Jerome adds Rankin to men's cross country running program

May 10, 2013

University Relations

Jamie Foland
907-474-6807

Head coach Scott Jerome announced Wednesday that the men's cross country team has signed Keegan Rankin (El Paso, Texas) to a National Letter of Intent and he will enter the program as a freshman with four years of eligibility this fall.

“Keegan is very familiar with Fairbanks having attended Lathrop High School before heading to Texas with is family for his senior year,” Jerome said. “He will be a solid addition to our team with the ability to score points immediately. Keegan is another important runner in our ongoing effort to build the men's running program. We are excited that he has chosen to be a Nanook and study at Alaska.”

Formerly a local from Fairbanks and Lathrop High School, Rankin was a four-year letter winner in cross country. He spent his first three years attending Lathrop in town prior to spending his senior year at Austin High School in Texas. He helped the AHS Panthers to the district title last fall as the team's No. 2 runner. His best five-kilometer performance was at the Adidas Cross Country Classic in Portland, Ore., where he ran the race in 16 minutes, 19 seconds.

A tri-sport athlete, he also ran four years of track and field and was a three-year cross country skier. On the track, his personal bests included a 4:38 in the 1,600-meter run at the 2012 Alaska state meet and a 9:56 in the 3,200-meter race at the 2013 area meet in El Paso, Texas. Upon enrolling, he intends to major in geological engineering in the fall.

Rankin is the third to sign with Alaska's men's cross country team this spring, joining Mitch Burgess (Temecula, Calif.) and Tal Norvell (Juneau, Alaska) on the list of runners  to signed a National Letter of Intent.