Aug. 22, 2008

FAIRBANKS, AK - The Alaska Nanooks cross country teams will kick off the season with the return of their traditional Labor Day home opener, hosting Humboldt State on Aug. 28 and Aug. 30. "Were excited to be able to host a school again and open at home," said head coach Scott Jerome. "Obviously we don't have that many cross country meets up here with scheduling and the weather. It's a good way for the local supporters to see us."

The Nanook men will take on the Lumberjacks at 5 p.m. for an 8k race, with the women running a 6k course at 5:45 p.m. Both races are scheduled to start in the field just north of the West Ridge Ski Hut on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus.

Saturday, the schools will meet again on Birch Hill for a pair of 4k races. The women will begin at 9 a.m. and the men will follow at 9:30 p.m.

"We're excited that Humboldt State wanted to come up and I think that they've traditionally had some strong teams," said Jerome. "I think that we're pretty evenly matched and it will be good competition for our team."

From there, the Nanooks will race against the clock in their annual Ester Dome 5k on Sept. 6 prior to returning to Washington for Apple Ridge Run Invitational on Sept. 13 for the third consecutive year. This season's Apple Ridge Run is a preview meet for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, which will be hosted by Central Washington in Selah, WA on Oct. 25.

A year ago, the Nanook men had an especially good meet taking fifth in the conference, which was a big surprise. "Our women didn't run as well as we expected so the men really buoyed us last year," said Jerome.

"Essentially, its a preview meet for the conference championships and there will be more schools there from our conference to check it out," Jerome said. "That's good for us because it give us a chance to run on the course with more people instead of just a few teams like we've seen in the past."

Prior to the GNAC meet, Alaska's harriers will venture to Hawaii on Oct. 11 for the Hawaii Pacific University Invitational against HPU and Brigham Young University-Hawaii.

The University of California San Diego will host the NCAA West Regional Championship on Nov. 8 in La Jolla, California, followed by the NCAA National Championships on Nov. 22 in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania.

"We will see what happens this year," said Jerome. "On paper things are looking okay. A lot of it depends on the summer so we'll see."