Opening their fall season in style, the Golden Bears Cross-Country team cruised to victory at the Sled Dog Open in Saskatoon.
Alberta had five runners place inside the top 10, three of whom placed inside the top five. The Bears finished with 23 team points, 50 points clear of the host Huskies, who finished second with 73.
The Pandas placed second with 54 points, finishing just three points short of the Huskies, who captured their own event on the women's side.
| MEN'S STANDINGS |
| Placing |
Team |
Points |
| 1 |
Alberta Golden Bears |
23 |
| 2 |
Saskatchewan Huskies |
73 |
| 3 |
Calgary Dinos |
107 |
| 4 |
Manitoba Bisons |
108 |
| WOMEN'S STANDINGS |
| Placing |
Team |
Points |
| 1 |
Saskatchewan Huskies |
51 |
| 2 |
Alberta Pandas |
54 |
| 3 |
Calgary Dinos |
59 |
| 4 |
Manitoba Bisons |
87 |
Leading Alberta was the trio of
Riley Stuermer,
Will Cebuliak, and
Ron MacLean, who placed second through fourth. Stuermer finished just 11 seconds behind Manitoba Bison Simon Berube, who won the individual men's title. Also placing in the top 10 for the Alberta men was
Cassian Murray-White (6th) and
Jason Ushko (8th).
Despite missing arguably their top runner in
Olivia Cooper, the Pandas still placed second in a strong showing to start their season.
Jasmine Feddema led the Pandas with a 4th place showing, with
Zoe Flaman placing 7th, and
Grace Cook finishing 11th.
Next on the XC calendar is the 2022 Trinity Western Open, scheduled for October 8th in Langley, BC.
