Teddy Ippel to Transfer to SMC
Teddy Ippel of Bridgman will run cross country for Head Coach Zac Sartori and the Roadrunners starting in Fall 2026. He will also compete in track and field for SMC.
Ippel attended Michigan State University in 2025-2026 but did not compete for the Spartans. He comes from a "running family"; his sister, Olivia, was the NJCAA Division 2 individual national champion in 2023.
Coach Sartori said, "I was really excited to hear from Teddy a few months ago when he told me he was transferring to SMC to pursue his nursing degree. We have a great program and he's a very talented runner who I expect will bring our team to a national top ten finish. Teddy will be able to continue his running career while studying to become a nurse and he's chosen an excellent place to pursue both of these passions."
Even with a decades-long hiatus in the program from 1997 until 2021, SMC is still fifth of all NJCAA schools with 24 total top ten national finishes for the men, placing there every year from 1971 through 1995.
Ippel joins David Lane of White Pigeon, Dontrel Taylor of Three Rivers and Trent Hansen of Plainwell in the 2026 SMC Men's Cross Country recruiting class.
In Fall 2025, the Roadrunners finished the season ranked 16th in the country after competing in the NJCAA National Championships in unseasonably cold and snowy conditions at the Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Freshman Owen Saylor became SMC's 34th running All-American – and 69th overall - by finishing in the top 25 in that race.