UBC Men finish 6^th at NAIA’s, Bruchet places 3rd individually

Devin Rajala

Vancouver, WA- The UBC Men’s Cross-Country team put up a solid performance to take 6^th spot on Saturday at the NAIA Cross Country Championships at the Fort Vancouver National Historic site in Vancouver, WA. The UBC men scored all five scorers in the top 100 to place 6^th overall out of 31 teams- only ten points out of 5^th place Aquinas. St. Francis (Illinois) took the team title with 138 points, second place went to Southern Oregon with 153 points while the bronze medalists were Cal State San Marcos with 165 points.

Top Ten Teams:

1. St. Francis 138
2. Southern Oregon 153
3. Cal State San Marcos 165
4. Oklahoma Baptist 179
5. Aquinas 191
6. UBC 201
7. Shawnee State 268
8. The Masters 282
9. Lubbock Christian 308
10. Baker 314

“Our men ran some great races today. It was a good way for Luc and Tim to close out their cross-country careers with us as All-Americans. I think the rest of our men gained a lot of experience today and should carry that with them for next year”, said Head Coach Marek Jedrzejek.

Luc Bruchet put in a lifetime best performance to land himself a spot on the podium in his final race as a thunderbird. His personal-best time of 24:08 on the 8km course placed him 3^rd overall.

“I just situated myself in the front group, and did my best to cover every move the lead pack made. The work I’ve put in over the last 3-4 months has paid off in dividends. Making the podium was a huge reward. As a team we improved 87 points from last year, unfortunately the great team performance didn’t leave us with a medal, but I’m proud of the boys on the team, and they should look forward to next season”, said Bruchet.

Tim Huebsch ran a gutsy race to join Bruchet as an All-American. His time of 25:11 put him in 26^th spot.

“To cap off my university career with an All-American finish and an overall combined team score is pretty special. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of coaches and teammates for my final cross-country season as a UBC Thunderbird”, added Huebsch.

Will Cliff steadily improved throughout the race to find himself in 68^th spot at the conclusion of the race in a time of 25:50. Bilal Shamsi stepped up hugely for the team with a personal best performance of 25:56 for 77^th place. Jack Williams came 97^th in a time of 26:06 in his second appearance at Nationals.

“My first year at nationals being able to contribute to an overall title is really exciting. This gives me a lot of confidence going into track season to be part of such a strong team”, said Cliff.

Matt Galea was 121^st across the line in 26:22 while Tim Smith was 132^nd in a time of 26:29.