A busy, yet successful month continues for Mark Jacobs and the Alpena Community College cross country program. The Lumberjacks were able to get two more key additions to add to an already talented roster. Alpena’s Ryan Wirgau and Charlevoix’s Jonathan Pischner signed their Letters of Intent earlier this week.

“All four of my recent signees are very much alike. They are strong academically, they have run similar times in high school and are complete gentlemen. This definitely will be a fun fall for ACC cross country,” Jacobs said

Wirgau currently runs for Alpena High and will continue to wear the Alpena name proudly on his jersey, this time at the collegiate level.

Wirgau has a personal record time of 17:46 for the 5K and he has the potential to be one of the team’s top runners in the fall and Jacobs is excited to see how good he can be.

“I coached Ryan when he was in junior high and he’s always been one of my favorite kids. His happy go-lucky look on life is what makes him so special and it’s easy for anyone to want to be around a person like that. If he does the work this summer that I expect him to, he will be one of our top runners because his potential is limitless. He will be as good as he wants to be,” Jacobs said.

Pischner brings an impressive resume with him from Charlevoix. Pischner earned all-regional honors in 2015 and is a two-time state qualifier. His personal records are 16:53 for the 5K and 4:39 for the 1,600. Over his senior season he dropped two minutes from his 5K time. During the last three weeks, he dropped 50 seconds in his time. Pischner is familiar with the Alpena area and this is a signing that Jacobs is very excited about.

“We got lucky on this one. Jonathan’s coach saw his potential and felt that the Junior College route would be a great option. He has some relatives in our area and they inquired him about our program. This young man has just scratched the surface on what he will be able to accomplish. He is another quality kid who will fit in perfect with this team,” Jacobs said.