CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos cross country teams, the reigning men's and women's Canada West champions, are looking for a repeat effort and a little bit more as they fight for both the conference and national crowns at Queen's University in Kingston Saturday afternoon.

With both the Canada West and CIS titles up for grabs on the same weekend, the pressure to perform is high for the Dinos. And while the challenge is ratcheted up even more with a tough field of runners around them, the Dinos have more than enough tools to compete at a high level.

On the women's side, Calgary will be looking for a fast time from rookie Katie Fenton, who is in the running for both Rookie of the Year honours and an All-Canadian nod. Fenton won the Inland Northwest XC Challenge in Moscow, Idaho, a competition with both CIS and NCAA-calibre runners, and placed sixth at the U of S open.

Runners such as Faye Stenning (5th in Idaho and at the U of S open) and Riley McQueen (9th in Idaho and at the U of S open), help solidify the team, which won the U of S open team title and placed second at the Stewart Cup in Edmonton.

Head coach Doug Lamont points to his women's team depth as a possible indicator of how the squad might finish this weekend.

“Our top six runners are capable of top-20 finishes, and that would set us up nicely for a solid team score,” explained Lamont. “Right now we're ranked fourth, and I think we have a very realistic shot at a team medal this weekend.”

The Dinos will be in tough for their fourth straight Canada West title against the Victoria Vikes and the Alberta Pandas, and will attempt to crack the Guelph Gryphons' four-year stranglehold on the national title, which hasn't come to Calgary since 2003.

In their Canada West title defence, the men's team has won two team meets so far (Stewart Cup and the U of S open), and are led by Matthew Cloutier (three top-10 finishes in 2009) and Spencer Pootz, who finished third at the U of S open and sixth at the Stewart Cup.

Both runners could see themselves in the top 20 in Kingston, and both are capable of All-Canadian status with typical strong performances. The men are filled out by a strong group of runners who will prove to be the X-factors as to whether or not the Dinos can medal this weekend.

Lamont is confident in his team's chances despite a top-heavy Canada West.

“This could be one of the closest Canada West battles in a long time with four teams having a legitimate claim to the title,” Lamont continued. “However, we have a formidable group of guys, and with everything going right, a medal is definitely a possibility for us.”

The Dinos, currently ranked fifth in the country, will be competing with Victoria, Regina and Alberta for the Canada West title, and much like the women are staring up at the Guelph Gryphons for CIS supremacy. The Gryphons have won three National titles in a row, and along with No. 2 Windsor have won the past 11 CIS championships. The Dinos have never captured the national men's cross country title.

Both the Canada West and CIS championships go back up for grabs in Kingston, Ont. this weekend on the Fort Henry Heights Course, with the women starting at 11 a.m. MT and the men starting at 11:45 a.m.

-UC-