Southeastern Community College cross country teams enjoying success on a national scale
When Lucas Kiefer first set foot on the campus of Southeastern Community College in West Burlington as head coach of the men's and women's cross country teams, he could count the number of athletes on each team on one hand.
Litterally.
Three years later, Kiefer has the Blackhawks making noise on a national scale.
The SCC women are ranked 10th national in NJCAA Division II, while the men are ranked 16th heading into Sundays Region XI Championships at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge. The women's race is set to begin at 11 a.m., with the men to follow at noon.
Both teams have a chance to win regional titles, which would be the first time in the program's history that one of them won a regional title.
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Considering where the program was three years ago when Kiefer took over, that is nothing short of miraculous.
"It gets me really hyped up. My first year was tough. I didn't pick the team I came into. They were all great kids. But it's nice to have 14, 15 people to really get after it and are competitive and that want to win," said Kiefer, who also coaches the men's and women's track and field teams at SCC. "When you have 14, 15 people that bring that to the table -- they act like a family, the support one another -- that kind of makes my job easier. Everyone on this team has one common goal. When that happens, when a bunch of people get after one thing, they will achieve it. I have no doubt they will achieve whatever they want."
"We're working really, really hard and running really fast," said senior Kile Dowd of Danville.
"I'm really happy that we have this team together and we are getting the recognition we deserve because we do put a lot of effort and work into it," said freshman Carissa Mackey, also from Danville. "We get what we give out of it. I'm really happy with the girls and where we're going."
"It's been a really good experience to have a team to be a part of just starting college, just being surrounded by a community of people who are runners," said freshman Cassidy Yaley, also from Danville.
Finding the kingpins
In order to get the program where he wanted it to go, Kiefer had to find leaders for both the men's and women's teams.
He did just that, landing Aisha Romane, one of the top runners in New Mexico, for the women and Brooks Julian, Ethan Shuagis and Abdi Mohamed for the men.
Just like that, both teams had frontrunners who can compete for top spots at every meet.
"I get to work with real athletes, kinds that are hungry and want to win," Kiefer said. "They heard me say I am tired of losing. I want to win. If I get you to come here, we will win. But they all have to buy into it and come. I was just lucky enough they all bought into it and came here."
"I like it. I like the competition. I'm 18 hours away from home, so the competition here is really different. We all want the same goals. It's fun. I like it here," Ramone said. "It's unexpected. Coming in as a freshman, I knew I had expectations from the previous people who were here. I knew I had to have high expectations for myself so I wouldn't bring disappointment to the upperclassmen."
"Ethan, Abdi and I are kind of the leaders on the team," Julian said. "Being a freshman, I came in and got used to the team. I really enjoy being around these guys. Us top three guys just kind of work together as it goes along. Ethan beats me one day, I'm going to beat him another day. We're going to be up there together. We just try to push each other through the meet and finish strong."
Putting the community back in SCC
With the top runners in place, Kiefer went to work building his teams from local talent. And he found plenty of it.
Besides the two Danville girls, Brooklyn Moehle from Mediapolis, Lauren King from Fort Madison and Allie Simpson from Pleasant Valley are on the women's team.
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The men's team includes Mason Hills-Carrier and Freddy Vergara from Columbus, Noah Sparrow from Winfield and Alex Steffensmeier from Fort Madison.
For Kiefer, landing the local athletes is key to sustaining the program longterm.
"The kids are fun. We joke around all the time. I just destroyed them in go-karts at FunCity. Some of the kids were bowling. We keep it light. We did laser tag," Kiefer said. "But when it comes to building a program and winning, we take that very seriously and we do it with kids in our own backyard. I think we're staying true to Southeastern and the community college route. We have kids from all these surrounding towns and they're the ones that are going to go do it."
"It was close to home and I like the atmosphere. It's a small school, so it reminded me of Columbus a lot," said Vergara, who is majoring in criminal justice and hopes to be a state trooper.
"It was close to home and they have the degree I'm looking for and I get to continue my running career," said Hills-Carrier, who is pursuing a career as an orthodontist. "It's great. (Vergara and I) were pretty close in high school and this only got us closer. We have a lot of great memories and we're still making them. We're really tight. We hang out all the time. As a team, once we get to the meet we focus and we do what we need to do."
"I really like it. It's a big step up from last year. We have a much bigger team this year. I really like all the new people that we have and there's a lot of local people," said King, a sophomore. "I was thinking about going here and I got the offer from Kiefer to come and run. I enjoy being a part of the team and making new friends."
Creating a family atmosphere
Kiefer is trying to build a culture at SCC, one with a family-type atmosphere. He has accomplished that in three short years. This year's teams are tight-knit and get along well. It helps that they all share a common goal.
"It's been a blast," Julian said. "It's a really close-knit group. We all live together, so we are always around each other. We have a lot of fun together. We've put in the work, so it's not a surprise to us that we're moving up. Our goal this weekend is to win the regional. I think that would be a big boost for us as a team. I think we know we can do it."
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"It's kind of like Danville. That's why it's so nice," said Mackey, who is studying conservation. "We were close with our coach at Danville and here at SCC our coach really does care about us. He checks in with us to make sure our injuries are being taken care off, that we're eating right and going to class and our grades are good. He does care."
"We're just like a family, just like we had at Danville. Our goals are all the same. It helps when we all have the same goals in the end," Yaley said.
"I like it a lot. It feels like family. It's a real small group of people and I really enjoy that. It doesn't feel too much different from high school. I know everybody and there are a lot of girls I competed against here, too," Moehle said.
Onward, and upward
The SCC teams are aiming for Region XI championships Sunday. They then will set their sights on the NJCAA National Championships Nov. 12 in Tallahassee, Florida.
"It would be really big. Neither the boys nor the girls have won regionals. So winning it would be really big and give us more recognition that we need," Ramone said.
"We have a chance to win regionals. If we win it, it would be the first regional championship SCC has ever had. It would be really cool to be a part of that," Hills-Carrier said.
"It would show everyone that we have good runners here at SCC," Vergara said.
"I'm excited to go from two kids to even be discussing winning regionals for both. They do all the work. I just recruited them," Kiefer said.
Matt Levins is a sports reporter for the USA Today Network in Burlington, Iowa, who has covered local sports for 32 years at The Hawk Eye. Reach him at mlevins@thehawkeye.com.
This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: SCC cross country teams take aim at Region XI championships on Sunday
