Sunday, February 27, 2011

Emma in Northern Life

Nice Northern Life article on Emma Tallman's race at the Hal Brown Memorial:

Proudfoot Wins International Race

Track North Press Release
Sunday, February 20th, 2011
"Proudfoot wins international race - claims NACAC gold"

Track North's Ross Proudfoot (Lively, ON) won his first gold medal in international competition this past weekend by running to first place at the NACAC (North America, Central America and Caribbean) Junior Cross Country Championships in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Competing as part of Team Canada, Proudfoot covered the 6km course in 18 minutes, 26.74 seconds to claim gold.  Proudfoot finished just ahead of teammates Connor Darlington (Toronto, ON) and Paul Janikowski (Windsor, ON) as Canada swept the medals and took the team title, ahead of the United States and Puerto Rico.

By virtue of their performance, Proudfoot and his teammates will represent Canada next month at the IAAF World Cross-Country Running Championships in Punta Umbria, Spain.

"My plan for the race was to start easier and pick it up as I went. I didn't want to push too hard early with the heat and have a rough back end of the race. The race played out really nice for me and had a relatively comfortable first 3 kilometres and I was able to really push the pace on the last kilometer to take the gold" commented Proudfoot following the race.

When asked about what it was like to win his first international competition, he noted: "It was a really neat experience being able to stand on top of an international podium, but what was even better is I got to do it with the rest of my team as we swept the podium and won the championship. All of team Canada was from Ontario so I got to race alongside all of the guys I'm normally up against and being able to drop the last American with my two other teammates and sweep the medals was definitely the coolest thing I've ever been a part of in any race."

With respect to qualifying for the World Championships - "It was great to be able to book our seat for Worlds, we have a strong team that works really good together so we should be able to do very well for a Canadian team and hopefully will mix it up with some of the teams in the top half of the event."

Prior to heading off to Spain, Proudfoot will complete his first year of university indoor track competition with the provincial OUA championships this upcoming weekend in Toronto and the national CIS Championships March 10-12 in Sherbrooke, QC.

"Proudfoot Golden Again"

Feb 27th, 2011
Track North Press Release
Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Indoor Track and Field Championships
Toronto, ON

"Proudfoot Golden Again"
"Wins OUA 3000m gold, 1500m bronze. Ehrhardt also medals twice."

Less than a week after capturing his first gold medal in international
competition at the North American, Central American and Caribbean
Cross-Country championships in Trinidad, Track North Athletic Club's Ross
Proudfoot (Lively, ON) returned to the Ontario University indoor track
circuit to claim gold in the 3000m event at the OUA Championships contested
this past weekend at York University.

Competing for the University of Guelph, Proudfoot made a definitive move
with 600 metres remaining to break free of the lead pack and claimed the
gold medal in a new personal best time of 8 minutes 16.95 seconds.  Paul
Janikowski (8:20.75) and Matt Walters (8:22.51) of the University of Windsor
took the silver and bronze medals respectively.

"The goal going into the race was to better the CIS standard of 8:20 and
contribute as many points towards our team score" commented Proudfoot
following the race.  "I ran an even race from the gun and the leaders
eventually came back to me with about 800 metres to go.  I felt confident I
could kick from far out so I pushed hard with 3 laps to go and then again on
the last lap."

Proudfoot also claimed the bronze medal in the 1500m event on Saturday,
running an indoor personal best of 3 minutes, 51.41 seconds.  Guelph
teammate, Kyle Boorsma took the gold in 3 minutes, 49.32 seconds.

Caroline Ehrhardt (Espanola, ON), competing for the University of Western
Ontario also had in impressive rookie debut at the Ontario Championships by
claiming two medals in the horizontal jumping events.  Ehrhardt won a silver
medal in the long jump with a best jump of 5.67 metres.  Neb Zachariah of
the University of Windsor won the event with a best jump of 5.70 metres.
Ehrhardt also claimed a bronze medal in the triple jump with a best jump of
12.24 metres.

