Kellogg Community College sports teams seeing program-best success this fall
BATTLE CREEK - As the saying goes, it has been a banner season this fall for Kellogg Community College athletics.
But those are just words. The Bruins would like to take the momentum they have seen the past few months and hang a couple actual banners as well.
The KCC cross country, women's soccer and volleyball teams all have a chance to do just that as the postseason is rolling around.
The highest aspirations, when it pertains to putting up some banners, is coming from the KCC men's cross country team, which is ranked No. 6 in the country. The Bruins will get a chance to see if they can live up to that ranking when they compete in the National Junior College Athletic Association regional meet in Grand Rapids on Friday.
"We are looking for some hardware this weekend," second-year KCC head coach Tom Shaw said.
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Shaw is excited about the momentum the program is seeing as the men's team has already qualified for a spot in the nationals, as well, in Alabama on Nov. 11, along with two runners from the women's team.
"Last year, I came in as the new coach so late, it was hard to recruit. Everybody was doing their thing already," Shaw said. "This year, we have some kids that took a chance on a program that has been just OK and it has turned out pretty good. And we are pretty good. We are pretty deep and we have a chance nationally to go top 10 in the country, which is exciting."
The KCC men's team is led by several runners with local high school ties. Gull Lake's Carson Lenzinger leads the group, finishing with the fifth-best time in school history at a recent meet in 29:18. The Bruins also have good depth with a handful of harriers from Lakeview, including Zachary Piercy, Caleb Keaton, Brendan Wedding, Maxwell Laduke, Marcus Peevers and Curtis Falbe. Along with them, Alex Steward, from Hastings, recently posted the ninth best time in KCC history with a 29:08.
"Six of our top eight runners are coming back next year, including the top three guys. So there is a lot of momentum with this program," Shaw said. "With the success we have had, I have been able to recruit some kids that are as good as those guys, or maybe even better. So the future is bright."
Brenna Withers, from Harper Creek, and Megan Jackson have qualified for nationals from the women's team.
"Being from Battle Creek, seeing success so close to home, can motivate a lot of runners to join the program," Withers said. "So I think things are only going to get better. Some people may not even realize we have a team here, but with our success, that is changing."
Women's Soccer
The KCC women's soccer team has set program records for wins in a season and goals in a season. The Bruins are ranked nationally for the first time in program history, climbing as high as 19th this season. KCC is currently 12-5-2 overall and 9-5-2 in the conference with 66 goals scored overall.
KCC has qualified for the NJCAA Regionals, to be played Saturday-Sunday. It is the first time KCC has gone to back-to-back regionals in women's soccer and just the third time in program history. The Bruins will be the No. 2 seed and open against the No. 3-seeded St. Clair County Community College.
Aubrey Phenicie of Portage Central leads the team in goals with 20 with Annabelle Smith of Mount Pleasant with 16. Jenna Vogel of Pennfield and Jessie Cummins of Harper Creek have started all 19 games on defense for the Bruins.
Volleyball
The KCC volleyball team is trying to get into the postseason for the first time since 2017. With a win over Glen Oaks on Tuesday, the Bruins put themselves in a position that if they beat Ancilla in their late Thursday match, they will earn a spot in the NJCAA Regional XII tourney.
KCC has been led this year by Gabrianna Kringle from Galesburg-Augusta, who has a team-high 299 kills. Julia May of Charlotte leads the team in assists with 584. Locally, St. Philip's Kate Doyle, Bellevue's Morgan Keson and Alaina Brubaker of Athens are also on the roster.
Contact Bill Broderick at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter @billbroderick
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Kellogg CC proving to be among the best in region in several sports
