FERNDALE, Wash. - The Alaska Nanooks cross country team will race in the 2026 Bill Roe Classic, hosted by Western Washington, on Saturday, Sept. 26. The men will race first at 9 a.m. AKST in an 8k race and the women will race after at 10 a.m. AKST in a 6k race.
Saturday, Sept. 26
at Bill Roe Classic (WWU) | M: 9 a.m. AKST, W: 10 a.m. AKST
Ferndale, Wash. | Hovander Park
Live Timing
Last Time Out
The Nanooks last raced on Sept. 12 at the Seawolf Throwdown in Anchorage.
Nick Iverson was the top finisher for the men's team. He placed second with a time of 26:34.
Aidan Niedbalski followed Iverson with a fourth-place finish and time of 26:48.
Ian Baker took fifth,
Max Erickson took ninth and
Brady Benedict placed 10th to round out the scorers for the men's scoring. In the women's race,
Iris Haas placed second to lead the women's team. She finished the 6k in 23:06.
Rory Claussen was the second scorer, placing sixth with a 23:51.
Sadie Johnson placed seventh,
Mila Moseley, and
Devyn Townsend rounded out the scorers.
Racing this Week
The Nanooks will have eight from each squad in Bellingham for the Bill Roe Classic. On the mens' side;
Ian Baker,
Brady Benedict,
Max Erickson,
Blake Hanley,
Nick Iverson,
Aidan Niedbalski,
Ned Peters, and
Andrew Severs will race. On the women's side;
Riga Grubis,
Iris Haas,
Sadie Johnson,
Olivia Manley,
Mila Moseley,
Emma Niedbalski,
Madison Schuh, and
Tabitha Williams will race.
#NookNotes
- Last season saw the Nanooks place fourth and eighth in the 2025 Bill Roe Classic. The women's team placed fourth with 127 points while the men's team placed eighth with 173 points.
- Max Erickson set a new personal-best time in an 8k at the Seawolf Throwdown, running to a time of 27:33 - this bested his old 8k PR of 28:15, set a week earlier in the Blue/Gold Race in Fairbanks.
- Aidan Niedbalski also set a new 8k time, besting his previous by 33 seconds. He posted a 26:48 while finishing fourth in Anchorage.
- Mila Moseley knocked off 35 seconds from Fairbanks to Anchorage to set a new 6k PR. She finished ninth in the Seawolf Throwdown with a time of 23:59.
- Tabitha Williams did not race in Anchorage following her win in Fairbanks on Sept. 5. She looks to continue her strong running after taking 18th at the 2025 Bill Roe Classic where she finished in 22:00.9.
About Bill Roe
Bill Roe was a fixture in the Western Washington University track & field and cross country program for 35 years, from 1985-2000, as well as being nationally and internationally known for his involvement in the administration of those sports. Roe was a long-time USA Track & Field official and leader. He served as President of the USATF for two terms from 2000 to 2008. The founder in 1972 of Seattle's Club Northwest and in 1973 of the Pacific Northwest Association of USATF, Roe's resume includes work in nearly all capacities of the sport: as a coach, meet director, clinician, official, administrator, and executive. He is also the founder of Northwest Runner magazine.
Roe was a member of the founding USATF (then TAC) Board of Directors in 1979 and served on the organization's Board of Directors from 1986 until 2009. He became one of three vice presidents in 1988, re-elected in 1990 to a second two-year term. In 1992 and 1994, he won two-year terms as Secretary, and in 1996 was re-elected to the position of vice president for a four-year term. He served as an international team leader or coach nine times during his career.
Roe, who was elected to the IAAF Cross Country Committee in 2015, led the USA team to the 2001 World Cross Country Championships in Ostendee, Belgium, the 2002 event in Dublin, Ireland, the 2003 championships in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the 2004 meet in Brussels, Belgium. Roe was a U.S. delegate to the IAAF World Congress in 2001, 2003, 2005 & 2007. He was a Master official and referee from the time USATF's certification program was founded in 1980. Meet director extraordinaire, Roe directed a number of track & field meets, cross country meets, and road races each year, including a series of a dozen summer all-comers meets in Seattle since 1969.
Roe coached distance runners for the Vikings. His athletes set more than 20 school records and earned numerous NAIA and NCAA All-America honors. The WWU Cross Country Classic is named in Bill Roe's honor and dedicated to the person that gave so much to the track & field community.
Hovander Park/Course Conditions
Racer's will be running through Ferndale's Hovander Park on Saturday. They will be running a course with a mixure of grass and gravel trails. There is a possibility of rain Friday night into Saturday morning, but Saturday's forecast calls for mostly sunny, with a high near 63 and 5-8 mph winds before calming in the afternoon.
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