The Manitoba Bisons cross country teams kicked off the 2026 season in impressive fashion on Saturday at the St. Olaf Invitational in Northfield, Minnesota, with both the men's and women's squads earning top-five finishes against strong NCAA competition.

The women's team was led by senior Lena Klassen, who placed fourth overall in the 6K race with a time of 22:55.7, finishing less than 20 seconds off the individual title. Manitoba placed fifth in the 18-team field with 163 points.

Sophomore Sadie Maciura added an 11th-place finish in 23:13.7, while Frances Terichow Parker crossed the line 27th overall (23:49.8). Kendra Le Page rounded out Manitoba's top-four finishers in 87th place (25:14.5).

On the men's side, the Bisons finished fourth among 18 teams with 143 points. Senior Carson Kroeker paced Manitoba with a 17th-place finish in the 8K race, clocking 25:57.8. He was followed by Luc Fillion in 22nd (26:07.9), while Jonah Leppelmann (36th, 26:27.7), Luxton Duck (39th, 26:28.7) and Draycen Ralph (49th, 26:46.7) completed the team's scoring group.

The strong opening performances provided an encouraging start for the Bisons as they begin their build toward the conference championship season, competing against a field that included several NCAA Division I, II and III programs.

The Herd will be at the University of Saskatchewan next weekend for their next competition, building towards the Canada West Championships on Oct. 31 in Calgary.