FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Nanooks men's and women's cross country running team has officially added a first run of the season to their schedule. Three members of the team are in Caldwell, Idaho to run in the College of Idaho Ice Chipper Race. 
 

Host	The College of Idaho
Location	Mallard Park | Caldwell, Idaho
Date & Time	Friday, Feb. 5, 2021 Women's 4k at 12:00 p.m. AKT Men's 6k at 12:30 p.m. AKT
Social Media	Facebook

 
Last Time Out
It's been nearly a year and a half since the Alaska Nanooks cross country running team last competed. Their last competition of the 2019 season was the NCAA West Region race in Monmouth, Ore. In last season's final race, Alex Bergholtz, Anja Maijala, Jacob Walsh, Jack Matherly, Lukash Platil, Zephan Ozturgut and Mike Ophoff participated. 
 
First Time Out
With the long wait over, the 'Nooks are headed for their first race at Mallard Park in Caldwell, Idaho. The race is hosted by The College of Idaho and will be a 4k/6k in the women's and men's races. 
 
Meet the Team
Alaska only sent three runners for their season-opener. Sarah Olson, a sophomore from Blaine, Minn. will be the lone-female runner. On the men's side, Zephan Ozturgut, a junior from Anchorage and Jack Cater, a Fairbanks-local, will compete. 
 
Course/Weather
The course will be a challenging return for the runners as they will deal with a good amount of elevation change. They will be running loops around Mallard Park with a higher elevation in the later parts of the race and a lower elevation found at the start/finish line. Sun is in the forecast for Caldwell, Idaho with a temperature of 52 around race time. The course should be dry for the race.
 
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks XC running team, follow the Alaska Nanooks XC team page on Facebook.