Nov. 3, 2007
Men's Results
Women's Results
NAMPA, ID- In perfect running conditions, the Alaska Nanook runners wound up their 2007 season with a visit to the NCAA West Regional meet. Running against some of the nation's best competition, the Nanook men placed 16th out of 19 teams, while the women tied for 18th among 23 teams.
Once again, Finland's Jani Tulppo led the Blue and Gold men, recorded a solid 32:22.59 over the 10 K course. Freshman Zach McGill was Alaska's second-best finisher, placing 71st with a 33:19.71.
Despite competing on a course that was 2 km longer than what they ran in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships, head coach Scott Jerome did not feel the added distance was a factor in the race's outcome.
"I think they handled the distance fine," he said. "They didn't really say a whole lot about it afterwards. They just knew what to expect going on and knew what they had to do."
While the Nanooks did not travel Anna Coulter, who was the women's top runner in every race this season, twin sister Julia filled in well, recording a team-best 38th place finish in the 6 K race. Freshman Nikkol Sipes, who has enjoyed an excellent first season in the Blue and Gold, came in 77th with a time of 22:59: a full three minutes better than she recorded in her first race this season.
While the event was certainly a good measuring stick Alaska's progress this season, preparing for the future was the main motivation for head coach Scott Jerome's taking his squads to the regional meet.
"I think it's huge for our young runners to come out and see what their competition is like," said Jerome. "It really opened their eyes to how tough our region is, and its good for them to have this experience so they know what to expect and know where they need to be going forward."
Despite having just concluded his 2007 campaign, Jerome is already excited for next season's cross country season to get underway. "For the guys, Chris [Eversman] and Zach [McGill] will both be back next season, so I think that we will continue to improve," he said. "And with the experience Amber [Drumm] and Nikkol [Sipes] have gotten this season, plus Aurelia [Korthauer] coming back after missing this year because of illness and Rachel Fridye recovering from her ankle injury, next year our women's team will be as stronger as its ever been."
In the meantime, Jerome and the rest of the Nanooks will be busy preparing for the skiing season, as Alaska kicks their season off in a little under three weeks' time, competing in the U.S. Supertour Opener in West Yellowstone, Montana on Nov. 23.
