MIDWAY, Utah - The Alaska Nanooks Nordic ski team finished in seventh-place at the 2022 NCAA Ski Championships at the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center. That finish is the best team-finish by the Nanooks Nordic ski team in program history. On the final day the Nanooks earned three All-American honors and ended with a total of 239 team points.

"We are ecstatic!" Claimed head coach Eliska Albrigtsen, "Everything just went perfect today, we started the day with finding a good glide to our skis and then the men showed their true fearlessness, especially Joe Davies, just going for it in the front group straight from the gun. What a brave move as a freshman! It definitely paid off!"

Joe Davies led the way in the men's 20k freestyle on Saturday, March 12. The freshman from Pemberton, B.C. finished in sixth-place, earning a Freestyle Second-Team All-American honor, his first in the blue and gold. Davies earned the Nanooks 27 team points, finishing in a time of 43:23.2, just under 23 seconds behind the winner from Vermont, Ben Ogden, who finished with a time of 43:00.5. Christopher Kalev was the second Nanook to cross the finish line. He just missed out on another All-American honor, placing 13th in the 20k freestyle with a time of 43:53.8 and earning 18 team points for Alaska. 

The final Nanooks men's racer was Mike Ophoff. Ophoff finished day two in 18th-place with a time of 44:18.2 and earned the Nanooks 13 points. Alaska earned the fourth-most men's team points with 58 and the men's team ended the NCAA Ski Championships with 134 points. 

"Chris and Mike, considering themselves more of classic racers, surprised everyone with another strong finish with both in the top-20!" Added Albrigtsen about her final two men's racers. 

The women's team raced after in a 15k freestyle. They were led by Kendall Kramer. The freshman finished in fourth-place with a time of 38:21.7 and 31 team points. With the fourth-place finish, Kramer earned Freestyle First-Team All-American honors. Closing in 20 seconds behind Kramer was sophomore Mariel Pulles. Pulles joined her with First-Team All-American honors, finishing in fifth with a time of 38:41.4 and 29 team points. 

Rosie Fordham rounded out the scoring for the Nanooks women's Nordic ski team, finishing in 18th-place with a time of 40:27.0 for 13 team points. 

Albrigtsen commented on how strong they knew their women's team was, but was amazed at their in-race skills against a highly-skilled field, "We knew they were strong, but the women's competition, filled with Olympians from so many different countries, was so high this year. They all skied so smart! Hiding in a pack from the front, avoiding unnecessary collisions and wind-breaking. Then Kendall and Mariel pushed when everyone else started to fade away and rocked the Nanook world by matching the two First-Team All-American spots of the guys from Thursday! All three girls in the top-20 as well, again, this is what Nanook skiing is all about! The biggest thank you to our alums cheering all around the world and even coming to help throughout the whole season. And thanks to all the donors who enabled our team to stay safe and healthy on the road through their donations. Lastly, a major thank you to my family, for taking care of baby Nanook Viggo, so I could coach this amazing team!"

With the seventh-place finish by the Alaska Nanooks Nordic ski team, that bests their previous NCAA Championships of ninth-place, coming in 1977, their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Ski Championships. 

Top-10 Team Standings

1. Utah: 578 points
2. Vermont: 511.5 points
3. Denver: 436.5 points
4. Colorado: 435 points
5. Alaska Anchorage: 269 points
6. New Hampshire: 241 points
7. Alaska: 239 points
8. Westminster: 231 points
9. Montana State: 213 points
10. Middlebury: 209.5 points

The Nanooks ended with the third-most points in the Nordic ski category and their men's team had the second-most Nordic men's points while the women finished with the fifth-most points at 105.

For more information on the Alaska Nanooks Nordic ski team, follow @NanookSkiing on Instagram, or like the Alaska Nanooks XC team page on Facebook.