2012 Cross Country Season Preview

Both the UBC women’s and men’s cross country teams are set to open up the season this weekend in Seattle at the Sundodger Invitational. The women come into the race as the second ranked team in the NAIA and will be competing in the Invite section alongside Division 1 schools. The men, who come into the season ranked #8 in the NAIA, will be looking to make a good first impression in the Open men’s race after losing several key contributors from last year. The race, hosted by the University of Washington in West Seattle's Lincoln Park, will serve as a good early-season test of fitness.

“I’m very excited to see our Women’s team open up the season in Seattle. Their training camp in Whistler exceeded my expectations,” said head coach Marek Jedrzejek. “Our men’s team did lose a few runners from last year but I think we are just as strong if not stronger than 2011. The men are relatively young and I think they’re just going to keep getting better and better.”

For the second-ranked women’s side, three second-years will look to lead the team up front. Maria Bernard, Jackie Regan and Amelie de Fenoyl all looked very impressive at training camp. Bernard is coming off a stellar summer track season, which saw her qualify for the IAAF World Junior Track and Field Championships in Barcelona. Veteran T-birds: Heather Slinn, Micha Gutmanis and Sarah Reimer all had solid performances last year at the Sundodger and will look to make an impact at Lincoln Park yet again.

The men’s team will be lead by veteran T-bird Luc Bruchet and team captain Tim Huebsch. Both Bruchet and Huebsch were members of the UBC men’s cross country team that placed 6^th at the 2011 NAIA Cross Country Championships. Tim Smith, William Cliff and Jack Williams will also look to score for the Thunderbirds.

Team captain Tim Huebsch echoed Coach Jedrezejek sentiments:

“Although we lost some crucial scorers from last years squad I think with our mixture of veterans and experienced youth we can be competitive and match, if not, exceed last years accomplishments during the season and at the national championships”.

The Men’s Open race gets underway at 9:40am(PST). The Women’s invitational race goes off at 11:00am (PST). Results will be available on twitter @ubctrack and posted online following the conclusion of the meet at: http://www.gohuskies.com/sports/c-xc/wash-c-xc-body.html