Last weekend, the Nome-Beltz Cross Country team travelled to Kotzebue to compete in the Big West Conference Cross Country Meet.
Nome swept the individual races, as Nome-Beltz athletes AwaLuk Nichols and Orson Hoogendorn were crowned champions of the conference. Nichols’ winning time was 22 minutes and 27 seconds, while Hoogendorn secured his title with a time of 18:3.
In addition, the Nome-Beltz boys team won the Team Championship.
Besides Nichols, two other Nome-Beltz girls placed in the top five. Della Medlin took fourth with her time of 24:3.7. Natallie Tobuk took fifth with a time of 24:32.
In the boys’ race, Nome-Beltz athlete Son Erikson took third with his time of 18 minutes, 35.2 seconds. Finn Gregg, also from Nome, took fourth, clocking in at 18 minutes and 37.6 seconds.
Nome-Beltz Cross Country team’s next stop is the state championships. Runners Awaluk Nichols, Della Medlin, Natalie Tobuk, Orson Hoogendorn, Son Erikson, Finn Gregg, Colin McFarland, Paris Hebel, Jon Smith, and Deacon Callahan have qualified to compete in state. After initially announcing that the team was unable to go to state due to Nome’s high COVID-19 rates, Nome-Beltz High School announced, on October 4th, that the team is cleared to compete at the state championships.
Image at top: Three Nome-Beltz cross country runners at the conference meet. Photo courtesy of Nome-Beltz student activities Facebook page. Used with permission.
