Results

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Alaska Nanooks men's and women's cross country teams were one step closer in preparation for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday, as the teams participated in the 44nd Annual Western Washington Cross Country Classic at the East Lake Padden Park in Bellingham. The Nooks were led by junior Morgan Siebka and redshirt-senior Carl Wahlin.

"Today was a pretty good race for the team but I'm confident we'll improve our team scores for the GNAC Championships in two weeks when we have our all of top runners back on the start line," head coach Nick Crawford said on Saturday.

The Alaska Nanooks women's team placed 10th in the 6km race, posting a score of 283 and an overall time of 2:03:26. Alaska's average 6km time was 24:41.

Siebka posted her highest career finish as a Nanook, placing 68th overall with a time of 23:56.2 for a score of 48 points. Siebka, a transfer from Southern Florida University, averaged a 6:25.2 pace per kilometer and was 2:42 behind first-place overall's Lindsey Butterworth (21:14.7).

Freshman Anja Maijala was the second Nanook to cross the finish line, posting a time of 24:26.6 to place 79th overall, while senior Ann-Cathrin Uhl rounded-out the Nanooks' top-three with a time of 24:48.4, placing 87th overall. Senior Kim Fitzgerald (24:576) and junior Tatjana Spaic (25:18.0) closed out Alaska's top-five women's runners and placed 89th and 92nd, respectively.

"I was pleased with how our women raced today and we executed one of our goals of keeping together as a pack through the first one-third of the race quite well," Crawford said of his women's team. "Morgan, Anja and Anni all had very good races today to lead the team for our top-three finishers. Although their times were a little slower than at the Sundodger a couple of weeks ago, I think they are looking really strong as today's course typically runs a little slower."

In the men's 10km race, Alaska placed ninth as team with a score of 305 points and a total time of 2:53:20. Of the Nanooks' six competitors on Saturday, the team averaged 34:40 per person. Chico State placed first overall with a combined score of 17 and a total time of 2:38:19.

Wahlin posted a 10km time of 33:49.8, placing him 59th overall to be the first Nanook to cross the finish line. Wahlin's time was only 2:33 behind first place overall's Keenan Viney, who ran a 31:16.5.

Junior Nick Lovett was the second Nanook to conclude the 10km race, posting a time of 34:08.3 to place 69th overall, while senior Lyon Kopsack placed 82nd overall with a time of 34:33.4. Freshman Josiah Alverts (35:12.3) placed 95th overall in his collegiate debut, while fellow freshman Logan Mowry (35:37.1) placed 102nd overall to round out the Nanooks' top-five scorers.

"The men raced well today and as a group, they did a good job pacing and working together in the second half of the race," Crawford concluded. "Carl is coming into really good form at the end of the season and led the team today. Nick Lovett probably had the best race of the day for our team to end up as our second finisher. First-year runners Josiah Alverts, Logan Mowry and Arnaud Guyon also did a good job in their first 10km races of their college careers."

Following Saturday's race, Alaska will rest and recover at home for the next two weeks and return to Bellingham and the East Lake Padden Park in two weeks for the GNAC Championships on Saturday, Oct. 21.

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