9LACEY, Wash. - The Alaska Nanooks cross country team wrapped up their trip to Lacey, Wash. with a ninth-place finish from the men's team in an 8k race and a historic third-place finish from the women's team in a 6k race.
Rosie Fordham took home the GNAC XC Women's Freshman Runner of the Year award following her performance at the GNAC Championships.
The men's team opened up the GNAC Championships with an 8k race at 9:00 a.m. AKT at the Saint Martin's track complex. The Nanooks were led by
Mike Ophoff, as the sophomore from Cista u Horek, Czech Republic posted a 26:02.50 time for a 35th-place finish. Closing in behind him for a 41st-place finish was
Joe Davies, the freshman from Pemberton, B.C., running the 8k in a time of 26:16.80.
Zephan Ozturgut raced to a 53rd-place finish and time of 26:56.50.
Koen Ross joined him in the top-60 with a 59th-place finish, running to a time of 27:10.10.
Rounding out the Nanooks was
Nolan Earnest, running to 61st-place and a time of 27:14.90, and
Jack Cater, racing to a 79th-place finish with a time of 29:50.70. The men's team finished ninth-place, earning 224 points. The Simon Fraser men's team took first place at the 2021 GNAC Championships, earning 50 points including the top-finisher as Aaron Ahl won with a time of 24:21.80.
The women's team, selected to finish 9th in the GNAC Preseason Polls, made a historic run at the 2021 GNAC Championships. Led by Australian freshman,
Rosie Fordham, the Nanooks pushed ahead for 92 points and a program-best third-place finish. Fordham, who has not placed lower than fourth-place in all 2021 races, picked up a second-place finish at Saint Martin's, running the 6k race in a time of 21:33.10. With the finish, Fordham earned the GNAC XC Women's Freshman Runner of the Year. Taking third and fourth-place, just behind Fordham, was
Kendall Kramer in third, with a time of 21:34.50 and
Naomi Bailey with a time of 21:45.0.
Delainey Zock, another freshman, picked up a 28th-place finish for the Nanooks, posting a time of 22:56.70.
Rya Berrigan and her sister, Aila, rounded out the runners for the Nanooks. Rya took 62nd with a time of 25:15.10 while Aila took 74th with a time of 26:24.70.
The Nanooks now look forward to the NCAA West Region race on Nov. 6, 2021 at the Ash Creek Preserve at Western Oregon University.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks cross country team, follow @Alaska_XC on Instagram, or like the Alaska Nanooks XC team page on Facebook.
