WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- With extremely cold temperatures relenting just enough Monday afternoon to allow for the start of the NCAA ski season in Girdwood, Alaska, sophomore Eloise Zimbelman and junior Warren McDermott posted the top performances for the Whitman College Nordic teams.

Eloise Zimbelman

Warren McDermott

Zimbelman finished 31st in the women's 5-kilometer freestyle with a time of 19:01.7. Her teammates filled four of the next five spots.

In the men's 10-kilometer freestyle, McDermott placed 35th in 30:04.8.

Monday's races were delayed for a few hours due to the extreme cold and then shortened in length to compensate for the frigid temperatures. NCAA races are postponed if temperatures do not reach at least four degrees below zero. 

"We were lucky to have a few hours where the temperatures were above the legal limit," Whitman Nordic coach Calisa Schouweiler said. "Temperatures have been well below zero, and the snow is slow."

Finishing in spots 32 through 34 for the Whitman women were sophomore Paige Devlin (19:29.4), first-year skier Kira Peterson (20:24.2) and senior Lindsay Records (20:31.0). Angela Raso, another first-year Missionary, placed 36th in 23:04.2. 

"For the most part, everyone was content with their race," Schouweiler said. "It is always nice to get the first race out of the way and the bugs worked out."

Paige Devlin

Tyler Abery

On the men's side, McDermott had a "great race considering he has had so little ski-specific training," Schouweiler added. McDermott just returned to campus after studying in Botswana during the fall semester.

Tyler Abery, a freshman, had the next best finish for the Whitman men. He placed 42nd in 33:16.1. Junior Bailey Arend was 43rd in 34:00.4 while junior Jack Straus was 44th in 34:42.8.

University of Colorado skiers won both races. Alexa Turzian was first among the women in 15:29.3, beating the University of Denver's Antje Maempel by more than 31 seconds. Vegard Kjoelhamar won the men's race in 25:41.9, beating the University of New Mexico's Simon Reissmann by more than 32 seconds.

In the team scoring, the University of Alaska-Anchorage (UAA) was first in the women's race and second in the men's event, moving into first place overall with 159 place points. Colorado was first in the men's team scoring and second overall with 131 points.

The rest of the team scoring shows Denver with 116 points, followed by Montana State with 112, Utah and Nevada-Reno with 105, New Mexico with 99, Whitman with 45, and Wyoming with 24.

Weather permitting, the Nordic portion of the UAA Invitational will conclude Tuesday with classic races. The alpine races are set for Friday and Sunday.

The Seawolf Invitational also gets started later this week with Nordic and alpine races.   

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CONTACT: Dave Holden
Sports Information Director
Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wash.
509 527-5902; holden@whitman.edu