Ourea Busk wins Division III at XC championships
This past weekend cross country state championships were held in Anchorage at Bartlett High School and Western Alaska showed up and showed out, with four students placing in the top ten for their division.
Overcast sky and a cool fall breeze accompanied the runners on the course of constant hills that follow ski trails behind the high school.
Ourea Busk of Unalakleet earned her second state title, winning the Division III girls five-kilometer race with a time of 20:05, leading the pack for whole race. Another member of the Unalakleet Wolfpack placed: Freshman Isabella Eller finished in seventh place with a time of 21:49. Cedar Busk of Unalakleet had a time of 26:11 finishing 36th.
Seth Paniptchuk of Shaktoolik placed sixth for Division III boys with a time of 18:11. Norman Stenek of Shishmaref put up a time of 21:01 giving him a 51st place finish and Derrick Smith of GLV had a time 21:14 finishing 55th overall. The Unalakleet Wolfpack finished third overall of division three teams.
Nome-Beltz Varsity team has made it down to Anchorage for three competitions before the state championships and they made an effort to get over to Bartlett to try out the course, head coach of the Nome-Beltz team Emmett Foster said.
Nome Nanook Seniors Orson Hoogendorn and Awaluk “Wookie” Nichols closed out their final season with top ten finishes. Hoogendorn placed fifth in the Division II boys five-kilometer with a time of 17:07. Nichols earned sixth place in the Division II girls five-kilometer with a time of 21:11. Also competing at states were freshman Nanook KJ West who placed 15th and Benjamin Milton, who earned 39th place.
“It was so awesome to see them totally leave it all out on the course,” Foster told the Nugget.
This was Foster’s first season coaching in Nome and he was emphatic about the success of the students and grateful for all the help he received from the community as he took on the role.
“The Nanook runners are so hardworking and so endurance driven that they make me want to be better every day. It’s been such an honor to work with them,” he said.
A full list of all the teams and times is available at www.athletic.net.