WESTON WINS WESTERN INTERNATIONAL CROSS-COUNTRY MEET

LONDON, Ont. - Windsor Lancers runner Dave Weston finished with a time of 32:10 to win the 35th annual Western International cross country meet on Sept. 26 at the Thames Valley Golf Course.

Leading for part of the race, Mustang Kyle O'Neill placed in fifth place at 32:28, leading Western to a fourth overall team finish.

"We're all putting in a lot of hard work, I'm glad to be near the top," O'Neill said. "The pace was fast and it was pretty even too. It's the ideal way to run a race."

Weston had a sizable lead on the next four runners, but the finish for second spot was thrilling, with a full-out sprint for silver between Geneseo Knights runner Tim Chichester and Toronto's Mike Del Monte, who placed second with a last-effort lunge.

O'Neill and Guelph's Allan Brett were in a tight finish in a battle for fourth place, with Brett edging O'Neill out by under a second.

According to O'Neill, Weston broke away to take the lead for good at the 6 km mark and the whole field began to space out.

"I didn't have it in me to stay with him the whole way," O'Neill said. "I just wasn't feeling it today. If this was OUAs, I would have gone with him, I would have had it."

Other Mustangs finishers in the team scoring were Ryan Huff (16th, 33:04), Matt Suda (25th, 33:39), Will Komer (29th, 33:42) and Brent Smith (34th, 33:53).

Western runners not scoring included Simon Hodge (37th, 34:03), Alex Strokach (69th, 35:16), David Arango (76th, 35:25), Evan Andrin (98th, 36:30) and Mark Cameron (105th, 37:06)

Team Results - Men's 10km
1. Geneseo Knights (3, 6, 10, 11, 14)                  44
2. Guelph Gryphons (4, 8, 9, 19, 26)                   66
3. Windsor Lancers (1, 12, 13, 25, 29)                 80
4. Western Mustangs (5, 16, 24, 28, 33)             106
5. Queen's Gaels (7, 15, 22, 39, 48)                    131
6. Toronto Varsity Blues                                    142
7. McMaster Marauders                                     236*
8. McGill Redmen                                              236
9. Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks                          265
10. Waterloo Warriors                                        281
11. Brock Badgers                                            346
12. York Lions                                                   375
13. RMC Paladins                                              383
14. Nipissing Lakers                                          385
15. Nazareth Gold Flyers                                    388

* - McMaster places 7th over McGill with better finish for top non-scoring runner (displacer)

Top 10 Individual Results - Men's 10km
1. Dave Weston, Windsor Lancers, 32:10.9
2. Mike Del Monte, Toronto Varsity Blues, 32:16.2 
3. Tim Chichester, Geneseo Knights, 32:16.8 
4. Allan Brett, Guelph Gryphons, 32:23.6 
5. Kyle O'Neill, Western Mustangs, 32:24.2 
6. Jesse Berube. Geneseo Knights, 32:25.6 
7. Matt Hulse, Queen's Gaels, 32:29.5 
8. John Parrott, Guelph Gryphons, 32:31.5 
9. Rob Jackson, Guelph Gryphons, 32:38.5 
10. Chris Mateer, Geneseo Knights, 32:43.8 

Source: Western Mustangs