Sept. 4, 2007

FAIRBANKS, AK- The Alaska Nanooks are pleased to announce that cross country standout Anna Coulter has been named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's Runner of the Week for the week of Aug. 27-Sept. 2. Coulter, who will share the women's award with Anchorage's Elizabeth Chepkosgei, finished second and fourth in the Nanooks season opening meets, guiding the team to three wins in a pair of double-duel competitions.

"For Anna to be recognized by the conference is really a great accomplishment," said head coach Scott Jerome. "It really says a lot about all the hard work she has put in. Anna is a competitor: she doesn't want to lose. We needed her to step up this weekend, and she really gave us a gutsy performance. It would have been tough to contend without her."

With two of Alaska's top runners from last season sidelined, the Nanooks looked to Coulter for leadership as they began their season with two meets against Brigham Young University-Hawaii and Hawaii Pacific University. Coulter did not disappoint, turning in an impressive second-place finish at Thursday's 6K long course run at the UAF Campus Trails with a time of 24:49.4.

She then showed her versatility with another strong performance in a Saturday's short course race at Birch Hill. She landed a fourth-place finish in an intense, fast-paced meet, completing the 4K course in 14:36.1. Coulter was the school's top finishers in both events.

Claiming the award for the first time in her three-year GNAC career, Coulter becomes just the fourth Alaska runner to take home Player of the Week honors. Teammate Aurelia Korthauer was the last Nanook to receive the award, which she earned last season for the week of Aug. 28-Sept. 3, 2006. Alaska's Sigrid Aas and Pavla Havlova each took home the award on two occasions as well.

The Blue and Gold resume their cross country schedule on Sept. 22, when they head to Yakima, Wash. for the Apple Ridge Run Invitational: a meet in which the Nanooks won three of the four events last season. Alaska then wraps up its season in Nampa, Idaho with the GNAC Championships on Oct. 20 and the NCAA West Regional on Nov. 3.