The Huskies cross-country team showed that hard work and dedication can lead a team to improve overall at the Sled Dog Open.

Taking place at Victoria Park on Oct. 4, the Dogs put on their sole performance in front of a home crowd for the season.

The women’s five-kilometre run started off the event with Emma Cook-Clarke of the University of Calgary Dinos taking first place with a time of 18:05. Fellow Albertan, Danielle Thiel of the University of Alberta Pandas took second, followed by Rebekah Sass from the University of Manitoba Bisons.

The Huskies made their first appearance at the finish line when Anna Scheider finished the race at 20:01, taking 22nd place. teammates Denise Humphreys, Brandey Blahut, Shannon Del Bigio and Sonia Rees all crossed the line in the 20th minute.

Totalling in 140 points, the Huskies took sixth place on the day with a combined time of 1:41.44. The U of A earned first place with 40 points and a total time of 1:34.46.

With a strong performance, Robert Bigsby led the men’s team with an 11th place finish and a time of 26:18 in the eight-kilometre run. Hayden Hollowell and Taryn Heidecker followed in the 27th minute.

Matt Johnson, of the Cougars, took first place with a time of 25:04.

The men’s team was able to place fifth out of six teams with 126 points and a total time of 2:16.84. The Dinos led the men’s competition with a score of 29.