MIDWAY, Utah – The Alaska Nanooks Nordic ski team impressed at the RMISA Championships and NCAA Qualifiers in the 5/10k classic races. On Friday, Feb. 26, the 'Nooks as a team picked up 139 team points, 67 on the men's side and 72 on the women's side.

The women raced in a 5k classic at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center on Friday. Alaska was led by Mariel Pulles, who finished third overall with a time of 15:40.8 and earned a total of 34 team points for the Nanooks. Rounding out the top-10 was freshman Kendall Kramer, posting a time of 16:28.0 for 23 team points. Catherine Reed-Metayer was the next Nanook to finish, picking-up a 22nd place finish and a time of 18:03.8. Her 22nd place finish was good enough for 15 team points. Rya Berrigan and Sage Robine were the final 'Nooks to break the finish line, picking up 25th and 29th place finishes with times of 18:28.5 and 20:23.5 respectively.

Tomorrow, the Nanook women's skiers return for a 15k freestyle, beginning at 10:00 a.m. AKT.

On the men's side of the slope, the Nanooks were led by Mike Ophoff who picked-up a top-five finish, finishing fourth place with a time of 25:43.3. Ophoff grabbed the men 31 team points. Next in line for Fairbanks was Christopher Kalev who checked in at 10th overall with a time of 26:18.4. This was good enough for 22 team points. Logan Mowry was the last Nanook to grab team points for Alaska, finishing in 22nd place with a time of 27:34.6.
The final two Alaska racers to cross the finish line were Lukash Platil, in 25th place (28:04.2) and Patrick Marbacher, who finished 30th overall with a time of 29:31.9.

The men will race first tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 27, and will participate in a 20k freestyle beginning at 8:00 a.m. AKT.

For more information on the Alaska Nanooks Nordic ski team, follow @uafxc on Instagram or like the Alaska Nanooks XC team page on Facebook.