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Boorsma leads the field as Guelph picks up second OUA title of the day
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Guelph's Kyle Boorsma - credit Geoff Robbins
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LONDON, Ont. - Kyle Boorsma of the Guelph Gryphons finished with a time of 31:48 to win the men's 10-km race at the OUA Cross Country Championships at the Thames Valley Golf Club in cloudy and windy conditions on Oct. 27.
Braden Novakowski of Queen's placed second at 31:54 while Windsor's Andrew Coates placed third.
Western Mustang rookie Kyle O'Neill, who broke away with a leading pack early in the second lap, was the top Mustang, finishing in sixth place with 32:35.
O'Neill was able to stay with the lead pack at the halfway point in approximately 10th place while Nathan DeWitt was in 13th after the first lap. Both runners came in at about 16 minutes on the 10-km course.
The East Elgin High School graduate from just outside of Aylmer, Ont., said he was very happy with his result.
"I wasn't expecting to finish this high," the OUA rookie of the year said. "We had a great team concept through the entire season. I'm really happy with the race. I'm honoured to be a part of this team."
It was a personal best for O'Neill who finished 30 seconds better than his old personal best time of 32:55.
For Boorsma, it was a matter of perfect timing to win the race.
"I just kept grinding it out and stuck with the pack," he said. "I broke away late in the race. I used my threshold training to start running away from the pack. (Queen's runner Braden) Novakowski broke away with me and we worked together to make the breakaway stick."
In windy conditions, they broke away with a two-man pack. Novakowski tried to break away from Boorsma late around a corner, but the Gryphons runner held it off and ended up holding him off and instead took the lead for good to take the victory."
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1. Kyle Boorsma (Guelph) - 31:47
2. Braden Novakowski (Queen's) - 31:53
3. Andrew Coates (Windsor) - 32:17
TEAM RESULTS
1. Guelph 29
2. Windsor 48
3. Queen's 75
4. Western 85
COURSE RECORD: Guy Schultz (Western) Nov. 1997 at CIS Nationals - 30:57.
Source:
Andy Watson
Media Relations Officer
Western Mustangs
The University of Wes
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