Photo Credit: Ivan Tam
Photo Credit: Ivan Tam
The University of Saskatchewan Huskie cross country team has built on strong finishes at competitions throughout 2009 and are poised to have success at the CIS Championship.
The Canada West/CIS will be held in Kingston, Ontario on Saturday. Canada West doesn't hold a cross country championships. Top finishers among Canada West runners at the CIS meet are crowned conference champions.
With four first place finishes, two at second and one at third at non-conference races earlier this year, the women’s cross country team will look to improve on the fifth-place Canada West finish at 14th CIS finish from one year ago. In 2008, Caitlin Warkentin earned Canada West First Team All-Star status with a seventh place (25th overall) finish. Jodi Souter was the next best for the Huskies with a 16th Canada West finish (50th overall).
“The women have been building all year and are ready to have their best result of the season at Kingston in the Championships,” said Huskie seventh year head coach Jim Holmstrom.
Souter, a fourth-year athlete, has finished first three times this year – once at the UofS Open, at the Concordia Cross Country Classic in Portland, Oregon and again at the Stewart Cup. A favourite to take the conference title, she is undefeated against Canada West competition this season. Third-year Warkentin also has had strong finishes this season winning the Cougar Trot, the first meet of the season.
“Souter is having a breakout season, which really is the culmination of the training that she has done since coming to the program,” said Holmstrom.
Also competing for the Huskie women’s squad will be third-year Marcia Richards, second-year Miranda Miller, second-year Nadine Brenaut and third year Andrea Armstrong. Richards and Brenault both competed with the Huskies at the championship in 2008. Richards has had strong results so far with a second place finish at the Cougar Trot in September. Last November, she finished 26th in the Canada West. In Brenaut’s rookie season she placed 39th in the Canada West. Armstrong finished 97th at the 2007 Canada West Championship. Miller will be competing in her first CIS competition.
The Huskies will enter a men’s team for the first time since 2004. The Huskies will look to improve on the conference sixth place finish and 13 th CIS finish in that year.
The team will be led by veteran Matt Mazurik who had the best finish at the championship one year ago finishing 25 th in the conference and 75th in the CIS. So far in 2009, he’s finished 14th at the UofS Open and 19th at the Stewart Cup. Samir Marin will return to the team after a one-year absence. In 2007, he finished 27th in the Canada West and 78th in the CIS. He’s had two top 10 finishes so far with a sixth place finish at Stewart Cup.
“The men have really come together this year to form a strong training group and the men going to CIS are the beneficiaries of that,” said Holmstrom. “Samir Marin and Matt Mazurik are both racing at their best and are poised to run their fastest yet in Kingston.”
Third-year athletes Stephane Gerard, Alyosha Boldt and Johnathan Ell will join the Huskies at the championship. Only Gerard has experience competing on the national stage with a 30 th Canada West finish and 90th CIS finish last year.
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