Randall, of Anchorage, put the Americans in fourth place after skiing the first leg of the 4x5-kilometer race at Whistler Olympic Park. Skiing the classic technique, Randall finished her five kilometers in 14 minutes, 57.5 seconds, just 10.4 seconds off the pace of first-leg leader Sweden.
But the Americans faded after that.
Holly Brooks of Anchorage, also using the classic technique, skied the second leg in 16:12.8 and the Americans dropped to 13th place.
They stayed in 13th place during the third leg, when the technique switched to freestyle. Morgan Arritola of Sun Valley, Idaho, skated to a time of 13:41.6.
Caitlin Compton of Minneapolis managed to move the United States up one spot with her anchor leg, finishing in 14:05.6.
Norway claimed the gold medal in 55:19.1, beating Germany by 24.6 seconds. Germany edged Finland for the silver.
The United States finished in 58:57.5 and were 3:38 off the winning pace.
Find Beth Bragg online at bbragg@adn.com or call 257-4200.
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