Track North Athletic Club's Ross Proudfoot, competing for the University of
Guelph won the prestigious 36th Annual Western International cross-country
running race today at the Thames Valley Golf Course in London, ON.
Competing against a star-studded field that included several All-Canadians from
14 universities in Ontario and a strong Central Michigan team, Proudfoot claimed
the gold medal by covering the men's rolling 10 kilometre course in a time of
was 31 minutes and 50 seconds.
A graduate of Lo-Ellen Park, Proudfoot ran with the large pack of lead runners
for the first 6 kilometres of the race before breaking away with a small lead
pack of three runners. Proudfoot made a strong surge with just under a one
kilometre to the finish to distance himself from the eventual silver medallist,
Terefe Ejigu of Central Michigan University.
Proudfoot commented following the race:
"I felt really good. The first five kilometres felt relaxed and when the leaders
put in a surge at 6km I knew I could match it. Once I caught them, the pace
actually slowed a bit and I knew I had a chance for the win so with a kilometre
to go I decided to push hard for home. I'm extremely happy with my finish as
this is the first university race of my career and the first time I've race 10
kilometres in cross-country."
"We have a really deep team at Guelph and I feel I'm adjusting well to their
training program. I'm looking forward to the rest of the season."
Proudfoot's Track North coach Darren Jermyn commented:
"Ross' performance today was simply incredible. I've seen him win a lot of big
races but he's never faced this type of competition in a cross-country race
before. Not many rookies have ever won this race but he handled himself like a
seasoned veteran out there."
Proudfoot and his Guelph teammates, currently ranked number one in Canada, will
next compete at the Paul Short Invitational in Lehigh Pennsylvania on Oct 2nd.
Full results for the Western International can be found at:
http://www.westernmustangs.ca/documents/2010/9/25/western_intl_men2010.pdf?id=451
