FAIRBANKS - The Nanooks cross country teams prepare for the GNAC Championships on Saturday, Nov. 5 in Monmouth, Ore. The Championship race will be at the Ash Creek Preserve and the event is hosted by Western Oregon University,

Saturday, Nov. 5
GNAC Championships | Live Times
9:00 a.m. | Ash Creek Preserve | Monmouth, Oregon

Live Video
There will be no full-length live video provided at this year's GNAC Championships, but the results provider, Athletic Timing, will be providing video feeds of runners as they pass the kilometer marks. Use the "Live Times" link above to access those videos during the race. 

Last Time Out
The women's cross-country team finished 10th at Seattle Pacific University with a total of 297 points. In the DII 6k, Naomi Bailey finished in first-place with a final time of 20:46.10. Kendall Kramer finished in sixth with a time of 21:03.40 and Rosie Fordham finished 16th with a time of 21:40.90. 

The men's cross-country team finished in 27th-place with an overall score of 785 points. Koen Ross ran the fastest time for the Nanooks in the 8k with a time of 27:14.60. Josh Baurick ran the second fastest time for Alaska with 27:57.90. Nolan Earnest and Ryan Owens finished three seconds apart with times of 28:03.20 and 28:06.70, respectively. 

Quick Hitters

• Nine members of the cross-country team were selected for the 2022 GNAC All-Academic Team: Jack Cater, Nolan Earnest, Mike Ophoff, Koen Ross, Kendall Kramer, Mariel Pulless, Naomi Bailey, Rosie Fordham, and Delainey Zock. 
• The Nanooks look to improve on last year's finish at Saint Martin's. The 'Nooks men's team beat the preseason odds of 10th, and placed ninth. The women's team was the shock of the GNAC, besting their prediction of ninth and taking a third-place finish at GNAC's, their best finish ever. 
• On the men's side, Koen Ross is the top-returner for the Nanooks. He placed 59th a season ago with a time of 27:10.10 while Nolan Earnest grabbed a 61st-place finish and Jack Cater took 79th. The men's squad finished with 224 points for a ninth-place finish.
• Rosie Fordham was the 2021 GNAC Freshman of the Year, taking second-place. Kendall Kramerfollowed in third and Naomi Bailey took fourth en route to the 92-point performance by the 'Nooks women's team. Delainey Zock came in 28th-place at GNAC's. 
• Naomi Bailey won the NCAA DII Pre-Nationals race hosted by Seattle Pacific. This win earned her the GNAC XC Women's Athlete of the Week Award alongside the USTFCCCA National Division II Women's Runner of the Week.
• The USTFCCCA National Division II Women's Runner of the Week honor was the first time an Alaska Nanooks cross country athlete had ever won the award. 
• The Nanooks women's cross country team popped back into the West Region Top-10. They came into this week's rankings as the #9-seed in the region with more to prove heading into championship season. 
• This is the first race of the season in Monmouth. The 'Nooks are comfortable in Oregon, racing there twice last season, including NCAA West Regionals. 
• The Alaska women were the third-best placing GNAC team at the NCAA DII Pre-Nationals. They trailed only Western Washington (242 points) and Simon Fraser (246 points).

The Lay of the Land
The GNAC Championships will take place at the Ash Creek Preserve. This will be the sixth time that the championship takes place here. The course is mostly flat with the majority of it being grass, with some gravel, but there is no pavement. The course is able to accommodate up to 500 athletes at the starting line. 

Weather Update
The Weather in the Pacific Northwest is looking stormy. Monmouth, Ore. is calling for 44 degree Fahrenheit at the time of the first race with intermittent showers in the afternoon. The Nanooks can expect winds up to 9 mph.

Recent reports have called for a possible atmospheric river in parts of Western Oregon and parts of Southwest Washington. Heavy rain is expected in the area on late Friday. 

A Look Ahead
After the GNAC Championships, the Nanooks will look to make some more noise at the NCAA West Regional in Billings, Mont. Last season, the Nanooks did not claim a team score on either side, but the women's team was led by Rosie Fordham (4th-place), Kendall Kramer (5th-place) and Naomi Bailey (6th-place). Delainey Zock followed close behind in 33rd-place. 

On the men's side, Koen Ross, Nolan Earnest and Jack Cater return from the 2021 season, having ran at WOU last year. Ross took 134th-place with a time of 35:44.6 while Earnest took 142nd with a time of 37:30.6 and Cater took 145th with a time of 38:10.9.

While still two weeks away, the weather in Billings, Mont. is slowly getting cooler as temperatures drop into the 20's to start next week with possible snow. 

For more information on the Alaska Nanooks XC teams, follow @NanooksXC on Instagram or Twitter, or like the Alaska Nanooks XC team page on Facebook.