Emma Tallman (Mindemoya, ON), competing for Laurentian University earned two
top-10 places finishes at the OUA Championships.  Tallman ran the 1000m
event in a time of 2 minutes, 57.56 seconds, finishing 9th.  She also came
9th in the 600m event with a final time of 1 minute 36.30 seconds.

Full OUA Results at:
http://www.yorku.ca/yutc/v2/2011OUATF/

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Proudfoot set to compete for Canada

"Proudfoot set to compete for Canada this weekend at international cross-country race"
 
Track North's Ross Proudfoot (Lively, ON) will again compete for Canada this upcoming weekend at the North American Central America and Caribbean (NACAC) Cross-Country Running Championships in Trinidad.
Proudfoot and his junior aged (19 and under) teammates will compete over a 6 kilometre course at Queen's Park Savannah in Port of Spain, Trinidad on Saturday, Feb 19th.
 
Team anticipated to compete include: United States, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago and Canada.
 
Proudfoot qualified for Team Canada by winning the Canadian National Junior Cross-Country Championships last November in Guelph, ON.
 
Currently in his first year at the University of Guelph, Proudfoot last competed for Canada at the World Junior Track and Field Championships last July in Moncton, New Brunswick.
 
Q and A with Ross Proudfoot:
 
What does it mean to represent you country again?
"Being able to wear the Canadian jersey has been the biggest moment in my running career so far, so to be able to once again represent Canada in the same year is even more exciting for me."

How have you prepared for this competition?
"Having already had the chance to compete in international competition definitely has helped me prepare mentally for this event. I know what to expect at events like this, and should be very comfortable heading into my race. As for training before this competition it has been a little harder to prepare for as I have also been running an indoor track season as well as had some injury problems. But despite that, I've still been able to get outside and get some good cross country workouts in, and have also been running running quite well on the track."
 
What are your expectations for this competition?
"Looking at the times from the United States nationals and how the competition normally plays out at this event, I'm looking at running up with the front group and seeing how it plays out."
Proudfoot's Track North coach, Darren Jermyn, noted:
 
"Ross appears to have overcome his injury woes in December and early January and is running very well right now.  He has set new personal bests over both the mile and 3000m distances on the university indoor track circuit already this winter so I anticipate the jump up to 6 kilometres will not be a major issue."
 

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Ottawa WinterNational Results

Ottawa Winternational Results
Feb 12th, 2011

Five Track North athletes travelled to Ottawa this past weekend to compete
in the Ottawa Lions WinterNational Invitational held at the 400m indoor Dome
at Louis Riel.

Each athlete set at a new indoor personal best or alltime PB!!

Open Women - 60m Hurdles
Grace Thomson - 7th - 9.69  (9.40 in the heats)

Open Men - 3000m
Jeremy Cooper - 6th - 8:45.42
Chantry Cargill - 8th - 8:50.05

Open Men - 1500m
Joe Burke - 9th - 4:18.20
Seb Diebel - 11th - 4:21.50

Open Men - 100m
Seb Diebel - 7th - 2:36.10

Sunday, February 06, 2011

"Proudfoot Qualifies for CIS Indoor Track Nationals"

"Proudfoot Qualifies for CIS Indoor Track Nationals - Runs a 4:08 Mile in
Ohio"

Track North Athletic Club's Ross Proudfoot (Lively, ON), competing for the
University of Guelph bettered the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS)
national qualifying standard for the 1500m event this past weekend at the
GaREAT College Invitational in Geneva Ohio this past weekend.

Competing in the traditional mile event (1609m) against several top NCAA
ranked schools, Proudfoot finished 10th in a time of 4 minutes 8.75 seconds.
This time is equivalent to a 3:50.55 1500m and is an indoor personal best
for Proudfoot and qualifies him to compete at the CIS Indoor National
Championships in Sherbrooke, March 10-12.

