XC: Conference championships set for Saturday
The women's 8-km race begins at 12:00 p.m. CDT with the men's 8-km race to follow at 1:00 p.m.
The UBC Thunderbirds enter the event as the reigning conference champions on the women's side after winning back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019. On the men's side, it's the three-time defending Canada West champion Calgary Dinos looking to make it four. The Dinos won their third straight title at home in 2019, before going on to win a second straight national banner.
The 2021 version of the event is the second time the Canada West has had a standalone conference championship, after previously combining the event with the U SPORTS national championship.
2019 CW finish: 2nd (men's), 6th (women's)
2019 U SPORTS finish: 8th (men's), DNQ (women's)
Last CW championship / total CW championships: 2004 / 12 (men's); 1997 / 2 (women's)
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: 1980 / 1 (men's); none (women's)
Returning top finishers:
- Women: Jasmine Feddema (10th at 2019 Canada West Championship)
- Men: Riley Stuermer (11th at 2019 Canada West Championship)
Number of competitors: 25 total (15 men, 10 women)
2019 CW finish: 3rd (men's), 1st (women's)
2019 U SPORTS finish: 6th (men's), 4th (women's)
Last CW championship / total CW championships: 1993 / 7 (men's); 2019 / 9 (women's)
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: 1993 / 1 (women's); none (women's)
Returning top finishers
- Women: Kyla Becker (6th at 2019 CW Championships)
- Men: Riley Miller (34th at 2019 CW Championships)
Number of competitors: 28 total (14 men, 14 women)
2019 CW finish: 8th (men's), DNQ (women's)
2019 U SPORTS finish: DNQ (men's), DNP (women's)
Last CW championship / total CW championships: none (men's); none (women's)
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: none (men's); none (women's)
Returning top finishers
- Women: Camille Galloway (9th place CW Championships)
- Men: Connor Baerg (40th place at CW Championships)
Number of competitors: 14 (7 women, 7 men)
2019 CW finish: 1st (men's), 4th (women's)
2019 U SPORTS finish: 1st (men's), 11th (women's)
Last CW championship / total CW championships: 2019 / 6 (men's); 2010 / 8 (women's)
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: 2019 / 2 (men's); 2003 / 3 (women's)
Returning top finishers
- Women: Kelsey Serviss (14th place at 2019 CW Championships)
- Men: Stefan Daniel (1st place at 2019 CW Championships)
Number of competitors: 26 total (14 men, 12 women)
2019 finish: 7th (men's), DNQ (women's)
2019 U SPORTS finish: 17th (men's), DNQ (women's)
Last CW championship / total CW championships: 1990-91 / 3 (men's), 2002-03 / 1 (women's)
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: 1989-90 / 3 (men's), none / (women's)
Returning top finishers
- Women: N/A
- Men: Calvin Reimer (39th at 2019 CW Championships)
Number of competitors: 5 total (3 men, 2 women)
2019 CW finish: 5th (men's), 8th (women's)
2019 U SPORTS finish: DNQ (men's), DNQ (women's)
Last CW championship / total CW championships: 2009 / 1 (men's), 2002-03 / 1 (women's)
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: none (men's), none / (women's)
Returning top finishers
- Women: Sarah Novakowski (39th in 2019)
- Men: Brayden Mytopher (35th in 2019)
Number of competitors: 11 total (6 men, 5 women)
2019 CW finish: DNQ (men's), 3rd (women's)
2019 U SPORTS finish: DNP (men's), 7th (women's)
Last CW championship / total CW championships: 1979 / 2 (men's) / none (women's)
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: 1969 / 1 (men's)
Returning top finishers
- Women: Courtney Hufsmith (2nd at 2019 CW Championships)
- Men: Anthony Antaya (41st at 2019 CW Championships)
Number of competitors: 24 total (11 men, 13 women)
2019 CW finish: 6th (men's), 2nd (women's)
2019 U SPORTS finish: 18th (men's), 9th (women's)
Last CW championship / total CW championships: 2016 / 1 (men's); 2016 / 4 (women's)
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: none (men's), none / (women's)
Returning top finishers
- Women: Jouen Chang (23rd at 2019 CW Championships)
- Men: Josh Woolgar (23rd at 2019 CW Championships)
Number of competitors: 9 total (5 men, 4 women)
2019 CW finish: 4th (men's), 5th (women's)
2019 U SPORTS finish: 9th (men's), 12th (women's)
Last CW championship / total CW championships: 2015 / 16 (men's); 2017 / 21 (women's)
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: 2015 / 5 (men's), 9 / 2001 (women's)
Returning top finishers
- Women: Jouen Chang (23rd at 2019 CW Championships)
- Men: Brandon Vail (7th at 2019 CW Championships)