Fall sports are in full swing for high school students, and the Nome-Beltz cross country team started the season strong. The Mighty Nanooks cross country team experienced intense competition against the Kotzebue Huskies over the weekend (Sep. 8-9), with each runner achieving their fastest times of the season. 

On Friday (Sep. 8), the Nanooks C team raced the 5K, followed by ‘the JV’ and ‘Varsity’ teams. A total of 11 highschools from the Bering Straits region competed in the race, representing the communities of Nome, Kotzebue, Noorvik, Selawik, Deering, Buckland, Ambler, Kiana, Tikigaq, Wales, and White Mountain.

An email statement from Nome-Beltz High School Activities Director, Patrick Callahan, revealed Olson Hoogendorn won first place in the boys highschool race achieving a personal record and seasonal best of 17:37, and Lauren Kingstrom who won first place in the girls highschool race, and achieved a personal best time of 22:33. 

In the middle school race, Noel Pardee (23:41) took first place in the girls race, and Keegan Musich (23:03) took sixth place in the boys race, both establishing a seasonal and personal record times.

Over the weekend, 16 Nome-Beltz competitors marked their best race time since the season began earlier this month. Nine students broke their personal records of the 5K race. Nome-Beltz cross country and sports information can be found on the Nome-Beltz Student Activities Facebook page. 

^{Photo at top: Nome-Beltz Cross Country Boys posing for a photo with their trophy. Photo Courtesy of Patrick Callahan.}