MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Alaska Nanooks cross country teams hit the road for the 2021 NCAA West Regional race in Monmouth, Ore. This year's West Region race will be hosted by Western Oregon University. 
 

Tournament Central	2021 NCAA West Preview (GNAC)
Date, Location & Race Length	Saturday, Nov. 6 NCAA West Regional at Western Oregon   Women's Race: 9:00 a.m. AKT – 6k course Men's Race: 10:15 a.m. AKT – 10k course
Location	Ash Creek Preserve | Monmouth, Ore.
Follow Along	Live Results | Watch Live
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Last Time Out
The Alaska Nanooks last ran at the 2021 GNAC Championships, hosted by Saint Martin's University on Saturday, Oct. 23. At the event, the women's cross country team put themselves in the history books, finishing third as a team in the women's 6k, the highest in program history. The Nanooks were led by Rosie Fordham, placing second with a time of 21:33.4, Kendall Kramer, placing third with a time of 21:34.5 and Naomi Bailey, taking fourth with a time of 21:45.0. These three finishing in the top-five, led Alaska to a 92-point day on the course, and a third-place finish, all after being selected ninth in the GNAC Preseason Poll.
 
Fordham, with her second-place finish, earned the GNAC Women's XC Freshman of the Year award.
 
As for the men, Mike Ophoff led the way, racing to a 35^th-place finish and a time of 26:02.50 in the men's 8k race. The next top-two finishers for the men's team were Joe Davies, taking 41^st-place with a time of 26:16.80 and Zephan Ozturgut, taking 53^rd-overall with a time of 26:56.50. The men raced their way to a ninth-place team finish.
 
Course Conditions
Ash Creek Preserve will set the scene for the 2021 NCAA West Region on Saturday, Nov. 6. One of the only cross country-only courses in the region, the Ash Creek Preserve is set to host its fourth West Regional meet. 
 
The Saturday forecast in Monmouth, Ore. is calling for rain, temperatures in the mid-to-high 40's and 10 mph winds.
 
Awards & Qualifying
The top-25 finishers in each race will receive All-West Region honors. The top-three placing men's and women's teams will automatically advance to the national meet, which takes place on Saturday, November 20 at St. Leo, Florida. The top two individuals who are not part of a qualifying team will automatically advance to the national meet. In addition, all individuals who finish in the top five and are not part of a qualifying team will automatically advance.
 
Ten at-large teams and eight at-large individuals will be selected to advance to the national meet. The meet field will be announced via a press release on NCAA.com on Monday, November 8.
 
Nanooks Regional History
Since the beginning of the GNAC in 2001, the Nanooks men's team has participated in 12 NCAA West Regional races while the women's team has participated in 11. The men's top finish in the West Regional is 12^th, coming in 2016 when they scored a total of 404 points. The women's top finish came in 2011 when they finished 4^th with a total of 164 points. 
 
That 2011 women's team is the lone-Alaska team to ever qualify for the NCAA Championships. They took 17^th-place overall that season, collecting 436 points. 
 
Coaches Quotes
Graduate-assistant Josh Sanderlin had this to say about the NCAA West Regional race, "This is going to be a special one. It's the culmination of months of work, growth, and learning. All of the runners have bonded together and shown a deep appreciation for the process. How can you not be romantic about running?"
 
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks cross country teams, follow @Alaska_XC on Instagram, or like the Alaska Nanooks XC team page on Facebook.