PORTLAND, Ore. – On Thursday, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference announced that the Alaska Nanooks men's and women's cross country running teams were both picked to finish ninth in the Preseason Coaches Poll.
The GNAC Preseason Cross Country Running Coaches Poll is voted on by all 11 head coaches from within the conference, with the poll being based on an 11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale. Since the 2016 preseason, coaches are allowed to vote for their own team.
WOMEN
The Alaska women's cross country running team was picked to finish ninth in the preseason poll, as they earned 32 points. The Nooks move back one spot from last year's preseason poll but stay in the position that they finished in 2018 (246 points).
Redshirt-senior
Alex Bergholtz is the highest-ranking Nanook to return this season after a 21st place finish at the 2018 GNAC Championships with a time of 22:35.1. Bergholtz was the only female Alaska runner to compete at the NCAA West Regionals last season, finishing 115th overall with a time of 23:39.05.
Junior
Anja Maijala was the second-highest finishing Nanook at the conference championships last season, placing 52nd overall with a time of 24:06.8.
Seattle Pacific was picked to finish first with 101 points and five first-place votes, followed closely behind by Alaska Anchorage (99 points) and Simon Fraser (96 points). Western Washington (83 points) and Central Washington (70 points) rounded out the top five, respectively, followed by Northwest Nazarene (57 points), Western Oregon (52 points) and Montana State Billings (35 points). Behind the Nanooks was Concordia (20 points) and Saint Martin's (15 points).
MEN
The GNAC Preseason Poll predicted the Nanooks to finish the 2019 season in ninth place overall with 29 points, one spot higher than last season's poll. Alaska closed out the 2018 season in ninth place with 261 points at the GNAC Championships.
Alaska will look to their top placer at the 2018 GNAC Championships, senior
Lukash Platil, who finished 27th overall in a time of 25:55.3. Also returning for the Nanooks is senior
Jacob Walsh, who placed 66th at the conference championships with a time of 27:09.9.
In a tight battle within the top three, Alaska Anchorage was picked to finish first with 101 points and four first-place votes, followed by Simon Fraser with 99 points and three first-place votes and Western Washington with 98 points and four first-place votes. Western Oregon (71 points) and Central Washington (70 points) rounded out the top five, respectively, followed by Seattle Pacific (61 points), Northwest Nazarene (58 points) and Montana State Billings (34 points). After the Nanooks was Concordia (23 points) and Saint Martin's (14 points).
The Alaska Nanooks men's and women's cross country running teams will officially kick-off the 2019 season this Saturday, Aug. 31 with the Blue and Gold 5km Run Fest at the UAF Trails, located by the Ski Hut.
The community 5km race is scheduled for a 10 a.m. start, followed by the UAF vs. UAA women's 5km race at 10:45 a.m. and then the UAF vs. UAA men's 7km race at 11:15 a.m. Following the conclusion of the men's race, there will be a children's 1km race that is free.
There will live music, free snacks and refreshments and appearances by all 10 Alaska Nanooks varsity sports teams.
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.