"The injuries that slowed me down in December and early January have
thankfully healed up and I'm starting to feel much stronger now. I ran a
very even race today and felt comfortable running fast again.  I really only
a few weeks of solid interval training under my belt this season so I'm
excited to see what I can do in my upcoming races" commented Proudfoot.

Proudfoot continues to train for both the Canadian university indoor track
season in addition to preparing to compete for Canada at the North
American-Caribbean Cross Country Championships being contest in Trinidad on
February 19th.

Full GaREAT Meet Results:
http://www.gareat.org/track/forms/CollegeInviteMeetResults02-04-2011.htm

York Open Results

Joe Burke placed 12th in the 1000m with a time of 2:43.66. Chantry Cargill ran a time of 9:19.26 in the 3000m to place 13th.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Proudfoot runs to silver in Montreal

Track North Press Release
Sunday, January 30th, 2011

"Proudfoot runs to silver in Montreal - sets new personal best"

Track North Athletic Club's Ross Proudfoot (Lively, ON) competing for the
University of Guelph ran to a silver medal in the 3000m event at the McGill
Team Challenge Indoor Track and Field Meet held in Montreal this past
weekend.

Proudfoot finished the race in a time of 8 minutes and 22.33 seconds, a new
personal best time over the 3 kilometre distance.  Proudfoot's Guelph
teammate, Alex Genest won the race in 8:14.96.

This was Proudfoot's first indoor track race of the season as he has been
hobbled by injuries since winning the National Junior Cross-Country
Championship last November.

Proudfoot commented: "I didn't really know what to expect for the race
because I didn't know how fit I was coming in.  I've really only had one
solid track workout this season.   The race plan was to run with the top
ranked guys in the race and see what I could do in the last kilometer. We
went through two kilometres slower then planned but I ended up having a
really strong final kilometer to finish in a new personal best time."

Proudfoot will continue to train for both the university indoor track season
in addition to preparing to compete for Canada at the North
American-Caribbean Cross-Country Championships on February 19th.


Full Meet results:
http://www.mcgilltrack.com/meetResults/2011TeamChallenge/index.htm

Enclosed Photo:
Ross Proudfoot - bib #501 - photo for Aug 2010 - Ontario Provincial Outdoor
Champs

Thursday, January 06, 2011

Devon Kershaw - Gold and 2 Silvers!!!

What a week for alumni, Devon Kershaw! Devon, a national team nordic skier, won
a gold medal in the 1.3 km sprint in the final World Cup Tour de Ski race in
Italy yesterday. It's the perfect finale for an incredible series of races in
which he won two silvers and placed 7th in another race. And to make it even
sweeter, Devon twice outkicked Olympic gold medalist, Petter Northug, who is
renowned for his kick. In the five Tour de Ski races, Devon won a gold, two
silvers and a 7th!

Here's a report on his winning race:
http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/Frantic+race+finish+ends+Kershaw+favour+last/4067561/story.html


And some video, Devon's 1st silver medal, in the 3rd race of the Tour de Ski. Do
close at the finish that the initial result had him in first.  Devon is #7, in
the grey and red with black hat - starts on the far left.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=altCiNHtuM8

And another article, on his 2nd place finishes (great action photo):
http://www.thestar.com/sports/article/915226--canadian-retains-second-place-in-gruelling-tour-de-ski


And another (outkicking Northhug! and great photo)
http://fasterskier.com/2011/01/patient-kershaw-nets-podium-in-oberhof-classic/

Monday, January 03, 2011

2nd Place for Devon Kershaw

Congrats to alumni, Devon Kershaw, who just placed second at a World Cup Nordic Skiing event in Oberhof, Germany:

Saturday, December 18, 2010

TNOR in Athletics Magazine & Ross in N Life

Track North has received some excellent media coverage this year. Here's the latest:
1. TRACK NORTH IN ATHLETICS MAGAZINE
Sudbury's Track North Athletic Club has been featured in a national magazine, "Athletics," which serves as Canada's national track and field publication.
The article, written by North Bay writer and coach, Tim Uuksulainen, profiles the club's beginnings, interviews with its current coaching staff, and the keys to its success, which has included 33 OFSAA medals, 5 OFSAA records, 6 national team members, 6 World Championship appearances, 12 National Championship medalists and 4 NCAA medals.

