FAIRBANKS – The Alaska Nanooks Nordic ski team opens their 2022-23 season with their annual Nordic Cup matchup with Alaska Anchorage at Birch Hill.
Thursday, Nov. 24
Nordic Cup | Alaska Anchorage
11:00 a.m. | Birch Hill Ski | Fairbanks, Alaska
Friday, Nov. 25
Nordic Cup | Alaska Anchorage
11:00 a.m. | Birch Hill Ski | Fairbanks, Alaska
Last Time Out
The Nanooks are back on the trails for the first time in competition since the NCAA Championships on March 10-12 at Solider Hollow, Utah. The Nanooks are coming off their best finish at nationals in program history, finishing seventh last year at Solider Hollow.
All-Americans
Kendall Kramer and
Mariel Pulles picked-up All-American honors for the Nanooks at last year's NCAA Championships. On day two of the Championships, Kramer finished fourth in the 15k freestyle, giving her a First Team All-American finish. Pulles joined close behind, finishing fifth for another First Team honor.
On the men's side, there were two First-Team All-American finishes on day one, as
Christopher Kalevand and
Mike Ophoff finished in the top five of the men's 10k classic. On day two,
Joe Davies secured a Second Team All-American finish with a sixth-place result in the men's 20k freestyle.
Ben Buck
Director of Athletics Brock Anundson and the Alaska Nanooks Nordic ski head coach,
Eliska Albrigtsen, announced
Ben Buck as her newest assistant coach.
"We are very excited to welcome Ben to our Nanook coaching family! Ben stood out to us with his deep love for the often so underappreciated side of Nordic Skiing, gear prep and ski service. He's been gathering valuable experience from the new era of ski waxing and his East Coast exposure to much wetter conditions than what we are used to in the Rockies will perfectly fill our demand gaps. I know my student-athletes will find a well reasoning mindset, a great fan and a helpful hand to rely on in Ben; and as a head coach, I cannot wait to gain a good ally to ponder upon new training methods supporting us to bring our team to even more historical bests in the seasons to come," Albrigtsen said.
Buck, a 2020 graduate from Clarkson University, will join Albrigtsen on the slopes for the upcoming 2022-23 season. He spent the previous season coaching for his alma mater. He helped develop a race-day wax testing protocol with ski, regularly making the call on the final race-day wax combinations and helped produce high-quality skis for athletes.
Buck added his excitement for this upcoming season and joining the Nanooks as they continue to climb the ranks, "I'm thrilled to be joining an Alaska team that is quickly becoming one of the top Nordic ski teams in the nation. It's an exceptional group of student-athletes led by an exceptional head coach, and I'm looking forward to seeing the heights we can achieve together."
What's to Come
After the Nordic Cup, the Nanooks won't race until the new year. They'll open at Crosscut Mountain Sports Center, with Montana State University hosting on Jan. 13-14. After Montana, they'll head to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, hosted by the University of Colorado on Feb. 3-4. After that, the Nanooks will stay in Colorado and head to the University of Denver on Feb. 10-11. Following the stint in Colorado, Alaska will head back to Alaska to face off at the University of Alaska Anchorage on Feb. 20-21. The Nanooks will stay in Anchorage for the NCAA Regionals hosted by UAA on Feb. 24-25. Finally, they'll end their season at the NCAA Skiing Championships at Lake Placid, New York, on Mar. 9-11
Results
Results will be posted soon after the race.
Weather
Both Thursday and Friday have similar forecasts. Racers can expect temps between 4 degrees F on Thursday. On day two, Friday, Nov. 25, the races are scheduled for 11:00 a.m. with expected temps around 7 degrees.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks Nordic ski team, follow @NanookSkiing on Instagram, @NanooksSki on Twitter, or like the Alaska Nanooks XC team page on Facebook.
