Last Saturday, Nov. 26, saw the T-Birds running in the mud for the last time in 2011, at the Canadian Cross Country Championships, here in Vancouver at Jericho Beach Park. T-Birds were in action in the women and men’s junior and men’s senior races.

Rain in the week leading up to the Championships made for a slow and sloppy course, with mud almost knee-deep at points.

A fifth place finish in the junior women’s race earned first-year standout Maria Bernard selection to the junior national team for the 2012 NACAC Cross Country Championships, in Trinidad next March. Bernard covered the five-kilometre course in 18:52. UVic’s Ellen Pennock won the race in 18:34.

Other UBC athletes competing were Micha Gutmanis, who placed 37th, at 20:07, and Jenny McCormack, 64th in at time of 20:51.

In the junior men’s eight-kilometre race, UBC had a full team, and placed fifth overall. Ryan Cassidy made it a clean sweep of the junior titles for UVic, taking the win in 26:20. Jack Williams ran to 18th place, in 27:30. Alex Kilpatrick was 45th (28:28), Simon Bill was 69th (28:45), Will Cliff was 72nd (28:52), and Devin Rajala was 131st (30:27).

Also running for their clubs were Justin Kent, 14th (27:21), Michael Bourgeois, 38th (28:18), Reid Mitchell, 43rd (28:24), Jake Bruchet, 68th (28:45), Matt Galea, 97th (29:32) and Bilal Shamsi, 105th (29:43).

In the final and muddiest race of the day, the senior men’s 10-kilometres, Cameron Levins, of Southern Utah University, cruised to victory in 32:04. Luc Bruchet cracked the top-20, placing 19th in 34:29, while Tim Huebsch placed 25th, in 35:03, and David Slade was 50th, in 37:12.

Theo Hunt, running for his club, placed 31st, in 35:34.