MINTURN, Colo. - The Nanooks had eight athletes competing on day one of the Denver Invitational on Friday, Feb. 9. Both the men's team and women's team competed in the 10k classic on day one at Maloit Park.

The men's race saw five Nanooks compete and finish the day one classic race. Leading the pack for Alaska was Mike Ophoff. Ophoff finished with a top-10 placement, taking 10th in the 10k with a time of 27:03, earning 21 points for the Nanooks. Following behind in 14th was freshman Ben Dohlby. Dohlby posted a time of 27:26 to earn 18 points for Alaska. The final scoring Nanooks men's racer was Josh Baurick; Baurick took 18th-place and crossed the finish line in 28:24 for 15 points. 

The final two men's racers to finish were Aidan Hay and Jace Peters. Hay finished 21st in a time of 29:11 while Peters followed in 24th with a time of 29:46. 

In the men's standings, Alaska posted 54 points, finishing fifth.

The women's race followed the men's on Friday morning. Only three Nanooks racers competed and finished in the 10k this morning with Elsie Weiss leading the way for the Nanooks. She finished with a 16th-place finish and leading time of 32:26 for Alaska. Her placement earned the 'Nooks 18 points. Aila Berrigan followed in line, finishing as the second scoring Nanooks racer. She posted a 25th-place finish with a time of 33:42 for 15 points. The final scoring Nanooks racer was Luise Graef. The freshman finished 27th with a time of 35:21 and rounded out the scoring with 13 points. 

Alaska's women's team ended day one with 46 points in the women's Nordic standings. As for the entirety of the team, the Nanooks currently sit in ninth-place overall and sixth in the Nordic standings. 

The racers and teams return to action tomorrow morning at Maloit Park. 

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