Sept. 22, 2007
Complete Results
FAIRBANKS, AK- Alaska's women runners claimed their fourth win of the season at the Apple Ridge Run Invitational in Yakima, Wash. on Saturday, overcoming a strong Central Washington side that went into the weekend ranked No. 8 in the region. Alaska finished with 28 points, while Central and third-place Everett Community College finished with 47 and 56 respectively.
For the third successive race, Anna Coulter was the team's top finisher, placing second overall. Coulter was one of only two runners to complete the five-kilometer course in under 20 minutes, crossing the line with a time of 19:53.
Freshman Nikkol Sipes continued her impressive season as well, finishing fourth overall with a time of 20:08. All told, six Nanooks cracked the race's top ten, including Julia Coulter (sixth), Riikka Kemppainen (seventh), Amber Drumm (eighth) and Elisabeth Habermann (10th).
Alaska's men also held their own in the meet, finishing just behind GNAC rivals Central Washington, the region's No. 10-ranked men's team. The Wildcats finished on 29 points, seven points ahead of the Nanooks, who ended with 36. Everett Community College finished with 60 points on the men's side.
Senior Jani Tulppo was Alaska's top finisher, placing third overall in his first competitive race with the Blue and Gold. The Finnish exchange student completed the four-mile race in 21:52. Senior Chris Eversmann placed sixth for the Nanooks, coming in with a time of 22:07, followed closely by Vahur Teppan, who finished eighth overall in 22:15. Zach McGill and Einar Often rounded out the top five finishers for Alaska, coming in 10th and 14th respectively.
The Nanooks now have just under a month to prepare themselves for the GNAC championships, which will be hosted by Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho on Oct. 20. Alaska then completes its running season with the NCAA West Regional meet, also in Nampa, on Nov. 3.
