PORT ANGELES, Wash. – Over the weekend, two names from Jessup's most successful season were honored for another great season over a decade ago. As part of the fifth Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Peninsula College, Jessup's Lance Von Vogt and Bryce Jacobson had their names immortalized along with the rest of the 2011 PC men's basketball team.
 
The 2011 Pirates, guided by a first-year head coach in Von Vogt, won the school's first championship since 1970.
 
Peninsula defeated Pierce College, 80-76, to win the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC). The championship has been one to remember over the last dozen years, so much so that Von Vogt could be seen wearing his NWAC championship ring in each game coached here at Jessup.
 
Von Vogt took over the Pirates ahead of the 2010-11 season, taking over for coach Peter Stewart who departed to become the head coach at Minot State University in North Dakota. Von Vogt stayed with the Pirates until the summer of 2013, when he accepted the role of Jessup's head coach, beginning a decade in which he became the winningest coach in Jessup history.
 
Now Jessup's Vice President for Athletics, Von Vogt offered his thoughts on PC, stating, "Port Angeles and Peninsula College are both special places where teamwork, sacrifice, and a blue-collar mentality shine through. Our team embraced that and grew to embody it on the court and locker room which ultimately led us to the championship. What I am left with after this weekend is how blessed I was to coach this group of men back in 2010-11."
 
But it wasn't just Von Vogt who was recognized over the weekend. Along for the trip was current Jessup assistant coach Jacobson, a starter and team captain on that championship team. The 2011 championship game was the final moment for Jacobson as a Pirate, but he did not end his playing career on the court as a few games prior, he suffered a career-ending knee injury.
 
This past weekend was the first time Jacobson had been reunited with the majority of his teammates since his time in Port Angeles came to a close.
 
Jacobson reflected on the reunion, stating, "It was really emotional, you know, because some of those guys I hadn't seen in 12 years. That group was special. Me and Lance have even talked multiple times about how, even if we had, say, lost in the semifinals, that group was still special in and of itself. The championship was really the result of all that, and it was just so great to see the guys and to see how they've grown over the years."
 
The Hall of Fame class of 2023 was centered around basketball as Peninsula also honored student-athletes dating back to the 1970s. It was just the fifth induction in school history, and for Jacobson, he added that it was surreal to see his team be brought back into the limelight some 12 years down the road.
 
"We were a special team because we were the first basketball team to win a championship since 1970 at the school," added Jacobson. "It had been 41 years since a team had done that, and in those 41 years, Peninsula had actually dropped athletics and then brought it back during a resurgent period."
 
The ties of the Peninsula College Pirates and Jessup Warriors run deep. On top of the two coaches who shared the bench for four seasons in Rocklin, a number of Pirates have even made their way to Jessup as student-athletes as well.
 
When Von Vogt began his coaching era here in Rocklin in 2013, he brought with him Corey Clement, a former Pirate who went on to lead Jessup to its first NAIA Tournament victory in 2016. Von Vogt also recruited Djuan Smith, a highlight reel player known for his incredible slam dunks on Horton Court. The relationship still exists today as Ty Artis, a Peninsula transfer, mans the backcourt for this current Jessup squad.
 
"There's gonna be a connection between Peninsula and Jessup forever," added Jacobson. "There are so many similarities. The schools are similar in size, even though one is a junior college and the other is a four-year. But what you have are really high caliber people throughout the university at every level. You have a small town feel because, even though Jessup is in Sacramento, the campus here has that small town feel. You have deep relationships with everyone around you, and that translates really well between the two. It's almost like ,you know, the two are surrogate sister schools."
 
The 2011 season helped establish the roots for the basketball careers of Von Vogt and Jacobson. The two produced an incredible season here in Rocklin when they won 30 games and reached the NAIA Quarterfinals in 2022.
 
The weekend in Port Angeles is a fitting end to one chapter, as Von Vogt hung up his whistle at the end of the 2022-23 season, creating an opening that has since been filled by Mark Darnall. What Von Vogt and Jacobson did 12 years ago is still remembered to this day, and what the two did here in Rocklin will also be remembered for many years to come.  
   
Jessup University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Twitter & Instagram).