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Courtesy Photo The 2021 Alpena Community College Cross Country Team includes, from left to right: Runi Demirkol, Natanael Macean, Duncan Ross and Connor Bagnell; Coach Mark Jacobs, Teddy Peters, John Siegert, Musa Kabbah, Assistant Coach Mikayla Oliver.
ALPENA – Continued growth and success are the goals of the Alpena Community College cross country team this season.
Heading into his ninth year as a head coach, Mark Jacobs has built the heavyweight of a program, developing student-athletes on the court and, of course, inside the classroom. .
Jacobs has once again put together another talented group that will thrive this season.
This group of loggers returns six of the eight riders from a season ago and will be led by a trio of three-year-old riders including Captain John Siegert (Ludington).
Siegert was not only the top rider in the ACC last year, but one of the top riders in the conference and region as he finished as an all conference and all region selection, finishing 10th in the region.
Duncan Ross (Rogers City) is another three-year-old runner and ACC captain and Musa Kabbah (Liberia, Africa) is the third three-year-old returner for the Lumberjacks.
With a pair of experienced captains and a trio of three-year-old ghosts, Jacobs has the luxury of having an assistant coach for the first time since taking over the program from former runner Alpena and Cleary University, Mikayla Oliver.
“It’s a phenomenal group of guys. One of the highlights is that I also have a phenomenal assistant coach for the first time since I have coached this program. Mikayla (Oliver) is going to make a huge difference and is an absolutely perfect addition as she understands running, understands me and understands the culture that I continue to develop at ACC, ”said Jacobs. “One of the good things about this team is, due to COVID last year my riders gained an extra year of eligibility so I have three three-year-old guys which is great.”
Roni Demirkol (Istanbul, Turkey), Teddy Peters (Onaway), Connor Bagnell (Memphis) and Natanael Macean (Haiti) make up the rest of the logging list.
“It’s a great group of guys who understand, know what’s going on and know what’s expected of them. It’s an easy transition from last year to this year, ”said Jacobs. “Our culture here is one of academics, hard work, improvement and family. These guys are very close and that’s the culture we’ve built here at ACC.
Part of this culture is continuous improvement during competition, the other is to continue to be the best inside the class.
The ACC was number one in the country academically last year, to accompany its unprecedented six consecutive years as an all-American college team. What started out as a goal inside the classroom has now turned into an expectation as this year would mark the seventh year in a row Jacobs’ program has an all-American academic team.
“It’s just the expectation and the culture now, so this will be the seventh year in a row that we’ve been fully American academics. All in all, all in all we’re going to make them better runners but the main goal is to make them better men, better members of society and I’m so proud of the guys in the first year so far and what they’ve done to help make this program what it is and what it will continue to be. Alpena Community College has so many great opportunities for help and academic preparation and these young men will always remember the lessons of life and if I can continue to help their success and growth and athletically and academically, so that’s a huge victory.
Siegert will be Alpena’s number one this year after a great campaign a year ago. Ross is aware of the opportunity he has with his third year and is determined to improve after a successful second year. Bagnell and Peters will also be relied on to have good seasons and these four will likely be some of the best on the squad as Kabba, Demirkol and Macean offer a lot of ability to what should be an improved logging group again.
“We’re going to be solid. Our goal is to finish in the first half of the conference and if we stay injury free I think we’ll have a great year, ”said Jacobs. “We are in a good position. We’re excited, it’s going to be fast and furious, but we’ve been working hard and looking forward to big things.
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