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JOPLIN, Mo. - Rosie Fordham and Kendall Kramer represented the Alaska Nanooks women's cross country team at the 2023 NCAA DII Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 18. 

Kendall Kramer led the way for the Fairbanks duo as she took 23rd with a finishing time 20:31.2 while Rosie Fordham followed in 36th, posting a new personal-best finish at the NCAA Championships with a 6k time of 20:40.3. Both earned NCAA Division II All-American honors with their top-40 finishes; this is Fordham's first-career All-American finish after besting her 43rd-place finish from a year ago. For Kramer, this is her second-career All-American honor after she took ninth-place at last season's Championships. 

Out of the gates at the 1k mark, Kramer was in 95th-place with a 1k time of 3:21.7, Fordham had a big lead between the two as she was in the leading-pack, holding a 24th-place mark at the 1k mark. She was 9.4 seconds behind the lead while Kramer was 17.1 behind the leader. At the 3k mark, Fordham maintained the lead between the two Alaska runners as she was in 35th-place and running at a time of 10:14.8 - she had fallen to 30.6 seconds behind the leader of the group. Kramer had began to make her moves. She was all the way up to 37th-place at the 3k mark with a time of 10:15.5. At the next marker she overtook Fordham and was up to 24th-place with a split time of 3:24.2 and 39.2 seconds behind the leader. Fordham maintained the 35th-placement from the 3k to the 4k marker and posted a 3:30.2 split time while trailing the leader by 44.6 seconds. In the end, Kramer pushed across the line in 23rd-place with a finishing time of 20:31.2 and Fordham followed close behind, trailing Kramer by only nine seconds for a finishing time of 20:40.3 for a 36th-place finish. Lindsay Cunningham of Winona State won the individual NCAA title with a winning time of 19:30.1, taking the race by 15 seconds. Grand Valley State won the team title, posting a final score of 59 points. 

"Kendall and Rosie did a fantastic job of executing their respective race plans in what was an extremely challenging and competitive environment. I am really proud of what they were able to accomplish together." said cross country assistant coach Conrad Haber.

This marks the first time in program-history that the Nanooks had a duo of All-Americans and the third-straight season the 'Nooks had individual representation at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. 

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