South Surrey’s Luc Bruchet is ending his university athletic career in style.
Last week, the University of B.C. student – who in December won a national men’s cross-country title and a month later set a new school indoor track-and-field record in the 3,000-m – was honoured for his impressive senior year, winning the Bus Phillips Memorial Trophy as UBC’s male athlete of the year.
The award was presented during the school’s 93rd annual Big Block Awards and Hall of Fame Banquet at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
“It’s pretty surreal to win an award for UBC’s most outstanding athlete,” Bruchet said. “When you’re sitting there and all the accolades of the nominated athletes are being listed you realize how strong our athletics program is at UBC. It’s an honour to even be considered for such an award.”
Lisa Barclay (volleyball) was named female athlete of the year.
On both the trail and the track, Bruchet, an Elgin Park Secondary graduate, has excelled.
He was the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) champion in the men’s 1,500-m and finished fifth in the 5,000-m.
Other finalists for the award were Coleman Allen (swimming), Maxwell Lattimer (rowing) and Tyson Popoff (baseball).
In December, running for the Point Grey Track and Field Club – which features UBC alums who’ve used up their four years of university cross-country eligibility – Bruchet captured his first-ever national cross-country title at Vancouver’s Jericho Park.
In January at the University of Washington Indoor Preview meet, kicking off his final indoor track season with the T-Birds, Bruchet set a UBC record with a blistering time of seven minutes, 54.57 seconds the men’s 3,000-m. His time also broke a meet record.