The University of Saskatchewan cross country team competed in its first event of the year Sept. 22. The Huskies attended the Cougar Trot, an annual event held by the University of Regina Cougars.

While the Cougars were the only university squad competing against the Dogs, members of running clubs Excel Athletika and the Queen City Striders were also invited to compete.

Gabrielle Edwards and Davis Guenther had the top finishes for the Huskies.

Edwards, a second-year runner for the Dogs, finished the five-kilometre race with a time of 18:32.23. She placed second behind the Cougars’ Karissa LePage who bolted through the five kilometres and finished 50 seconds ahead of Edwards. Huskies runner Brittany Elliott had the next-best placement for the Huskies women, landing in sixth place.

Rachael Edwards, Shannon McAvoy and Courtney Sjodin ran together for most of the race and also had strong finishes for the Huskies women’s team, finishing ninth, 10th and 11th, respectively.

Guenther finished fourth in the men’s eight-kilometre race with a time of 25:42.84 while Huskies rookie Robert Bigsby ended the day with a ninth place finish, clocking in at 26:56.18.

The Cougars had the fastest three times on the men’s side with Kelly Wiebe being the only runner to finish in less than 25 minutes.

As a team, the U of S finished second on both the men’s and women’s side.

The Huskies only home race this season, the U of S Open, will take place on Oct. 6 at Saskatoon’s Lakewood Park.

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Photo: Josh Schaefer/Huskie Athletics