QUEBEC CITY – The UBC Thunderbirds men and women both finished in fourth place and as the top Canada West teams on Saturday at the U SPORTS Cross Country National Championships held on the Plains of Abraham.
The host Laval Rouge et Or won both the men's and women's competitions while Western University earned team silver on the women's side followed by the Guelph Gryphons. The Guelph men's team also made the podium finishing with silver medals while McMaster rounded out the top three.
"We finished at our rankings which I thought was a really good start, but we also had some athletes who stepped up remarkably," said UBC Head Coach Laurier Primeau post-race. "We're a young team, and our veterans also did exceptionally well and I think this really bodes well as a stepping stone towards the future."
Canada West gold medallist Thomas Nobbs once again led the way for the Thunderbird men's team as he has done all season long, finishing sixth individually in a time of 24:41.4. The first Canada West athlete to cross the finish line on the eight kilometre course, Nobbs was also named an All Canadian for his outstanding race while helping lead UBC to their best national finish since returning to U SPORTS in 2018.
First year Thunderbird Mackenzie Campbell paved the way on the women's side with a 12th place individual finish, the leading T-Bird and the fourth Canada West athlete to cross the line with a time of 29:35.5 and earning her place as a 2021 All-Canadian.
Fellow rookie Thunderbirds Zoe Doorenspleet and Glynis Sim weren't far behind in 17th and 22nd, respectively, as UBC finished with 124 total points, narrowly missing the podium as they completed the meet just five points back of the bronze medallists from Guelph.
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Here we go! The women's race is underway! / On-y-va! La course des femmes à commencé!
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— U SPORTS Cross Country (@USPORTS_XC) November 20, 2021
??Québec, QC.#ChaseTheGlory | #ViserHaut pic.twitter.com/NeFIlKS13c
"They just ran really smart," Primeau said of the T-Birds women's team. "No one went out beyond their abilities, especially because it's such a hilly course. We saw the likes of Mackenzie Campbell and Zoe Doorenspleet and Anika Austin really outperform what their pre-race individual ranking would have been and that's what you want, you want to perform on demand when it matters most and they did that."
Following Nobbs, a pair of veterans helped improve UBC's men's performance Saturday with Tyler Dozzi finishing 12th overall in 25:07.0 followed closely by Joshua Kozelj just 5.4 seconds back in 14th while all three of them earned All-Canadian status.
Canada West Rookie of the Year Spencer Hardy factored into the T-Birds scoring as the 24th competitor to cross the finish line.
There is a large pack of runners tight together coming towards the end of the race.
Il y a un grand peloton de coureurs serrés les uns contre les autres vers la fin de la course. pic.twitter.com/nju9IMZveZ
— U SPORTS Cross Country (@USPORTS_XC) November 20, 2021
"We've gone from seventh to sixth to fourth now on the men's side and we had three athletes who are All-Canadian, so that's remarkable," added Primeau. "I think we're on an upward trajectory and those athletes who have gone before us, the John Gays and the Kieran Lumbs have laid a solid foundation for the Thomas Nobbs and the Tyler Dozzis, and I expect that to continue."
The future for UBC Cross Country at the highest level certainly continues to look brighter and brighter, and Saturday's results only cement that going forward.
T-Birds claim fourth place for men and women at 2021 U SPORTS National Championships - University of British Columbia Athletics - UBC Thunderbirds
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