MINTURN, Colo. - The Nanooks Nordic skiing teams are racing in the Denver Invite at the Maloit Park Trails this weekend. Saturday will be a 7.5k classic individual start, and Sunday will be a 10k freestyle pursuit.
Saturday, Feb. 8
at Denver | Classic Individual 7.5k | 8 a.m.
Minturn, Colo. | Maloit Park Trails
Sunday, Feb. 9
at Denver | Freestyle Pursuit 10k | 8 a.m.
Minturn, Colo. | Maloit Park Trails
Last Time Out
The Nanooks are coming off a sixth-place finish at the Montana State Invitational on Jan. 24-26, tallying 148 points over the two days of competition.
The first day saw the 'Nooks compete in the 20k freestyle, racing in difficult, snowy conditions. The 'Nooks raced one skier in the women's race, as Aila Berrigan competed in the women's 20k. Skiing for over an hour in the deep snow, Berrigan finished her race in 22nd place, skating to a time of 1:08:39.4. On the men's side, the 'Nooks had strong showings from their skiers in the tricky conditions, with racers keeping themselves in the first pack for a long time in the race. Philipp Moosmayer and Ben Dohlby had solid outings, getting close to the top 10, with Moosmayer earning a 14th-place result. He finished the 20k in 56:19.5, just 0.3 seconds behind Colorado's Johannes Flaaten in 13th. Dohlby came in right behind him, completing the race 5.3 seconds after Moosmayer in 16th.
Alaska wrapped up the invite with the 7.5k classic. Berrigan took 28th with a 26:47.3, while Elsie Weiss competed in the race after missing Friday's 20k freestyle, picking up a 30th-place finish and completing her race in 29:23.9. The women earned 29 points on the day, completing the invite with 44 points for a sixth-place finish. Freshman Gabriele Rigaudo followed up a strong showing in Friday's race with a team-best 16th-place finish, finishing his second RMISA race in 20:35.9, the highest finish for a Nanook skier on the day. Moosmayer followed with a top-20 placement, finishing the 7.5k in 20:49.0, just one second behind 19th place. The men finished with 51 points on the day to give them 104 on the weekend, putting them in fifth place.
International Competition
The 'Nooks have four skiers competing at the U23 and Junior World Championships in Schilpario, Italy. Kendall Kramer is representing the United States, Tabitha Williams is representing Great Britain and Rosie Fordham is representing Australia in the Under 23 World Championships, while Cole Flowers represents the U.S. in the Junior World Championships. Skiers are racing in multiple events throughout the championships, including a classic sprint, 20k classic mass start, 10k individual skate and a mixed-gender relay.
Kramer and Fordham also raced in the World Cup 10k freestyle on Feb. 2. Kramer registered an outstanding 18th-place finish, earning her first top-20 result at the World Cup. She posted a time of 25:34.1 in the 10k and was the youngest skier to place in the top 20. Meanwhile, Fordham posted a strong showing in her race, earning 37th place with a finishing time of 26:21.4.
What's to Come
Alaska is back home as it hosts the UAF Invitational on Feb. 16-17. The 'Nooks will race in a classic sprint and 10k freestyle individual skate at the UAF Competition Ski Trails.
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