Dinos cross country team looks to build on success of first two races

By Kristy Koehler, October 17 2018 —

The University of Calgary Dinos have competed in two cross country races already this season — the Sled Dog Open on Sept. 29 in Saskatoon and the Northwest Inland Classic in Lewiston, Idaho on Oct. 13. Both races were exhibition matches but ultimately helped bolster the Dinos’ national power rankings.

The Dinos swept the Sled Dog Open, with the men winning gold, silver and bronze and the women capturing the silver and bronze. Both the Dinos men and women won the team titles.

Competing with the Dinos at the Sled Dog were the University of Regina Cougars, the MacEwan Griffons, the University of Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas, the University of Manitoba Bisons and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies — a sampling of the teams that compete in the Canada West Conference.

The Inland Classic provided a deeper field of competition, with around 200 people in each race representing 22 colleges and universities from the United States and Canada. The men finished fourth in the team standings for the eight-kilometre race and the women took second place in the five-kilometre race. Dino Russell Pennock took the top spot at both the Sled Dog and the Inland Classic and he looks to be a force to be reckoned with heading into the remainder of the season.

Coming out of the two races, the Dinos men’s team is ranked second in the country, just below the University of Guelph. The women’s team is tied for seventh place with the University of Victoria Vikes.

Next up for the Dinos is the annual Stewart Cup where they’ll face the same Canada West competition they swept at the Sled Dog.

“It may not be a significant challenge for us,” said head coach Doug Lamont.

The Stewart Cup takes place on Oct. 28 at Canmore Park.