Folkestad Breaks The Unbreakable
Cooper Folkestad broke one of the "unbreakable" school records when he brought down the thunder in the shot put with a distance of 60-11.25 which broke Aaron Brank's record set in 1996 by over a foot.
FARGO, N.D. (2/07/26) — Just when you thought you'd seen it all at a Cobber indoor track & field meet; Saturday at the NDSU Bison Open happens.
Senior Cooper Folkestad decided to break the unbreakable, do the unimaginable and break the 29-year-old record in the indoor shot put. The record held by Concordia Athletic Hall of Famer Aaron Banks was thought to be one of the records that "would never be broken".
Like the quest for the Holy Grail, Folkestad finally found the 60-foot promised land when he brought down the thunder with a distance of 60-04.75 on his second attempt at NDSU. Now that mark would have been good enough to win the event and broke Banks' mark of 59-09.00 set in 1996 but Folkestad wanted to prove that his record-setting heave wasn't a fluke.
Folkestad entered the ring for his sixth, and final, attempt of the meet and went nuclear. He let loose a throw of 60-11.25 and claimed the title at the Bison Open which included multiple NCAA Division I scholarship athletes.
His eye-popping distance of 60-11.25 broke Banks' old mark by over a foot and is currently the top distance in all of NCAA Division III this season.
On the track, Tyler Goss led the way with a podium finish in the men's 3000 meters, placing third in 8:45.06 against a deep field. Goss' finishing time is a season best and No.3 in the MIAC this season.
Goss doubled back in the mile and produced another season-best time. He crossed the line in 4:26.23 which puts him in the Top 20 of the conference in that event as well.
Concordia also got solid performance in the multi-events. Joey Molstre paced the CC group as he finished fifth in the heptathlon with 4,263 points. Michael Crowder followed close behind in sixth with 3,976. Those two athletes now sit No.3 and No.8 in the MIAC.
In the hurdles, the Cobbers put two athletes into the 60-meter hurdles final. Hayden Hauf earned a spot in the final out of prelims and then ran 8.87 for seventh, while Logan Clark followed with an 8.94 to take eighth.
Hauf's time is a season-best time and tied for No.9 in the conference.
The sprint group also found success in the one-lap events. Brayden Carlson ran 50.82 in the 400 meters to place seventh and clocked a 36.41 in the 300 meters.
In the jumps, Eli Hegland delivered Concordia's top finish with an eighth-place performance in the high jump after clearing 6-02.25. He also competed in the triple jump where he recorded a best of 41-03.00. Hegland's distance in the triple jump is a season-best mark and will earn him a spot in the MIAC Championship Meet.
Concordia continued to build depth in the middle-distance events with multiple Cobbers lining up across the 600, 800, and 1000 meters. Jonas Hagemeister posted the team's top 600-meter finish by placing eighth in 1:27.95.
The Cobbers will finally get to compete against MIAC competition when participate in the St. John's Classic on Saturday, Feb. 14.