Sunday, June 06, 2010

Track North Results - OFSAA Track'10

It was an outstanding day for local track and field athletes at the Ontario High School Provincial OFSAA Championships contested at the University of Western Ontario in London, ON.

Caroline Ehrhardt, a grade 12 student at Espanola High School, broke her own Canadian Interscholastic Record in the Senior Girls Triple Jump competition, winning gold with a best jump of 12.78 metres. Competing in front of a packed stadium at the TD Waterhouse Stadium on the campus of the University of Western Ontario, Ehrhardt solidied her position as the best high school triple jumper in Canadian history with her third consecutive gold medal in triple jump in OFSAA competition.  Ehrhardt also claimed the gold medal in Senior Girls long jump with a best performance of 5.87 metres.

Ross Proudfoot,a grade 12 student at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School, ran to a silver medal in the Senior Boy's 1500m race, setting a new personal best of 3 minutes, 50.56 seconds.  Making a gutsy move with 500 metres to go, Proudfoot separated himself from the field of twelve finalists being outkicked only in the final 50 metres by Rob Denualt of Newmarket. Proudfoot's finishing time is the second fastest high school 1500m time in Canada this year.

Other outstanding performances by local athletes include: Serena San Cartier's fourth place finish in the Senior Girls 100m hurdle race with a time of 14.62 seconds.  Newcomer, Katie Wismer of Lockerby Composite's surprise eigth place finish with a time of 5 minutes 17.84 seconds in the Open Girls 1500m steeplechase.

Quotes:

Caroline Ehrhardt: "I am extremely happy with my performances.  I will be competing next weekend to try to exceed the qualifying marks for the upcoming World Junior Championships in Moncton later this summer."

Ross Proudfoot: "We got out fast but when the paced slowed, I decided to take the lead and see if anyone was willing to go with me.  I broke free of the field but couldn't hold off Denault at the end."


Picture Enclosed - Ross Proudfoot at 400m mark of 1500m final race - OFSAA Championships - Friday,June 4th, 2010 - London, Ontario
Proudfoot claims bronze in OFSAA 3000m.

London, ON

Ross Proudfoot, a grade 12 student at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School ran to a bronze medal in the Senior Boy's 3000m race today at the OFSAA Track and Field Championships being held in London, ON.  In his final OFSAA track and field competition, Proudfoot battled with the lead pack of elite distance runners from across the province, eventually breaking away and earning the bronze medal with a new personal best time of 8 minutes 24.09 seconds.  Proudfoot, who also won a silver medal in the 1500m event on Friday night, was the only senior boy athlete in the province to claim two medals in the middle distance events (800m, 1500m, 3000m).  This caps a phenomenal season for Proudfoot that saw him break the Sudbury City and NOSSA 1500m and 3000m records.  Proudfoot also won the prestigious Nike Rowland Games 3000m event in Toronto earlier this season.

Proudfoot will now concentrate on the Canadian Junior Track and Field Championships being contested in Moncton, New Brunswick from July 2nd to 4th.  The meet will serve as the qualification for the World Junior Track and Field Championships also being held in Moncton from July 22nd to 28th.

Alannah MacLean, a grade 11 student at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School had an outstanding final day at the OFSAA championships, earning a 7th place finish in the Senior Girls 400m hurdle event.  MacLean, who just began hurdling this year, came into the competition ranked 18th, yet earned a place in the final after running an impressive morning heat time of 1 minute 4.45 seconds.  Her time in the final was 1 minute 5.48 seconds.

Emily Marcolini, a grade 9 student at St. Benedict's Secondary School turned in the surprise performance of the day with a 7th place finish in the Midget Girls 3000m event.  Marcolini charged to the front of the twenty-four competitor event and led the race for a few laps, pushing the field through a fast opening two kilometres.  Marcolini's finishing time of 10 minutes 42.55 seconds was a 22 second personal best.  Marcolini also finished 13th in the 1500m event.

Quotes:

Ross Proudfoot: "The pace was faster than expected but I was able to cover all the moves of the leaders and keep myself in contention.  I'm ecstatic about running to a new personal best and earning another OFSAA medal in my last high school competition."

Alannah MacLean: "I am really excited with my races today.  I hurdled extremely well in the morning heat and was able to finish strong and set a huge new personal best.  I had a bit of difficulty with a few hurdles in the final but I'm very happy with placing seventh in the province in my first year running the event".

Emily Marcolini: "I felt really good at the start of the race and knew if I could stick with the leaders, I could run to a solid time and place well.  This was my first OFSAA Track and Field experience and I look forward to my summer track season."

Full meet results at:
http://www.ldcsb.on.ca/schools/rmc/track/ofsaa/

Attached Picture - Ross Proudfoot with OFSAA medal