Jay Hakkinen of Kasilof and Jeremy Teela of Anchorage helped the United States to a respectable seventh-place finish in a World Cup biathlon relay Sunday in Ostersund, Sweden. Hakkinen skied the second leg without any shooting penalties and Teela held his own in an anchor leg packed with some of the sport's greatest racers ever, including Olympic legend Ole Einar Bjorndalen.

"Teela did a good job holding off a big wolf pack behind him at the finish," Max Cobb, executive director of U.S. Biathlon, said in a press release. "He also showed a lot skiing stride for stride with Bjorndalen in the first loop."

Also racing for the Americans, who placed 1:44.1 behind the winning team from France, were Lowell Bailey and Tim Burke. Burke shook up the biathlon world earlier at Ostersund by twice making the victory podium, first for second place in the 20-K and then for a third-place finish in the 10-K. That gives the Americans an unprecedented three World Cup podium finishes in the last calendar year. Teela was a bronze medalist in a race last season.