The magazine can be downloaded free of charge from the Athletics Ontario website at: http://www.athleticsontario.ca  The article appears on page 21.

2. PROUDFOOT IN NORTHERN LIFE
Ross Proudfoot is profiled in an excellent article in the Northern Life newspaper at:
http://www.northernlife.ca/news/sports/2010/12/proudfoot161210.aspx

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Proudfoot National XC Champ & Other Results

Track North Press Release: Proudfoot National XC Champion
Guelph, ON, November 28th, 2010

Track North Athletic Club's Ross Proudfoot (Lively, ON) won his first national championship this weekend by taking the gold medal in the Junior Men's (19 and under) ASGI Canadian Cross-Country Running Championships in Guelph, ON.

Competing on a snow covered 8 kilometre course, Proudfoot made a decisive move with just over 1.5 kilometres left in the race to take the lead and eventually win the race in a time of 24 minutes and 27 seconds.  Luc Bruchet of British Columbia finished 2nd, 10 seconds behind Proudfoot and Rob Denault of Newmarket finished 3rd.
As a result of his finish, Proudfoot claimed a spot on the national team that will compete at the NACAC (North American, Central American and Caribbean) Cross-Country Championships next February in Trinidad and the World Cross-Country Championships next March in Spain.
Proudfoot commented following the race:  "I stuck to my game plan going into the race.  I ran with the lead group of runners from the first five kilometres of the race and by that point the lead pack was down to three runners.  I knew I didn't want to leave it to a final kick so I made my move with about a mile to go to the finish.  I pushed hard over the final 500m of the race and up the final hill to ensure I was clear.  I'm extremely happy to have won my first ever national championship and to get another chance to represent Canada at international competitions."

Proudfoot's Track North coach, Darren Jermyn commented: "Ross has had a truly dream season.  He was the OUA and CIS rookie of the year and became the first university rookie to ever win the Western International.  I've seen him win medals at a lot of major track and cross-country competitions but today's performance was perhaps his most impressive as he not only used his outstanding fitness, but he ran a tactically perfect race.  Ross was 14th at this race last year but he has done all the work needed over the past 12 months to claim his first national championship.  In fact, he is the first Track North athlete to ever win a national cross-country title."

Emma Tallman, (Mindemoya, ON) capped off her own remarkable season by finishing 23rd in the Junior Women's race.  Tallman covered the 5 kilometre race in a time of 18 minutes and 56 seconds.  The junior women's race started just after a major snowfall blanketed the course with approximately 8 centimetres of snow. A congested start left Tallman in mid-pack for the first kilometre and having to fight back throughout the race. 

"I pushed really hard over the final half of the race and moved from about 38th spot up to 23rd.  It's my final competition as a junior-aged athlete so I'm really happy with my result.  I can't wait for the indoor track season to start!" commented Tallman following the race.

 
Other Track North Results include:
Junior Women: Emily Marcolini: 108th

Junior Men: (Team 13th overall): Joe Burke: 117th, Justin McNamara: 139th, Seb Diebel: 154th, Michael Niven: 176th

Senior Men:  Eric Leishman: 80th


Complete video of races available at: www.runnerspace.com

Monday, November 15, 2010

Proudfoot CIS Rookie of the Year, All Canadian

"Proudfoot CIS Rookie of the Year and All Canadian"

Track North Athletic Club's Ross Proudfoot (Lively, ON), competing for the University of Guelph capped a remarkable rookie season by finishing 6th at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Cross-Country Running Championship contested today in Sherbrooke, Quebec.  Proudfoot earned CIS Rookie of the Year and 1st team All-Canadian by virtue of his finish.  Proudfoot's University of Guelph team also took home the team gold medal with a best low score of 24 points.

