VANCOUVER – At last week's Sundodger Invitational, hosted by NCAA Division I powerhouse Washington Huskies, the UBC Thunderbirds men won the open division in dominant fashion, placing their top six runners in the top 25 with a time spread totaling a mere 24 seconds.

Led by Kerry Kazuta and first year Luc Bruchet, the T-Birds outpaced crosstown rival and NAIA No. 3 SFU by 50 points. With the open division victory, UBC moved all the way to No. 6 in the NAIA Rankings.

The Thunderbird women also performed well and were led by Sabrina Reeve's impressive sixth place finish. Rookie Maggie Woodward led a young but talented group behind Reeve with a top 20 finish as the T-Birds finished fourth overall and moved within striking distance of the NAIA Top 25.

Coming off of these impressive season opening efforts,  the UBC men's and women's cross country teams travel to Salem, Ore. and the tradition rich Charles Bowles Invitational this weekend.

Hosted by NCAA division II Willamette University, this race features many top ranked teams from the U.S. and Canada.

The typically fast Bush park has treated UBC well in recent races. In the past decade, four UBC men have broken the twenty-five minute barrier over the 8km course led by David Milne's stellar 24:19 in 2001.

The women of UBC have also faired quite well at Bush Park. Five UBC women have gone under the 18-minute barrier over the 5km course since 2001 including Reeve.

This year's men's race features five NAIA top 25 rated teams including new No. 3 Embry-Riddle of Florida. Coach Marek Jedrzejek views Embry-Riddle as a good bench mark for the T-Birds.

"They have a talented athlete leading their team out front, however, we can place many athletes inside of their second and third best guys and that may be enough to challenge them."

Perhaps a more dangerous foe lurks just behind UBC in No. 7 ranked Southern Oregon University. UBC appears to be very evenly matched with the Red Raiders who return a tough group from last year's NAIA fourth-place team.

"On paper we have an advantage from third position through our top 10 but they are certainly a very good team," added Jedrzejek.

Other ranked competition includes no. 16 and former region 1 foe Lewis and Clark State from Idaho and Southern California's 21st-ranked Azusa Pacific University.

The women's trip to Oregon presents a perfect opportunity for upset. The field includes seven of the top 25 ranked teams for the T-Birds to chase. An impressive trio of California schools features No. 1 Azusa Pacific, No. 4 Biola and No. 8 Concordia (Calif.).

Behind these top 10 teams coach Marek Jedrzejek looks to challenge No. 9 Lewis-Clark State, No. 13 Concordia (Ore.), No. 18 Embry-Riddle and No. 25 Eastern Oregon.

"This meet presents our women with a perfect chance to upset some ranked teams and improve our ranking as we move towards the NAIA championships."