SCC launches new NJCAA cross country, track and field program for 2019-20

Published: 07/18/2019

Starting this fall, St. Charles Community College will launch its first ever NJCAA-sanctioned, Division III cross country/track and field program for the 2019-20 school year. This new athletics program offers unique opportunities for scholar-athletes to compete with regional talent while pursuing their two-year degree. 

“St. Charles has a great track record supporting athletics and have had four programs competing at Division I,“  SCC athletics director Tim Brix said, “but one of the reasons I took this job was the opportunity to build up programs from scratch. Cross country/track and field was a great starting point. At Division III, we can build up the program, assist enrollment and keep talented athletes competitive. 

“For students who were on the fence for being selected by Division I schools and scholarships, this is a great option. It allows them to stay active and competitive in the sport they love, get a degree and provides great exposure to high school talent who may have been previously overlooked. At St. Charles Community College, they'll have a chance to be seen by four-year Division I schools.”

The program will be led by Jacob Sundberg, who prior to starting at St. Charles Community College was an assistant cross country coach at Lake Forest College (Ill.). While at Lake Forest he helped maintain the team’s overall ranking – 3rd for women and 5th for men – within the Midwest Conference and coached four individual All-Conference finishers. 

“Our mission,” Brix said, “is to get talented student athletes into our program to get better, hone their skills and then graduate with an A.A. degree to help them move onto the next level, whether that's a scholarship at a Division I school or just moving onto a four-year degree.”

The college will be hosting the 2019 Region 16 NJCAA cross country championships against Mineral Area College Friday, Oct. 25.

“This will be a great opportunity to see our local talent and have other schools, parents and students visit the campus and see the great stuff we're doing here,” Brix said. 

The Athletics Department is actively recruiting for the team for the upcoming season and will be holding tryouts for cross country at 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1.

For more information, contact Timothy Brix at tbrix@stchas.edu. 

St. Charles Community College is a public, comprehensive two-year community college with associate degrees and certificate programs in the arts, business, sciences and career-technical fields. SCC provides workforce training and community-based personal and professional development as well as cultural, recreational and entertainment opportunities. For more information, visit www.stchas.edu.