Field as part of the day’s action at the Wildcat Track & Field Complex in Marion, Ind.
    A junior from Wauneta, Rozelle waited until the Concordia Twilight May 12 to add his name to the qualifying field in the discus. He rose to the occasion at just the right time and then came through at the national meet on his very first attempt. A three-foot personal best of 165’7” led the field at the end of two flights. That mark stood up as an All-America performance for Rozelle, who even beat out the event’s No. 2 seed heading into the week.
    Rozelle finished sixth.
    Said Rozelle, “It’s been a lot of up and down. We’ve had a lot of practice where we’ve been going hard every day with a lot of guys pushing us. We have a really strong discus squad. We’ve been really technical about everything, just trying to find the kinks that we can work out. Coach has been pushing really hard.”
    Rozelle continued, “It was good to finally get one to connect…I’ve been really blessed. Coach Ed (McLaughlin) gave me the opportunity and I’ve been taking off with it. I’m really thankful for it.”