Aug. 27, 2007

FAIRBANKS, AK- Alaska's cross country teams will hold their first home event in two years as they host two meets against BYU-Hawaii and Hawaii Pacific at the Alaska Nanooks Interior Invitational on Thursday, Aug. 30 and Saturday, Sept. 1. The two double-duel meets, the Nanooks only home meets this season, will take a long course, short course format. Thursday's long course event will be held at the UAF Campus Trails and will be an 8 km run for men, scheduled to start at 10 a.m., and a 6 km for women, beginning at 11 a.m. The short course race will be a 4 km run at the Birch Hill cross country ski trails on Saturday, with men taking the starting gun at 9 a.m. and women at 9:30 a.m.

"We are excited to get the season started and get the year off on the right foot," said head coach Scott Jerome. "It's really important for us to have a home meet, because we want to be able to showcase the team to people in Fairbanks. It will be good to get back into racing and let the team get the feel for being in competition again. We certainly feel that we can be competitive against these teams."

For spectators interested in attending Thursday's event at UAF Campus Trails, the runners can best be viewed near the finish line, which will be placed near the intersection of T-Field Road and the potato field. The best viewing for Saturday's race will be in the stadium at Birch Hill, where the start/finish line will be.

Jerome and the rest of the Nanook runners will be looking to build on their success from last season, which saw both programs rise to their best finishes in recent memory. Alaska's women team returns seven of the runners who helped the team to fifth place in last season's Great Northwest Athletic Conference: their best conference outcome since 2003. The men's team recorded their best ever GNAC finish, coming in eighth in last season's championships.

The Alaska Nanooks Interior Invitational will also mark the collegiate debut for a number of the Blue and Gold's new signings. On the men's side, freshman Michael Dunahoe and Zach McGill will be making their first appearance for Alaska, while cross country specialists Rachel Fridye and Nikkol Sipes will run their first race for the Nanook women.

"I think everyone is excited about the direction and the future of the program," said Jerome. "College running is a lot different from high school running: for one, they will be stepping up from a 5 km run to an 8 km run. So we obviously don't expect them to come in here right away and set the world on fire, but I think they can come in and really set the foundation for the future."

Following Saturday's race, Alaska will begin preparing for the Apple Ridge Run in Yakima, Wash. on Sept. 22: a meet in which the Blue and Gold took three out of four events last season. The Nanooks conclude their conference schedule with the GNAC Championships on Oct. 20, hosted by Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho.