ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Lars Flora and Holly Brooks of the APU Nordic ski program both collected second-place finishes in Thursday's U.S. National Championship races in Rumford, Maine.
Flora barely missed a second straight title, finishing only 0.1 seconds behind Tad Elliott in the men's 30K freestyle race, in 1:16:16.3. The two-time Olympian from Anchorage took the gold in Wednesday's 15K race. Lex Treinen of Anchorage (UAF) and Anchorage's James Southam (APU) came in seventh and eighth, respectively.
Brooks, also of APU, landed on the podium for the second time at U.S. National Championships, with a second-place showing in the women's 20K race. Brooks came across in 51:01.3, nearly a minute behind champion Elizabeth Stephen.
APU placed two other top-10 finishers: Kate Fitzgerald at fifth place, and Morgan Smyth in eighth. Former UAA skier Nicole DeYoung also had a good performance, checking in at ninth.
The National Championships wrap up on Saturday with a freestyle sprint race. Brooks won the women's classic sprint competition last Sunday.
