FAIRBANKS - The Alaska cross country team is getting ready for their fourth race of the year as they prepare to race at the Seattle Pacific-hosted Nationals Preview.
Saturday, Oct. 22
Seattle Pacific University
9:00 a.m. | Chambers Creek Regional Park | University Park, Wash.
Last Time Out
The Nanooks women's team finished third with 62 points behind Rocky Mountain (60) and Black Hills St. (49). In the overall 5k, sophomore
Kendall Kramer finished second with a time of 17:04.7, sophomore
Naomi Bailey finished third with a time of 17:05.8, and sophomore
Rosie Fordham came in fifth with a time of 17:34.2. The average clock time for the Nanooks was 18:31.7.
The men's cross country team finished fifth overall in the 8k with a combined score of 136. The average time for the Nanooks was 28:32.1.
Nolan Earnest had the fastest time for Alaska with a time of 28:00.8, placing 23rd out of 63 runners.
Josh Baurick finished with a time of 28:15.7, and
Ryan Owens with a time of 28:21.5.
Quick Hitters
- The Nanooks are headed to Washington for the first time this season. Last year they raced in Washington state twice last year. They'll race this once in the regular-season with a chance at a second time for the NCAA Championships in December.
- The forecast is 56 degrees and rainy for Saturday's race. The 'Nooks could see low to mid 40's come race time.
- In two weeks, the Nanooks will head to Monmouth, Ore. for the 2022 GNAC Championships. Last season, the Nanooks took third (WXC) and ninth (MXC). The third-place finish by the women's team was the best in program history at the conference championships.
- The women's team has won two head-to-head matchups this season. They tallied their two wins against the UAA Seawolves on Aug. 27 and Sept. 3. In their season-opener, they defeated the Seawolves 27-30 with Kendall Kramer leading the way.
- A week later, in Anchorage this time, the Nanooks defeated UAA 23-32, again, with Kendall Kramer leading the way to victory.
- Following the trip to WOU for GNAC Championships, the Nanooks will head back to Billings, Mont. for the NCAA West Regional.
The Lay of the Land
The Nanooks and the rest of the field will race at the Chambers Bay Regional Park on Chambers Bay. The park sits along the Puget Sound and can make for a windy day. It is approximately 20 minutes from Interstate 5 and is south of the Chambers Bay golf course.
Around the Region
Three GNAC teams checked into this week's West Region USTFCCCA Women's poll. Western Washington sits in #5, Simon Fraser sits at #8 and Saint Martin's checks in at #9. WWU was the only GNAC women's team to appear in the most recent USTFCCCA National Coaches Poll, appearing at #28.
On the men's side, Western Washington is #3, Simon Fraser is #4 and Western Oregon sits in the #10 spot. Western Washington and Simon Fraser both appeared in the latest USTFCCCA National Coaches Poll for the men's side, coming it at #17 and #20 respectively.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks cross country teams, follow @NanooksXC on Instagram or Twitter, or like the Alaska Nanooks XC team page on Facebook.
