VANCOUVER – For the second consecutive year, the UBC Thunderbirds, with
Maria Bernard leading the way, took home both the women's team title and individual title at the Association Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) cross country championships in San Marcos, California.
The men were narrowly beaten by host California State San Marcos, who have now won the past six A.I.I. titles.
RESULTS
"Both teams performed very well this weekend in the heat," said UBC head coach
Marek Jedrzejek. "With the men running eight kilometres, the heat was a bit more of a factor but to come away with a win on the women's side and second-place finish on the men's is a positive heading into NAIA nationals."
The NAIA No. 1-ranked team bested Cal State San Marcos by eight points en route to victory as all top five scorers placed in the top eight. Bernard took the victory in a blistering time of 17:10 for her first conference title after
Jackie Regan won the title in 2012. Bernard pushed the pace in the early-goings extending her lead to 19 seconds beating the second, and third-place CSUSM runners.
Amelie de Fenoyl and
Catharine Farish were the Thunderbirds second and third scorers, placing fourth and fifth overall, respectively, running superb times of 17:42 and 17:46.
Micha Gutmanis was seventh overall in a time of 17:50 while last year's winner,
Jackie Regan, was eighth sneaking under the 18-minute barrier running 17:56 over the five-kilometre course.
Heather Slinn,
Rhiannon Evans,
Maggie Woodward placed 10th through 12th while
Tamara Harris was 1
4th. The nine-athlete team is to be narrowed down to seven come NAIA cross country national championship, a tough-task given how well the athletes performed Saturday.
On the men's side, the team was once again led by
Jack Williams, who snuck onto the podium with a time of 25:32, placing third behind two Cal State San Marcos runners, Steven Ing and Western Nelson. Ing was crowned the A.I.I. champion in an impressive time of 24:53 as temperatures hit the mid-20s Saturday morning.
UBC displayed its team depth placing athletes sixth through tenth and despite bettering Cal State's crucial fifth scorer, UBC had to settle for runner-up status for the second consecutive year.
Matt Galea,
Bilal Shamsi, rookie
Jesse Hooton,
William Cliff and
Michael Bourgeois rounded out the team's top six, finishing sixth through tenth overall with a 16-second spread running between 25:52 and 26:08.
Curtis AuCoin ran 26:34, good for 12th overall, and was the team's seventh runner.
Fourth-year runner
Justin Kent was unable to finish the race due to stomach problems but expect the veteran to be a threat for an All-American spot at nationals in two weeks.
Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kansas will host this year's NAIA national championship. It should cater much more to the Thunderbirds' strength given the nature of the course as a true cross-country venue. Expect mild conditions in the mid-west as UBC looks to defend its 2012 women's team title on November 23.
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