The leadership of Grant High School’s cross country team will look slightly different this year:
Michael Engelbert, assistant coach of nine years, is stepping into the role of head coach. Though the team will be led by a new person, the built-upon goals and philosophy of years past will be carried on.

In what Engelbert says felt like “really good timing,” the team’s previous head coach, Kent Siebold, has decided to step down from the position this year. Siebold will still be coaching for the team, but the administrative duties will be handed over to Engelbert — allowing Siebold more time to spend in his garden or traveling while still working with his athletes.

Engelbert is coming into a position which his colleagues believe he will succeed in. Siebold is confident in Engelbert’s ability to step into the role of head coach, praising his skills at planning training schedules and organizing to-dos. The team has struggled in the past to keep numbers up, particularly in female athletes. However, last year, almost 150 students completed the required number of races, with an almost equal ratio of boys and girls. Siebold credits much of this success to Engelbert, who he says “really did a great job of leveling up our strength program (and) our speed program.” This change resulted in the athletes showing vast improvements over the course of the season. Under Engelbert’s guidance, the team will certainly not fall behind: “Michael organizes and makes things happen,” Siebold says. “I would be slower to make it actually happen, whereas he gets things in place. And that’s really exciting to watch.”

Engelbert’s main goal as head coach is to foster a welcoming and inclusive mindset in the athletes. This builds off of Siebold’s coaching philosophy, which focuses on constructing a team in which each member knows that they matter and ensuring a positive environment that promotes meaningful learning.

Engelbert’s time in the U.S. Navy contributed to his philosophy: Being confined in a small craft with a large group made him realize that progression, collaboration and adaptability are important traits in a well-functioning team. Stepping up as head coach, he’ll get the opportunity to put these lessons to the test.

The cross country team is coming off of a great season during the 2024-25 school year. Grant had one of the fastest boys’ cross country teams in the school’s history, with 2024 senior Nate Rumberger setting a school record of 15 minutes and 25 seconds for the five-kilometer race, breaking the 16-minute-and-42-second record which had been held for 22 years by Philip Quinton — the brother of Grant alum Pieter Quinton, who rowed for the U.S. during the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Though Engelbert hopes to promote athlete success, he notes the importance of other factors. “We always continue to balance our competitiveness with having that camaraderie and collaboration,” he says. “It’s important that even when we continue to get more competitive statewide and regionally, that it’s still an inclusive environment where (anyone) that wants to show up and do the work and run can have a place on the team. It’s still one team. It doesn’t feel like multiple different sets of teams based on how fast you are.”

One way through which Engelbert hopes to foster a community-minded team is by having seniors act as role models for the younger athletes. This is a tradition that has been practiced in previous years, with seniors being assigned to lead five-person pods which meet at the beginning of practices to share icebreakers, discuss the day’s plans and go through warmups together. A key component of Siebold’s philosophy, these pods were designed to encourage support between teammates, each being mixed in grade, gender and experience level, ensuring that all athletes feel equal.

For the 2025 season, Engelbert is looking for opportunities to involve athletes more in the leadership of the team. Though many of his roles are the same as those of an assistant coach, he recognizes the new expectations that come with being a head coach. “That’s the shift for me — being the primary responsibility, as opposed to supporting someone that has been setting the tone.”