FAIRBANKS - The Nanooks cross country teams hosted the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves for the 2025 Blue & Gold Race in Fairbanks on Saturday morning.  Alaska had strong showings from Dexter Delaney and Lucca Duke, as each won their respective races, but Alaska fell in the team results. 

The women's 6k race opened up the morning at 10:40 a.m. Former Nanooks racer Rosie Fordham won the overall race with a time of 21:55, pacing the 21-runner race. In the college division, Lucca Duke took first, leading the pack with a winning time of 23:15. "Lucca ran a fantastic opener, as this was her first race of the season. It is not easy to open the season on a hilly, challenging course, but Lucca ran fearless and controlled the race from the start." said Nanooks cross country coach Conrad Haber.

She was followed by three UAA runners in third, fourth, and fifth, before Riga Grubis took sixth. Grubis was 31 seconds behind her teammate, finishing in a time of 23:46. Teegan Silva cracked the top-10 in today's race, finishing ninth in 24:30. Rory Claussen raced for the 'Nooks and was the fourth finisher, taking 11th with a time of 25:15. The final scoring racer for the Nanooks women's team was Madison Schuh, who followed behind Claussen in 12th-place with a time of 26:14. 

Devyn Townsend took 13th (26:40), Sarah Baum finished in 14th (26:43), Camelia Bell came in 15th (26:52), Victoria Myers posted a 16th-place finish (27:07), Anya Simard took 17th (27:09), Ava Newell finished in 18th (27:46), Jasmin Holst took 19th (28:01), Lydia Andriesen took 20th (30:02), and Kintla Penn finished 21st (32:52) to round out the race for the Nanooks. Haber added how much the women's team has improved already in the young season, "The women's team continues to improve meet to meet and several members of the team took advantage and continued to learn and improve. I can't wait to see how the team functions as a collective unit in a larger meet setting."

Following the women's race, the mens's race started at 11:20 a.m. 24 racers finished today's 8k race, and it was Dexter Delaney of Alaska who grabbed the individual win. He paced the pack with a 25:48 winning time. Haber loved what he saw from Delaney in today's race, "Dexter executed the race plan masterfully. It usually takes time for freshmen athletes to figure how to compete in college, but Dexter is putting the pieces together quickly."

Nanooks skier Ben Dohlby followed behind, racing unattached today with a time of 26:15. UAA claimed spots third through sixth before Ian Baker of the Nanooks crossed the finish line in seventh with a time of 27:09. His teammate, Finn Morley, followed 10 seconds behind, finishing eighth with a time of 27:19. Nick Iverson was the final Nanooks racer to crack the top-10, finishing ninth with a time of 27:31. Ned Peters was the final scorer for the Nanooks men's team, taking 12th and finishing in 28:36. 

Clem Taylor-Roth followed in 13th (28:49), Brady Benedict finished 14th (28:52), Max Erickson took 18th (29:19), Jaxon Freeman finished 23rd (31:41), and Curtis Beck took 24th (34:22). "The men's team took another big step forward this morning as they are beginning to figure out what it takes to compete in college." added Haber.

The Nanooks are back in action in two weeks at the Bill Roe Classic in Bellingham, Wash. on Sept. 27. 

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