[Women's 10km Results (with splits)]
MIDWAY, Utah – Alaska Nanooks junior
Heather Edic (Fairbanks, Alaska/Mechanical Engineering) was the top finisher for the Blue and Gold on the second day of competition at the U.S. Cross Country National Championships at Soldier Hollow. Edic also grabbed the last Central Collegiate Ski Association podium spot, finishing third in the region and 41
st overall.
The Fairbanks native completed the women's 10-kilometer interval start freestyle race in 32:53.4. Rounding out Alaska's top-three finishers were sophomore
Alyson McPhetres (Chugiak, Alaska/Spanish and Geological Engineering) and senior
Crystal Pitney (Fairbanks, Alaska/Business Administration, who finished 5.5 seconds apart in 42
nd (32:57.6) and 44
th (33:03.1) overall and fourth and fifth regionally, respectively.
"Heather was our number one woman today and it was one of her best races at U.S. Nationals to date,” said head coach
Scott Jerome. “Aly had some breathing problems and I thought at one point she was going to drop out, so for her to stick it out and finish 42
nd was really good. For U.S. Nationals those were some solid races.”
Also earning a top-10 regional finish were Alaska's only two other racers on the day, as two Nanooks – senior
Rebecca Konieczny (West Yellowstone, Mont., Biological Sciences) and junior
Raphaela Sieber (Vöhrenbach, Germany/Business Administration) sat out Friday's event due to illness.
Seniors
Marit Rjabov (Voru, Estonia/Psychology) and
Theresia Schnurr (Buhlertal, Germany/Biochemistry) crossed 68
th(33:52.2) and 70
th(33:55.1), respectively, for the 8
th and 9
th best in-region performance on the women's side Friday morning.
"We had five women in the top 10 for CCSA so it sets us up nicely points wise for NCAA's and it's nice to see we are starting the season off well within our region," Jerome said.
In addition to the positive in-region results from the men's squad, Jerome also noted that an Alaska Skiing alumna, Julia Coulter Pierson, was helping the Nanooks in the waxing trailer for the last couple of days and will continue to do so for the rest of the events. The four-year standout and All-American skier is attending Physical Therapy school nearby in Salt Lake City.
“It's been really nice seeing Julia and having her there to help us out with the waxing,” he said.
The team returns to the trails on Sunday, Jan. 6 for the longest race of the week, taking on a 20 km mass start classic race at 10 a.m. MST (8 a.m. AKST).
