FAIRBANKS, ALASKA – Derek Deuling of Alaska Anchorage won the men's 10-kilometer freestyle race at the Alaska Cup hosted by Alaska Fairbanks Friday.

Deuling covered the 10-kilometer course in 23:51, two seconds quicker than Benjamin Dohlby who finished second for Alaska Fairbanks.

Corbin Carpenter placed third (24:01), and Matt Seline was fourth (24:11).

Astrid Stav paced the UAA women finishing third in 28:19 over the 10-kilometer course.

Marit Flora was fourth (28:26), Marlie Molinaro fifth (28:31), Beth Granstrom sixth (29:31) and Constance LaPointe seventh (29:32).

"We had a very solid race day here in Fairbanks!" said associate head coach Trond Flagstad. "The team really pulled together to put us a little bit ahead of UAF going into tomorrows sprint race. As a team we had a goal of building a good lead before the second day, and I think we executed that very well. We had some very strong individual performances from our seniors Astrid and Derek that set the tone for the day. We are feeling good about where we are at this early in the season. With  several skiers coming back from sickness and a few out with sickness - we definitely have room for improvement as well."

The Seawolves hold a 51 second advantage over the Nanooks after the first day of the Alaska Cup. The Alaska Cup is determined by the cumulative time of the top three skiers from each team in each race.

The Alaska Cup will conclude with the classic sprint races Saturday.