For the second-straight year, the University of Alaska Fairbanks cross-country runners and West Valley High School graduates Naomi Bailey and Kendall Kramer, along with Rosie Fordham, have earned a trip to the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships.
Racing Saturday morning at Amend Park in Billings, Montana, Bailey won the 6-kilometer race, crossing the finish line with a time of 20 minutes, 53.08 seconds to beat teammate and runner-up Kramer by five seconds. Kramer took second-place with a time of 20:58.47.
Fordham followed closely behind, finishing fourth with a time of 21:13.81, rounding out the top-five finishes for the Nanooks women’s team.
“Brilliance, dominance, intelligence: all things the women displayed in their efforts to qualify a team for Nationals in a couple weeks,” graduate assistant Josh Sanderlin said. “My thoughts on these accomplishments are hard to put into words, but they are significant.”
With the Top 25 finish, the three all earned All-West Region honors.
In addition to the trio in the top four spots, UAF finished in seventh place overall with Delainey Zock taking 73rd in 22:47.18 and Abigail Haas in 143rd at 24:26.03 .
The Nanooks women’s team finished seventh with 221 team points, trailing only Western Washington from the GNAC. Stanislaus State won the team title with 91 points.
The UAF trio will get ready for the NCAA Championships in Seattle on Dec. 2. Seattle Pacific will host the Championships.
Koen Ross paced the Nanook men in the 10-kilometer race with a 133rd finish in a time of 34:38.13. UAF did not have a team ranking on the men’s side.
Charlie Dannatt, a junior from Simon Fraser, took first in the men’s race in 30:07.49. Chico State won the team title.
