

Courtesy Photograph
The 2021 Alpena Local community Higher education cross state group incorporates, from still left to correct: Runi Demirkol, Natanael Macean, Duncan Ross, and Connor Bagnell Coach Mark Jacobs, Teddy Peters, John Siegert, Musa Kabbah, assistant coach Mikayla Oliver.


ALPENA — Ongoing development and achievement is what the Alpena Community University cross region workforce has its sights established on this period.
Getting into his ninth 12 months as head coach, Mark Jacobs has constructed a juggernaut of a application, producing college student-athletes on the industry and of system, inside of the classroom.
Jacobs has at the time again put with each other a further gifted group that will prosper this time.
This team of Lumberjacks returns six of eight runners from a period back and will be led by a trio of three-calendar year runners including captain John Siegert (Ludington).
Siegert was not only the best runner for ACC past 12 months, but one of the leading runners in the convention and in the location as he completed as an all-Conference and all-location assortment, ending 10th in the region.
Duncan Ross (Rogers Metropolis) is another a few-12 months runner and captain for ACC and Musa Kabbah (Liberia, Africa) is the 3rd 3-yr returner for the Lumberjacks.
Along with a pair of professional captains and a trio of three-calendar year returners, Jacobs has the luxury of possessing an assistant mentor for the initially time due to the fact using more than the software in previous Alpena and Cleary College runner, Mikayla Oliver.
“This is a phenomenal team of guys. Just one of the highlights is I have a phenomenal assistant mentor as effectively for the very first time because I have been coaching this software. Mikayla (Oliver) is heading to make a big distinction and is an complete best addition as she understands functioning, understands me and the society that I go on to build at ACC,” Jacobs mentioned. “One of the positives of this group is, thanks to COVID past yr, my runners attained an excess yr of eligibility, so I have a few, three-year men which is fantastic.”
Roni Demirkol (Istanbul, Turkey), Teddy Peters (Onaway), Connor Bagnell (Memphis) and Natanael Macean (Haiti) make up the rest of the Lumberjack roster.
“This is a terrific group of men who get it, know what is likely on and know what is expected of them. It is an simple transition from previous 12 months to this year,” Jacobs stated. “Our culture right here is academics, challenging do the job, advancement and family members. These guys are incredibly close and which is the tradition that we have developed listed here at ACC.”
Part of that lifestyle is ongoing enhancement through levels of competition, the other is to continue currently being the very best within the classroom.
ACC was range a person in the nation academically final yr, to go alongside with its unparalleled six yrs in a row as an tutorial all-American team. What begun off as a purpose inside of the classroom has now develop into an expectation as this 12 months would mark the seventh consecutive 12 months, Jacobs’ method has an academic all-American staff.
“That’s just the expectation and the tradition now so this will be the seventh calendar year in a row that we are academic all-Americans. In general, in the significant photo, we’re going to make them superior runners, but the key target is to make them greater men, superior users of modern society and I’m just so very pleased of guys from 12 months just one to now and what they’ve performed to add to building this plan what it is and what it will proceed to be. Alpena Local community College or university has so quite a few excellent avenues for aid and preparing academically and these youthful males will normally keep in mind the lifetime classes and if I can continue on to assistance with their good results and advancement and athletically and academically, then that is a substantial earn.”
Siegert will be Alpena’s amount just one person this calendar year soon after a stellar marketing campaign a year back. Ross is mindful of the possibility he has with his third year and is established to make improvements to on a prosperous second year. Bagnell and Peters will also be relied on to have potent seasons and all those 4 will very likely be between the prime on the group as Kabba, Demirkol, and Macean offer a good deal of ability to what should really when again be an enhanced Lumberjack team.
“We’re going to be solid. Our objective is to finish in the top rated fifty percent of the conference and if we continue to be damage absolutely free, I believe we’ll have a definitely great yr,” Jacobs explained. “We’re in a very good location. We’re psyched, it’s likely to be rapidly and furious, but we’ve worked challenging and we’re on the lookout ahead to significant points.”