Saturday was a awfully good one for a pair of UBC Thunderbird runners from the Semiahmoo Peninsula.
On the final day of competition at the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held in Marion, Ind., former Elgin Park Secondary runner Luc Bruchet – in his second year at UBC – won a gold medal in the men’s 1,500-m, and also finished fifth in the 5,000-m; both races were within three hours of each other.
Bruchet’s teammate with the T-Birds, Semiahmoo Secondary grad Jack Williams, also ran the 1,500-m race, finishing sixth, which was good enough to earn him All-American honours.
In the 1,500-m, Bruchet clocked a time of three minutes, 50.46 seconds, and blew past Southern Oregon’s Eric Avila just a few steps from the finish line.
His placings in both races earned him All-American honours, too.
“I’m really happy with how the 1,500 wen, and I would have liked a medal in the 5,000, but I’m happy to come away with two All-American honours,” Bruchet said, who also this week was named to Canada’s track-and-field squad for the upcoming 2013 Summer Universiade event.
“I didn’t know what to expect, running the two races, but I think it went well.”
Rounding out the local continent at the Indiana race was UBC’s Jake Bruchet – Luc’s brother – who finished 17th in the 3,000-m steeplechase prelims.
He needed to finish 14th or better in order to move on to the final.
Overall, UBC’s men’s team tied for ninth place; Indiana Tech swept the team titles.
– Nick Greenizan