MIDWAY, Utah – The Alaska Nanooks Nordic ski team impressed once again on the final day of the RMISA Championships. They end their time in Utah with 270 team points, earning 72 in the women's race and 59 in the men's race. 
 
Mariel Pulles missed out on back-to-back podium finishes with a fourth place finish in the women's 15k freestyle on Saturday, Feb. 27. She finished with a time of 44:47.3, earning 31 team points. Pulles was surprised at her performance on Saturday, "I didn't know I was able to skate that well and fast. I had fun today and the cheering by the teammates helped me a lot!" Freshman Kendall Kramer pulled in behind Pulles with a sixth place finish and a time of 45:28.9. 
 
Kramer spoke about getting back in the rhythm of things, "I'm getting more back to normal every day after a tough season last year where I didn't feel like myself. The support of the team and community has helped bring me back. I let my body take the lead today and pace how it wanted and it ended up pretty good. I approached it like a track race where I am as relaxed as possible, but still in the mix, then sprint the last lap. Being a multi-sport athlete really came in handy today." Rya Berrigan, Catherine Reed-Metayer and Sage Robine rounded out the 'Nooks finishing places as Berrigan finished 22^nd, Reed-Metayer finished in 25^th place and Robine pulled-in at 28^th.
 
In the men's race, Christopher Kalev led the way for Alaska, picking up an eighth place finish and a time of 51:44.5 in the men's 20k freestyle. Kalev wanted to prove his continued success was here to stay on the weekend, "I really wanted to improve even more after getting my first top-10 in RMISA yesterday and luckily my skis carried me to an even better result today. Shoutout to coach Jennie [Bender] and wax tech Anson for doing an incredible with the skis over the week. Also big thanks to Mariel Pulles for hitting me up with some real world cup skis."
 
Logan Mowry picked up the next finishing spot for the Nanooks in 14^th place. He raced to a time of 53:05.6. Mike Ophoff and Lukash Platil followed closely behind in 16^th and 17^th place with times of 53:29.7 and 54:00.9 respectively. Patrick Marbacher was the last 'Nook to finish in the men's race, placing 30^th place.
 
Coaches Quotes
"Today was one of the best result days we have ever had. The athletes were mentally prepared for a tough race, which let them physically put it all out there on the course. There was a bit of new snow and a chill in the air, which made them feel right at home! Although it was an individual start race, Mariel (who placed 4th) and Kendall (who placed 6th) never dropped below 7th place the whole, and never let their guard down. They fought the whole way. Chris (who placed 8th in today's 20k) is having a breakout year, and has been improving each race. Logan knocked today out of the park with a season best 14th. He was the first starter, which can be hard if you have no one to chase, but his tenacity silently roared with each lap. Overall, I'm really proud of the team, and how they supported each other this week."
 
The Nanooks will find out who qualified for the NCAA Skiing Championships on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. 
 
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks Nordic ski team, follow @uafxc on Instagram or like the Alaska Nanooks XC team page on Facebook.