SAN DIEGO, CA -- Under sunny skies Saturday morning, the UBC men and women's cross country teams earned second and third place finishes respectively at the AII Conference Championships, an important step on the way to the national meet in two weeks time. The meet was hosted by California State University San Marcos in San Diego, CA.

Led by Nelly Amenyogbe's 5th place finish (17:51), the UBC women's cross country team placed a respectable 3rd, behind two top NAIA schools.

The AII is one of the most competitive conferences, featuring three top-10 nationally ranked teams: CSUSM (No. 1), SFU (No. 4), and UBC (No. 10).

CSUSM showed why they are the team to beat, winning the women's team race with a low 24 points, placing all five runners in the top-8. SFU's Helen Crofts earned the individual title though, covering the 5-kilometer course in 17:39. Her team was second overall, totalling 42 points. UBC's 60 points had them third, with Nelly Amenyogbe, 5th, and Maggie Woodward, 9th. Soka was fourth with 120 points.

Also, scoring for UBC were Sarah Reimer (11th, 18:12), Heather Slinn (16th, 18:39), and Brittany Imlach (21st, 18:48). Rounding out the T-Birds' top-8 were Rhiannon Evans, Jenny Strong, and Zanny Venner, placing 22nd through 24th.

CSUSM earned an automatic berth to the national championships, but based on their national ranking in the National Cross Country Coaches' Poll, the UBC women should qualify as well.

The men's race featured six teams, two of which are ranked in the National Coaches' Poll: UBC, ranked 8th, and CSUSM, ranked 10th.

From the start, CSUSM's Western Nelson opened up a gap on the field and held onto his lead until the final lap until teammate Brett Campfield kicked past him for the individual title in a time of 24:43 for the 8-kilometer course.

With the 1-2 sweep, CSUSM held on for team title with 32 points. The T-Birds had to settle for the runner-up spot at 45 points. Rounding out the top three was SFU with 68 points, followed by Soka with 99 points, Southwestern College with 156 points, and Johnson & Wales with 160 points.

UBC packed three runners in the top-10, with Luc Bruchet and Jordan Smith finishing within seconds of each other in 4th (25:28) and 5th (25:31), and Theo Hunt cruising in for 10th (25:53).

Justin Kent was the fourth T-Bird to finish (11th, 25:57), and Aidan Kennedy completed UBC's top-5 (15th, 26:14). Eric Cameron placed 17th, Tim Huebsch 23rd, and Will Welling 25th, the latter two making their first conference championships appearances.

Like the UBC women, the men should earn a national championships berth based off this result.

The 2010 NAIA National Cross Country Championships are being held at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, in Vancouver, WA, Saturday November 20th.