Women's Skiing | 1/10/2017 5:59:00 PM

Men's 30km Results | Women's 20km Results | Men's 10km Junior Results | Women's 5km Junior Results | College Cup Team Results | College Cup Individual Results

MIDWAY, Utah – Day three of the U.S. Cross Country Ski National Championships proved to be a troublesome day for the Alaska Nanooks men's and women's Nordic ski teams, but was highlighted by three top-50 overall finishes in the 30/20/10/5km mass-start, classical races at the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center in Midway, Utah.

"Today was another challenging day of weather conditions going from firm snow to glazed ice tracks to slush and warm fresh snow in the afternoon," head coach Nick Crawford said on Tuesday night. "Our team-wide results were not as good as the previous two days. Mass-start, distance classic races were our best event as a team last year, but I'm excited to have another opportunity to show our strength in this discipline this weekend in Bozeman."

The coveted "College Cup" was awarded at Tuesday evening's banquet at the National Championships, which is awarded to the best combined men's and women's NCAA team, excluding the club and Canadian teams, throughout the first two days of the senior nationals.

As a team, the Alaska Nanooks men's and women's combined score of 528 points ranked them sixth amongst 22 NCAA schools. The Alaska Nanooks women's team placed third overall with 295 points, while the men's team ranks eighth with 233 points.

Individually, senior Nichole Bathe placed fifth among 69 other intercollegiate student-athletes with 109 points, while redshirt-junior Jan Cech was the highest-ranked Nanook men's skier with 82 points in 17th place.

"I was really pleased when our women's team was awarded third place in the College Cup at this competition," Crawford continued. "It's definitely still early in the collegiate ski season but this is a good indication of where we stand nationally as most of the NCAA programs nationwide had good showings in these races. We're looking forward to seeing how well our women's team can do as a team at the NCAA Championships in March."

Bathe led all Alaska skiers for the third consecutive event, placing 19th overall in a field of 76 with a final 20km time of 1:08:42.6. In the five lap race (3.75km per lap), Bathe's first lap proved to be her quickest 3.75km of the day with a time of 12:33.5, which ranked her 22nd at the time. Bathe's third lap around the course was the 16th-fastest time split time for the third leg (13:56.3), her highest-ranked individual lap time of the day.

Despite a 7:09.1 difference between Bathe and first-place overall's Chelsea Holmes, Bathe was ranked first among all other Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association competitors on the day. As her hunt for a spot on USA's Under-23 team in the upcoming World Championships in February, Bathe's second place finish among Under-23 Americans in the women's race improved her chances.

Junior Sarissa Lammers finished the grueling marathon 53rd overall with a time of 1:15.06.1. Lammers' quickest lap was the first, as she rolled through the first 3.75km with a time of 13:03.3, ranking her 35th overall. Lammers' finish ranked her 11th among fellow RMISA athletes.

Only two Nanooks were featured in the women's 5km junior race, as rookie Anna Darnell continues to impress with time of 28:59.7 to rank her 36th overall in a field of 131. Darnell ranked eighth among fellow RMISA skiers and 20th in her Under-20 age group.

Fellow newcomer Hannah Booher finished less than a minute behind Darnell, placing 63rd overall with a time of 29:52.7. Booher's race ranked her 11th among other conference skiers in the women's junior race.

Unfortunately, all six Nanook skiers who raced in the men's 30km race did not finish. Redshirt-senior Michael Fehrenbach, junior Seiji Takagi and redshirt-sophomore Daniel Serventi all recorded at least one lap on the day.

On a lighter note, sophomore Max Donaldson placed 40th overall in the men's 10km junior race with a time of 34:45.9. Donaldson's finish ranked him second amongst RMISA competitors in the junior race, while fellow sophomore Tristian Sayre placed 94th overall (fourth RMISA) with a time of 37:34.3.

"The men had an especially tough day today with the drastically changing conditions and less than ideal skis, but I was pleased to see our women do well," Crawford concluded. "Nichole continues to impress us and today's second place U-23 American result confirms that she is the top all-around skier in her age group in the country."

The Alaska Nanooks will head to Bozeman, Montana for their first-ever RMISA-specific meet this weekend, racing in the 10/5km freestyle on Saturday, Jan. 14 and the 20/15km classic on Sunday, Jan. 15.

For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's and women's Nordic ski teams, follow @AlaskaNanooksXC on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks XC page on Facebook.