Lumberjacks sign Rogers City’s Duncan Ross for cross country

Alpena, Mich. — The Alpena Community College Lumberjacks have signed a new addition to their cross country squad. Rogers City senior Duncan Ross is a strong competitor, but he’s had more to overcome than the distance of a runner ahead. Ross underwent hip surgery as a junior, but he decided that he was not going to give up on something he loved.

“I really didn’t see it coming honestly,” said Ross. “It means a lot to me that I was able to do that. I guess I proved a lot to myself.”

Ross began running cross country when he was in seventh grade. He even participated in Lumberjack Head Coach Mark Jacobs cross country camps, and that’s where the senior learned how much he loved to run. As a sophomore, Ross ran his personal best of 18:45.7 at the Northern Michigan XC Championships Rotary Invite. He almost reached that time again in his very next race at regionals with 18:47.1. This marked his second trip to regionals.

The Huron’s hip surgery definitely was a setback. His fastest time as a junior was 19:28 and he did not advance to regionals. Ross never gave up. He took the course again as a senior and he made it back to regionals for the third time. His hard work and dedication were noticed by ACC.

“A perfect fit for the team,” said Jacobs. “Guys absolutely love him. When I told our team he was signing with us they were giddy. You know he’s got heart and you can’t coach heart. Either a kid has it or they don’t, and he’s got heart.”