The championship 10 kilometre race was contested on a rolling and muddy course at the Sherbrooke Golf Club.  Proudfoot's finishing time was 32 minutes 46 seconds.  Proudfoot's teammate, Kyle Boorsma, took home the gold medal in a time of 31 minutes 53 seconds.

Proudfoot commented following the race:  "The conditions were really tough today.  The hills were slow and muddy and the footing was rough in many sections but I'm extremely happy to have won the CIS rookie of the year and help my team to its fifth straight national championship."

Track North coach Darren Jermyn noted: "Ross really proved he is among the elite in the CIS today.  The course conditions were definitely challenging and Ross fought hard over the last three kilometres to earn his All-Canadian status.  He has just flourished at Guelph and it's exciting to know that he has many years left to move even higher up the CIS ladder."

Proudfoot's first season of university competition saw him win the Western International, earn top rookie status at the Paul Short Invitational and finish 4th at the Ontario University (OUA) championships.

Proudfoot's final cross-country race of the season will be at the Athletics Canada Junior (19 and under) Championships in Guelph on November 27th.  He will compete alongside his Track North teammates as he bids for a spot on the national team that will compete at the North American Caribbean Championships (NACAC) next February in Trinidad and the World Championships next March in Spain.

Note: Other fine northern Ontario results included Matt Walters (North Bay) competing for the University of Windsor, who finished 7th and Andrew Nixon (Thunder Bay) competing for the University of Guelph, who finished 11th.

Photos and Video from OFSAA XC

Videos from the OFSAA XC Championships can be seen at:
 
Photos from the OFSAA XC Championships can be downloaded from the Track North PhotoBucket site at:

Here's a video that describes how to download photos from PhotoBucket:
 
 

Sunday, November 07, 2010

OFSAA XC Results

Track North OFSAA XC Results!
 
The OFSAA XC Championships were held this past Saturday, November 6th at Centennial Park in Etobicoke.
 
The weather was just about perfect (sunny but cool) and several Track North athletes had some fantastic peformances!
 
Note: Each race had approximately 240 runners in the field.
 
Leading the charge was Jeremy Cooper (Manitoulin Secondary) who finished an outstanding 9th in a VERY deep Senior Boys 7000m field.  Jeremy, who is still in grade 11, stated his goal was to finish in the top 10 and he ran a strategically perfect race to achieve this lofty goal.
 
Alannah Maclean (Lo-Ellen) ran a fantastic race and finished in 25th spot in the Senior Girls 5000m race. Running a consistent even pace paid off for Alannah who likely still has that huge smile she had following the race on her face today!  Finishing very close behind Alannah was Katie Wismer (Lockerby) in 39th place.  Katie also ran a very smart race, keeping herself connected with the lead groups throughout the race.
 
Michael Niven (Manitoulin Secondary) saved his finest race of the season for OFSAA where he finished in a solid 53rd spot in the Junior Boys 6000m race.
 
Despite losing a shoe in the mass confusion of the start area, Emily Marcolini easily ran the gutsiest race of the day!  Having to stop and get her shoe back on (and therefore lose over 180m to the entire field), Emily pressed hard from the start and passed a whopping 182 girls in the Junior Girls 3800m race to finish in 42nd spot.  On a "normal shoe" day, this was a top 10 performance!
 
