Cold temperatures and a last-minute dash by a senior Nanook skier helped secure UAF the win against rival UAA during a tournament this weekend.

The Nanooks finished 22-20 on Saturday after senior Bart Dengel clipped the win away from Seawolf freshman Darrin Markvardsen by one second in the 10-kilometer event. UAA then missed its chance at retaking the lead Sunday when temperatures dropped below minus 4 degrees at Birch Hill, leaving the Alaska Nordic Cup in UAF's hands.

"It's just a smart decision to cancel," said Nanook junior Marius Korthauer. "It's not good for your lungs."

No doubt the Nanooks are happy to have the victory in their pockets.

The Nordic Cup, in its third year, has never gone to UAF. The teams tied in 2004, and the Nanooks narrowly lost last year. It may not matter for finals, but the win is good, said sophomore Julia Coulter.

"They're not in our region, so it's not that big of a deal," she said. "But yeah, it's great."

Coulter led the Nanook women in the 5-kilometer race Saturday. She came 14 seconds behind UAA senior Kasandra Rice, who captured first in 14 minutes, 49.9 seconds.

Coulter's second place standing was thanks to a final dash, she said, was partly inspired by the cold temperatures. The game had already been delayed 30 minutes to wait for the temperatures to go above 4 below, but Coulter said she was still cold.

"On the last leg of the race, I saw them, and thought, OK, Julia, if I can catch them, I can go home," she said.

Taking third, fourth, and fifth were Coulter's teammates. Sophomore Aurelia Korthauer skied past the finish line in 15:15.2.

Sophomore Paula Daabach followed in 15:20.8, with red shirt freshman Anna Coulter, Julia's sister, in fifth with 15:28.6. The Nanook women won the event 12-9.

"I'm really proud of how the women played," said coach Scott Jerome. "The women did an excellent job."

With the small three-point lead in hanging in the balance, the men took to the trails, only yo find themselves challenged by a strong team.

UAF's Korthauer took first in 26:01.4, but right behind him were UAA junior Paul Schauer (26:31.2) and Raphael Wunderle (26:31.3).

UAA was leading, but there was still hope.

Jerome, watching the split times for Dengel on his PalmPilot, yelled from the sidelines for the Nanook skier to catch up with UAA's Markvardsen, already 17 seconds ahead.

"I told Bart it was going to be close, and he turned up the juice," Jerome said.

Dengel did just that, clocking in at 27:16.6, just one second ahead of Markvardsen. UAA won the race, 11-10, but the Nanooks clenched victory for the day, 22-20.

On Sunday, temperatures dropped below 5 degrees. UAA, which had a 1 p.m. flight, couldn't wait for the thermostat to warm.

The day's relays, including a 3X5K women's race and a 3X10K men's match, were cancelled.

It also marked the end of the only home match for the Nanooks, who are looking forward to competing in states where the temperatures are more agreeable with sports schedules.

Jerome said this is a regular occurrence. During the first year, matches were delayed because of the cold until February.

Only one day's races were then completed, he said, before temperatures dropped again.

Then last year, the match-up was again delayed because warm waters had washed out the trails in Anchorage. It resumed months later.

"It just seems like this race with UAA has not gone the way we planned for the past three years," Jerome said.

Cold temperatures have made it a challenge for the team to compete. UAF never hosts teams from other states out of the fear of wasting money flying them up only to cancel the game.

"This is pretty much the only place in the country, besides maybe Michigan, where you cancel a race because it gets too cold," Dengel said.

Actually, that's exactly where the Nanooks are next competing. The Nanooks will head to Houghton, Mich., in January for the five-day U.S. National Championships. Julia Coulter, a resident of Traverse City, Mich., said she's looking forward to the trip because her family will be able to attend.

"It's eight hours from my hometown, but I've skied there a lot, so it's like home," she said.