drew rongere
athletic director
Email: drew.rongere@mcamustangs.org Phone: 763-488-7938
Drew Rongere was named Athletic Director at Maranatha Christian Academy in November 2021 and took over as Head Volleyball Coach in 2023, leading the team to the most regular season wins in program history. He has over 23 years experience in athletics as a director and coach. “I’m thankful to be a part of the Maranatha Christian Academy family. Our main goal as an athletics department is to make sure families have a great experience while being involved in Mustang Athletics. We intend to be excellent role models as we encourage our athletes to develop and display strong Christian values through competition,” said Rongere.
Rongere comes to Maranatha Christian Academy from Minneapolis College where he served as the Director of Campus Recreation & Wellness for 9 years.
As a coach, he has trained athletes from the youth level to Division I in a variety of sports including baseball, basketball, football, hockey, soccer, softball, and volleyball. He is the current 18-1 Head Coach at MN Select Volleyball Club. Last year as the 17-1 Head Coach, his team finished 5th in the country at USAV Nationals in the 17-Open Division. Under Rongere’s leadership, his coaching staff has helped hundreds of athletes go on to play at the collegiate level.
From 2007-2013 he coached and held the positions of CEO & Director of Operations for WM Volleyball Club. From 2009-11 he served as Head Volleyball Coach at Chisago Lakes High School and Totino-Grace High School.
At Anoka-Ramsey Community College from 2005-2009, Rongere was responsible for overseeing an athletic department that sponsored 7 varsity sports. He also led the Women’s Volleyball program. He took over a program that had zero returning players and produced a record of (2-50) over the three seasons prior to his arrival. While at the helm, he led the Golden Rams to three consecutive trips to the MCAC Tournament and consecutive NJCAA DIII top ten national rankings. Rongere was named 2008 MCAC Coach of the Year as he led six players to a third place finish in the MCAC Southern Division and a trip to the MCAC Tournament. As the 2006 MCAC Coach of the Year, he led the Golden Rams to their best finish in 18 seasons. During his four years at Anoka-Ramsey, he coached (2) NJCAA All-Americans, (3) All-Region XIII players, (5) All-MCAC players, (7) All-MCAC Southern Division performers, and (5) All-MCAC Tournament selectees.
Prior to taking over at Anoka-Ramsey, Rongere took on a Volunteer Assistant Coach role for the Texas State University Women’s Volleyball team during their 2003 and 2004 Southland Conference Championship seasons. He also volunteered in the Campus Recreation & Wellness department and taught undergrad physical education classes.
Rongere began his coaching career at Clarksville High School in Clarksville, Texas where held led the Volleyball and Softball programs from 2001-2003. As the Head Volleyball Coach, he coached 6 Red River Valley All-Conference players and compiled a record of (51-13) over two seasons. He also served as the Head Softball Coach and finished with an overall record of (42-10).
He earned his master’s degree in Sports Management from Texas State University in 2005 and a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education K-12 from North Dakota State University in 2001.
Rongere and his wife Lisa live in Otsego, MN with their two boys, Riley (21) and Cody (17).
chaz mahle
assistant athletic director
Email: chaz.mahle@mcamustangs.org Phone: 763-488-7933
Chaz Mahle was named Assistant Athletic Director in June 2022. In his role at Maranatha, Mahle will work closely with current Head Athletic Director Drew Rongere. He comes to Maranatha Christian Academy from the Minnesota Vikings where he worked as a strength and conditioning coach for 10 seasons in two separate stints. During his time with the Vikings, Mahle was responsible for facilitating and managing player workouts as well as conditioning sessions during both the in-season and off-season programs. He was also in charge of distributing and running all aspects of GPS sports tracking data.
In between stints with the Minnesota Vikings, Mahle worked as a Sports Performance Coach at Stanford University directing Track and Field as well as assisting with the Cardinal Football team. The University would go on to win the 2012-2013 school year NACDA Directors’ cup which is awarded to the most successful overall athletic program in the country. While at Stanford University Mahle would coach a combined 22 All-Americans. During his lone season on the farm, the Women’s Track and Field team would go on to win the Women’s Indoor Conference Championship while the Cardinal Football team would finish at number 6 in the BCS college football rankings with a record of 11-2 caping off the season with a win over Wisconsin at the 2013 Rose Bowl Game.
From 2008-2010 Mahle would work as a graduate assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at Bowling Green State university. He would have a primary role in training all 18 sports offered by the university while designing and implementing the training programs for Baseball, Volleyball, Golf, Tennis, Gymnastics, and Women’s Soccer. The Falcon Baseball team would win the MAC Conference Championship in both 2008 and 2009 during Mahle’s time at the University.
He would begin his Strength and Conditioning coaching career in Jacksonville, Florida with the Jacksonville Jaguars where he would conduct group training sessions along with having a key role in administering both injury prevention and rehabilitation protocols. Mahle would remain with the club during both the 2006 and 2007 seasons. During the 2007 season the Jaguars would finish second in the AFC South with a record of 11-5 which would earn a wildcard playoff spot where the Jaguars would beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-29. The team would advance to the divisional round of the playoffs and lose to the eventual Super Bowl runner up New England Patriots by a score of 31-20.
Mahle received his bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from St. Cloud State University (2005) and a master’s degree in Sports Management from Bowling Green State University (2010).
Mahle and his wife Ashley live in Circle Pines, MN with their four girls, Blakely (6) Collins (4) Emelia and Emersyn (2)
jamie axelberg
activities director
Email: jamie.axelberg@mcamustangs.org Phone: 763-488-7939
Jamie Axelberg joined the Maranatha Christian Academy Athletics Department in July 2022 and has since taken over the role of Activities Director. She also serves as the Student Council Coordinator and the Head Softball Coach for the Mustangs who have won three straight Skyline Conference Championships.
Axelberg’s athletic journey started at Bethel University where she was a 5-year starting short-stop for the Women’s Softball team. She was named two-time all-conference, one-time honorable mention, and All-American Scholar Athlete. With her time at Bethel, she has been part of some record breaking teams. During her sophomore season, she helped her team etch their name in Bethel’s record books by breaking long-term standing team records and individual records. Going into her 5th year, she was a part of the first team to win the MIAC regular season and Playoff Championships. They made it to the NCAA Softball DIII World Series tournament where they hosted the first ever 4 team regional. In come from behind walk-off fashion, the Royals made it all the way to the Super Regional round where the Record-breaking season came to end.
As a coach, Axelberg has coached softball at all levels starting from 8u all the way to 18u. She has helped lead teams to 8 state tournaments, placing in the top 3 every year in attendance. She also led her teams to 8 Nationals appearances with a top 4 finish in their respected bracket.
Prior to Maranatha, Axelberg worked for WOW Factor Sports, where they hosted the US Pond Hockey Championships. Axelberg oversaw sponsors, on-site activation, Merchandise, and had the role of Event Coordinator.
Axelberg also had the opportunity in 2019 to intern for the Scrap Yard Dawgs down in Texas for a summer where she assisted with game day operations, practice plans, catch bullpens, travel plans and worked with Team USA Softball National team as they prepared for the Olympics.
While attending college, Axelberg oversaw the Athletics ticket sales and Gym Supervision. There she assembled employees to work all home sporting events, maintain a fun and respectable environment, and help with any game day operation for the Athletic department.
Axelberg received her bachelor’s degree in Physical education and Health Education with a DAPE endorsement from Bethel University.
