XC | Wallingford 26th at U SPORTS Championships
Laurentian social work student Keon Wallingford (North Bay) was the university's sole representative at the U Sports national cross country championships this past weekend in Sherbrooke, QC. Hosted by the Université de Sherbrooke, student-athletes from thirty-three universities from across the country competed over a challenging and technical eight kilometre course on the university campus. Competing in his fourth U Sports championship over his illustrious career at Laurentian, Wallingford made a significant move over the final kilometre to place 26th out of 163 competitors with a finishing time of 25 minutes and 27 seconds.
This result was Wallingford's best ever finish at the U Sports championships and caps an incredible final university season that saw him win gold at both the Laurentian and Waterloo Open races and also place 15th at the OUA Championships.
"The race went pretty much as planned", Wallingford commented. "I wanted to get out hard because my spot on the start line was not the best and I didn't want to get boxed in. I settled in really well after that in about 40th position and got into a good rhythm. I stayed relatively in the same spot for most of the race until the last lap where I planned to try and make my move. Coach Jermyn let me know with one kilometre to go that I was just outside the top 30 and that gave me the motivation I needed. I put my head down and was able to pass seven guys over the final 600 metres of the race. This season I've had another gear at the end of races so that gave me the confidence to push through the pain this weekend."
"Keon is a man of his word", noted Vees head coach Darren Jermyn. "He told me this year he planned to be Top 15 at OUA's and Top 30 at U Sports. He put in all the extra work to accomplish both of these goals and we couldn't be prouder of him. Beyond the running and strength and conditioning work our team does, we also dedicate a significant amount of time on our mental preparation for racing. Keon's results this year are a testament to how our program can develop student-athletes over the long-term, both physically and mentally to be ready to peak when it counts the most."
This marks the end of the varsity cross country season and the team will now shift their focus on the indoor track & field season that starts at the end of November.