Men's Senior Results | Women's Senior Results | Junior Men's Results | Junior Women's Results
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Alaska Nanooks men's and women's Nordic ski teams had another impressive showing at the 2016 U.S. Cross Country Championships at the Michigan Tech Nordic Ski Trails in Houghton, Michigan on Thursday morning. The Alaska Nanooks were split into four different races today, all of them participating in the freestyle mass start but were skied in distances of 30k, 20k, 10k or 5k.
"We had our best races of the week today, so as a coaching staff, we're quite pleased," head coach Nick Crawford said following Thursday's races. "We had two men in the top-20 in both the junior and senior men's races and one woman in the top-20 in the junior race, with one woman in the top-30 in the senior race, so that is a very good showing for us today."
Junior Races
Freshman Max Donaldson showcased his endurance once again, finishing seventh overall in the 10k men's freestyle mass start in a field of 83 skiers. Donaldson completed his one-lap event with an impressive time of 0:26:50.7, with only one fellow Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) skier finishing above him.
Following Donaldson, sophomore Seiji Takagi continues to impress at the championships, crossing the finish line with a time of 0:27:33.1. As the second Nanook to finish the race, Takagi concluded the 10k 17th overall, fourth amongst CCSA skiers (including Donaldson).
"In the junior men's race, both Seiji and Max had a great day," Crawford said of his young skiers. "Not only did they have their best results in the junior field so far this week, they still have more capability in them that I'm sure we'll see later in the season."
In the junior women's 5k freestyle mass start, sophomore Sarissa Lammers was the only Alaska Nanook to represent in the junior division and did so very successfully, finishing 15th overall in a field of 77. Lammers concluded the 5k in 0:15:56.6, fifth amongst CCSA skiers.
"Sarissa Lammers had a great race in the junior women's race and was really close to having a breakthrough performance. After being seeded four rows back in the starting chevron, she rocketed to the front of the field in the first half of the 5k but unfortunately, got caught in a rut in the trail and fell. The fall knocked her back to 20th place but she still managed to get up and charge back and had great finishing speed that I think could have propelled her into the top-five if she hadn't fallen," Crawford said of Lammers.
Senior Races
Two Alaska Nanooks placed in the top-20 of the men's 30k freestyle mass start, with sophomore Alex Eckert finishing 18th overall  with a time of 1:23:40.4, while redshirt junior Michael Fehrenbach placed 19th overall right behind Eckert with a time of 1:23:46.9. In a field of 83 skiers, the two Nooks placed fourth and fifth against other CCSA skiers, respectively.
Through the entire race, Eckert and Fehrenbach paced each other, marking almost identical times at each 10k lap. At the 10k mark, Eckert went 0:26:20.8 to Fehrenbach's 0:26:27.3, before moving to 0:54:18.1 (Eckert) and 0:54:31.7 (Fehrenbach) at the 20k mark.
Redshirt sophomore Nick Lovett was the third Nanook to cross the finish line during the 30k freestyle event, with split times of 0:27:52.7 (10k) and 0:57:15.6 (20k) before concluding the race 37th overall with a time of 1:27:27.4.
"Alex Eckert and Michael Fehrenbach really impressed us in the senior men's race," Crawford said of his two skiers. "They had very different strategies despite ending up quite close together in the results list. Alex got out in a good position from the start and skied steady, while Michael picked off skiers one or two at a time throughout the race. I think they ended up in the top 5-6 CCSA racers today, so if they have a few more races like that, it will set them up nicely to qualify for the NCAA Championships in March."
On the women's side, junior Anne-Tine Markset was first amongst the female Nanooks to finish the 20k freestyle mass start, placing 26th overall in a field of 60 skiers, with a time of 1:06:46.6. Markset's endurance was showcased as she kept an almost identical 10k lap time, with her split time being 0:32:25.2. Markset placed fourth overall against fellow CCSA skiers.
Junior Nichole Bathe followed-up Markset's performance by being the second Nanook to complete the 20k in a time of 1:09:54.4, with a split time of 0:32:55.3. Bathe placed 39th overall. Behind Bathe, junior Hannah Rowland placed third amongst the Nanooks with a time of 0:34:07.3.
Racing up from the junior heats, sophomore Ann-Cathrin Uhl rounded out the Nanooks with a finishing 20k time of 1:14:36.2
"Anne-Tine was the first Nanook in the senior women's race with a top-30 overall result and a top-six CCSA result, which will help her out in her pursuit of returning to the NCAA Championships in March," Crawford concluded. "She skied strong throughout the race and got by a few of the people she was skiing with at the finish."
The Alaska Nanooks men's and women's Nordic ski teams will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 9 at the 2016 U.S. Cross Country Championships for their final event, the classic sprint. For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's and women's Nordic ski teams, like Alaska Nanooks XC on Facebook or follow @AlaskaNanooksXC on Twitter.
