Six @AlaskaNanooksXC Skiers Advance in Freestyle Sprint at U.S. Nationals

Six @AlaskaNanooksXC Skiers Advance in Freestyle Sprint at U.S. Nationals

Men's & Women's Senior/Master Results | Junior Quarterfinal Results | Junior Semifinal Results 

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks men's and women's Nordic ski teams were back in action on Monday morning, participating in the freestyle sprint event in the 2016 U.S. Cross Country Championships at the Michigan Tech Nordic Ski Trails in Houghton, Michigan. The Nanooks saw three skiers qualify to the senior/master quarterfinals, while three Nooks qualified for the junior heats.

"Today's freestyle sprint race was definitely an improvement over yesterday's classic race, which we were pleased to see," head coach Nick Crawford said following Monday's races. "We were excited to qualify two men and one woman for the overall quarterfinal rounds and also, one woman and two men for the junior quarterfinals. We suffered from a few tactical errors in the head-to-head rounds but overall, it was still a very good day."

In Monday's freestyle sprint event, the top 30 men and the top 30 women who had the fastest sprint times were separated into five quarterfinal heats, with six skiers going head-to-head in each heat. From there, the two skiers with the fastest times per heat move on to the semifinals, including two "lucky losers." Lucky losers move on to the semifinals when they post times that would've beat out skiers from other heats from moving on to the finals. From the semifinals, the top six advance on to the finals, racing an exhausting four times in one day.

Redshirt sophomore Nick Lovett and junior Isaac Lammers' freestyle sprint times had qualified them for the quarterfinals, finishing in the top 30 of 185 skiers. Lovett posted the faster time of the two Nooks with a quarterfinal time of 03:26.98, while Lammers finished right behind his teammate in 03:27.50.   Both Lovett and Lammers lead their respected heats early on before falling behind in the later half.

"Isaac Lammers and Nick Lovett really impressed us today, finishing in the top 30 overall," Crawford said of his two qualifiers. "Freestyle sprints are their best events and we're happy they made it into the quarterfinals."

The Alaska Nanooks men's team had two others qualify for the junior heats, with sophomore Seiji Takagi and freshman Max Donaldson finishing in the top 30 alongside fellow junior (under-20) racers to move on to the quarterfinals. Donaldson completed his quarterfinal heat in 03:29.39, placing fifth after unsuccessfully trying to gain position on his fellow racers. Takagi finished with an impressive time of 3:30.93, after getting tangled with another skier and falling, but still able to make a comeback.

"Seiji Takagai and Max Donaldson also had good races today, making it into the junior quarterfinals. Both have the speed and the fitness to have moved onto the junior semifinals if things panned out a little different in the head-to-head racing," Crawford concluded.

On the women's side, junior Nichole Bathe paced the Nanooks once again, advancing to the quarterfinals in a field of 135 women. In the quarterfinal heat, Bathe was tripped up with a fellow skier but concluded with a very impressive finish time of 04:10.04.

Sophomore Sarissa Lammers was the only female Nanook to qualify for the junior heat advancing to the quarterfinal before being named a lucky loser and moving on to the semifinals. Lammers concluding her quarterfinal heat in fourth place (04:01.86), before posting an impressive semifinals time of 04:03.16.

"The women had another good day with both Nichole Bathe and Anne-Tine Markset improving on their already good positions from yesterday," Crawford concluded. "Unfortunately, Nichole got tangled up with one of NMU's skiers and crashed, but she was looking great in her quarterfinal until then. Sarissa Lammers also had a great day advancing all the way to the semifinals in the junior heats. Sarissa skied tactically very well, skiing calm and in control throughout both her quarterfinal and semifinal."

The Alaska Nanooks men's and women's cross country ski teams will take a two-day break before returning to the 2016 U.S. Cross Country Championships on Thursday, Jan. 7 to participate in the 20k/30k freestyle mass start. For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's and women's Nordic ski teams, like the Alaska Nanooks XC page on Facebook or follow @AlaskaNanooksXC on Twitter. 
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