SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Nanooks raced in the NCAA Division II National Championships on Saturday morning, qualifying as a team for the first time in 13 seasons. Alaska ended the race in 13th place with 394 points, which was good for its highest-ever finish at the NCAA Nationals. Kendall Kramer and Rosie Fordham took home All-American honors for the Nanooks, finishing runner-up and eighth overall.

Kramer recorded a time of 20:30.7 in the race, just 2.2 seconds behind first-place finisher Lauren Kiley of Grand Valley State. That was her highest finish at the NCAA National Championships, besting the eighth-place finish she notched in 2022. Fordham also finished at a career-high eighth place in the race, posting a 20:43.7 and nabbing All-American honors.

"I just wanted to soak in all that nationals was and just let the crowd and group I was chasing carry me through to the end," said Kramer following her historic result at the national championships. "As we were approaching 2k left, I was feeling good and realized I could step it up and just kept picking off the girls as they strung out, surprising myself. Thanks to Rosie for picking up the pace so they got tired out."

Assistant coach Conrad Haber shared his praise for the senior runner from Fairbanks after the race. "It was a fantastic end to an amazing career for Kendall; she executed her plan to perfection and threw down a massive surge in the latter stages of the race."

Tabitha Williams was the next Nanook to cross the finish line, ending the race in 132nd with a time of 22:26.8 and Lucca Duke followed in 146th, posting a 22:35.4. Teegan Silva was Alaska's fifth runner to finish, picking up a 171st-place finish in 22:55.9. Hazel Probst was the Nanooks last runner in the race, finishing 251st while recording a finishing time of 25:12.7.

"It was an absolute privilege to watch Kendall and Rosie trade blows with the best runners in the nation today," said Haber. "Sometimes you need to step back and simply appreciate and enjoy greatness when you see it. Today was a day when I was not only a coach but a fan."

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