FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks Nordic ski team is set to host their first-ever RMISA event before hosting two events on the weekend.
Tuesday, Feb. 2 - RMISA Invite
2:00 p.m. AKT, Wave Start Classic Technique 5k/5k
Birch Hill, Fairbanks, Alaska
Wednesday, Feb. 3 - RMISA Invite
2:00 p.m. AKT, Pursui Start Free Technique 10k/10k
Birch Hill, Fairbanks, Alaska
Saturday, Feb. 5 - Besh Cup
Interval Start Free Technique 5k/10k
Birch Hill, Fairbanks, Alaska
Sunday, Feb. 6 - Besh Cup
Mass Start Classic Technique 10k/10k
Birch Hill, Fairbanks, Alaska
Last Time Out - 2nd Place Finish at Montana State Invite
The Alaska Nanooks Nordic ski team finished the Montana State Invitational in second place, earning 281 total points, 157 from the women and 124 from the men.
On the final day of the Nordic races, the two teams raced in the classic technique. The men raced in a 15k and the women raced in a 10k. In the men's 10k, the Nanooks were led by freshman
Joe Davies. A day after he placed fifth, he returned and took sixth with a time of 38:05.1. This earned the Nanooks 27 points. The next men's racer to finish was
Mike Ophoff. Ophoff took home 15th-place, finishing the 15k in 39:18.1 for 18 points.
The third finisher and final scorer for the Nanooks men's team was
Christopher Kalev. He finished 19th and finished with a time of 39:54.6. He earned the Nanooks 16 points. Two more Nanooks finished in the men's race.
Lukash Platil took 29th with a time of 42:44.6 while
Patrick Marbacher finished 36th with a time of 45:13.4.
In the women's 10k races, the 'Nooks were led by
Mariel Pulles, who placed fourth-place with a time of 32:16.5, earning Alaska 31 points. She was followed closely by
Kendall Kramer who finished in sixth-place and a time of 32:32.2 for 27 points. The final scoring racer for the women's team was
Rosie Fordham. Fordham finished in 11th-place with a time of 33:41.6, earning the Nanooks 22 points.
Rya Berrigan was the final Nanooks racer to cross the finish-line. She finished 27th and posted a time of 36:57.9.
"We killed it today!" said head coach
Eliska Albrigtsen, "We got second overall. I am so impressed with everyone on this long trip. We went through it to get to Utah, we had the worst luck with weather and sickness there, then we continued our trip to Idaho into even higher elevation and the team just took it all and made diamonds out of it!"
Quick Hitters
- This will be the first-ever Nanook Invitational RMISA event.
- Tuesday's time has officially changed from 5:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
- Race information for the Feb. 1-2 races can be found here
- Race information for the Feb. 5-6 races can be found here
- The race status for each date will be as listed; Feb. 1 (USSS NRL), Feb. 2, 5-6 (FIS)
- Feb. 1 course is still TBD - Feb. 2/5 will be raced on Black Funk 5k, two laps for the men and women on Feb. 2, one lap for women, two laps for men on Feb. 5.
- Feb. 6 will be on the South Tower course. Two laps for men and two laps for women.
Teams
The Nanooks are welcoming five other RMISA teams to Birch Hill in Fairbanks. The Seawolves of Alaska Anchorage will make the quick trip up north for the Nanook Invitational. Joining them will be the University of Colorado, the University of Denver, Montana State University and the University of Utah.
In the last RMISA event, the Montana State Invitational in Sun Valley, Idaho, Utah took first-place in the Nordic standings with 404 team-points. Alaska followed behind in second-place, their best finish on the season with 281 team-points. Denver fell behind Alaska by nine points, tallying 272. Colorado, Alaska Anchorage and Montana State rounded out the 200+ point scorers as Colorado finished fourth with 258 points, Alaska Anchorage finished fifth with 254 points and Montana State took sixth with 215 points. Wyoming was the final Nordic team at Montana State, taking seventh with 101 team-points.
Current Nordic Standings
- Utah Utes - 753 points
- Alaska Anchorage Seawolves - 587 points
- Colorado Buffs - 564 points
- Denver Pioneers - 525 points
- Alaska Nanooks - 505 points
- Montana State Bobcats - 417 points
- Wyoming Cowboys/Cowgirls - 198 points
Forecast
It's looking like a cold week for the Nanooks Invitational on Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 1-2 before the Besh Cup on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 5-6. On Tuesday, they are calling for a high of -12 degrees F with a low of -25 and partly cloudy. Wednesday is forecast to be warmer with a low of -10 and a high of -19 with partly cloudy weather.
Saturday will be partly cloudy with a high of seven and a low of three. Sunday has a forecast of clouds and a high of 12 and a low of six.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks Nordic ski team, follow @NanookSkiing on Instagram, or like the Alaska Nanooks XC team page on Facebook.