Other Track North results:
 
Midget Boys
Owen Sarmatiuk  (St. Ben's)- 128th
 
Junior Boys
Brandon Belan (St. Ben's) (sick unfortunately) - 164th
 
Senior Boys
Hayden Kosmerly (Lockerby) - 99th
Zack Caverson (Lockerby) - 167th

Sunday, October 31, 2010

NOSSA XC Championships'10

A number of Track North runners competed at the NOSSA cross country running championships on the Laurentian University trails on Friday.
Midget Boys, 5k
7, Owen Sarmatiuk, St. Ben, 19:26

Junior Girls, 4km
1, Emily Marcolini, St. Ben 16:16

Junior Boys, 6k
3. Brandon Belan, St Ben, 21:09
4. Michael Niven, Manitoulin, 12:30

Senior Girls, 5k
2. Alannah MacLean, Lo-Ellen, 20:05
3. Katie Wismer, Lockerby, 20:06
4. Kyla Pettigrew, Lo-Ellen,  20:08

Senior Boys, 7k
1. Jeremy Cooper, Manitoulin, 23:22
8. Hayden Kosmerly, Lockerby, 25:39
13. Sebastien Diebel, St. Ben, 26:35
17. Zack Caverson, Lockerby, 27:10

Congrats everybody. There is  video of the races at the following link:

http://www.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?do=videos&year=2010&event_id=5046&folder_id=recent#video

See a Sudbury Star article at:
 

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Proudfoot's Solid XC Season Continues in Oregon

"Proudfoot's Solid XC Season Continues in Oregon"
 
Track North Athletic Club's Ross Proudfoot (Lively, ON),competing in his rookie season for the nation's top ranked cross-country running team at the University of Guelph, turned in another solid performance at the Bill Dellinger Invitational contested at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon.
 
Competing on the legendary Prefontaine Trails, Proudfoot finished the 8 kilometre race in 14th place in a career best time of 24 minutes and 15 seconds.
 
Proudfoot's Guelph team finished an impressive 3rd place in a field that included top ranked NCAA Division I schools, the University of Oregon and the University of Wisconsin.
 
University of Guelph coach Dave Scott-Thomas commented: "Ross ran another fantastic race. That he is talented is not a surprise; that he runs with a such composure and confidence is. He's showing the poise of a veteran our there, and making a great case for himself as a CIS rookie of the year candidate. He'll get faster yet this season, too. What a great addition to our team!"
 
Track North coach Darren Jermyn commented: "For those unfamiliar with the 8km distance - you can look at it this way, Ross passed through 5 kilometres just a shade over 15 minutes and then continued at that incredible pace for another 3 kilometres."
 
Full results at:
 

Sunday, October 03, 2010

Proudfoot Top Rookie at Major NCAA Meet

"Proudfoot Top Rookie at Major NCAA XC Meet"
 
Track North Athletic Club's Ross Proudfoot, competing for Canada's number one ranked university cross-country running team, the University of Guelph, continued his excellent start to the intercollegiate season with a 22nd place at the Paul Short Invitational contested this past weekend at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania.
 
In a large field of 387 runners from 42 top ranked universities in both the NCAA and CIS, Proudfoot was the first rookie to cross the finish line in the rain-soaked 8 kilometre event.  Proudfoot's finishing time was 24 minutes and 28 seconds.  Sam Chelanga, the defending NCAA Division I Cross-Country Running Champion from Liberty University won the event in a time of 23 minutes and 34 seconds.
 
Proudfoot's University of Guelph team finished 5th overall in the team competition.
 
"I felt really good the whole time but maybe started a bit too far back off the start.  Although I had a major kick I couldn't quite crack the top 20 but I'm really happy with my time and how my season is going so far", commented Proudfoot following the race.
 
Proudfoot will next compete at the Bill Dellinger Invitational at the University of Oregon on October 16th.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Athletes of the Week X 2

Two TNOR runners were names SSSAA Athletes of the week. Congratulations to
Clarissa Elliott from Lo-Ellen and Zach Gallo from Notre Dame.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Proudfoot wins Western International XC Race

"Proudfoot wins Western International XC Race"

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