Day One Results (PDF)

MINTURN, Colo. - The Nanooks Nordic ski team scored 113 points on the first day of the Denver Invitational, hosted by the University of Denver at Maloit Park. The women's team scored 62 points and the men's team tallied 51 points.

Both teams raced in a 5k freestyle. 

In the women's race Novie McCabe of Utah grabbed the win with a winning time of 15:33.3. Mariel Pulles led the pack for Alaska, grabbing a top-five finish. Pulles scored 29 team points for Alaska finishing with a time of 16:50.2 and grabbing fifth-place. Kendall Kramer was the second Nanook to cross the line, falling just short of a top-10 finish with a 14th-place finish and a time of 17:39.9 for 19 team points. Aila Berrigan followed as the third Nanook and grabbed a 23rd-place finish, crossing the finish line with a time of 18:35.8 for 14 team points; she was the final scoring Nanook in the women's 5k freestyle. 

Abigail Haas and Sarah Olson rounded out the women's racers as Haas grabbed a 25th-place finish with a time of 19:44.6 and Olson followed closely behind in 27th-place with a finishing time of 20:11.2. Alaska finished third in the women's Nordic standings. Utah finished in first with 104 points, Colorado took second with 85 points, Alaska finished day one in third, UAA followed in fourth with 57 points, Montana was tied with UAA in the women's standings with 57 points, Denver posted 54 points and Wyoming had 35 after day one in the women's Nordic standings. 

On the men's side, the Nanooks had three racers compete in the 5k freestyle. Bernhard Flaschberger grabbed the first-place finish for Denver, crossing the finish line in 14:09.0. Christopher Kalev led the way for the Nanooks; he finished 12th with a time of 15:13.4, earning 20 points for the Nanooks. Mike Ophoff followed close behind Kalev, grabbing a 15th-place finish and crossing the finish line in 15:26.9 for 17 team points. Phillip Moosmayer was the final Nanooks men's racer to finish, cracking the top-25 with a 24th-place finish, a time of 16:04.2 and earning the 'Nooks 14 points. 

In the men's Nordic standings after day one of the Denver Invitational, Denver and Utah are tied for first with 95 points each. UAA followed in third wit h 70 points, Colorado was in fourth with 59, the Nanooks are in fifth with 51 points, Montana State also has 51 points and Wyoming posted 33 points. 

Head coach Eliska Albrigtsen was happy with her team's performance this morning, "I was quite happy with the team's results today. 5km skate interval at eight-thousand feet is definitely our weak spot, so Mariel's fifth-place finish was a great success for the Nooks! Chris and Mike had a solid race in top-15 as well. I think this is the best we've ever done at a DU invite in skating. Landing third in the Women's team standings in skate was great, especially without Rosie, who got injured two days before the race. It was super sunny, although the morning temps were Fairbanks-like. We are excited to jump into a classic mass 10km tomorrow, the temps are supposed to climb above freezing, so wish us luck!"

Both teams will be back in action tomorrow morning, Feb. 11, at 7:00 a.m. in a 10k classic. Live timing available here CLICK HERE.

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.