Former track star takes Sudbury Rocks!!! 10 km title

Runners who have called Sudbury home for a while, for school, or just for the day were all part and parcel of the fun at the 2015 Sudbury Rocks!!! race this past Sunday morning.

A native of Nairn Centre, Sebastian Diebel is well-known in local track and field circles from his days at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School.

But graduation would move the talented runner on to Mount Olive College in North Carolina for a three-year stint, heading back to Canada last September.

Moving back north, however, would take on a whole new meaning for Diebel, who was off to Lakehead University in Thunder Bay to pursue his Masters in Exercise Physiology under the stewardship of former Canadian Olympian Ian Newhouse.

Though he did not compete with the Thunderwolves in the OUA cross-country season, Diebel trained regularly.

The results were evident as the athlete who was named after British middle distance great Sebastian Coe captured first place in the Continental Insulation 10-kilometre race, covering the distance in 32:07.
"I was pretty injured coming out of the States," noted Diebel. "But I still have one year of eligibility. It was really too little, too late for me in terms of really getting fit and getting on the team."

Small wonder. By the time that the CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) cross-country rolled around last November in Newfoundland, the Lakehead crew had risen all the way to sixth place in the country.

Diebel would look a little further ahead.

"I decided to save my eligibility and started building up my training, and now things are going really well," he said. Where track and field events would, at one time, been his priority, Diebel has moved on.

"I think I am getting more and more to the point of being less interested in being on the track and running 150m, 200m repeats all out," he said. "I am more interested in going out and running 20 kilometres at a more moderate pace, and just enjoying it."

Following is a breakdown of the top ten finishers in the 10km race, as well as the remaining divisional winners:

1 - Sebastian Diebel - 32:07 (M20-29)
2 - Andrew Hawkins - 36:56 (M20-29)
3 - Jeffrey Paul - 37:27 (M30-39)
4 - Neil Phipps - 39:34 (M40-49)
5 - Colin Ward - 40:17 (M40-49)
6 - Peter Ledingham - 40:19 (M40-49)
7 - Stephen Ramon - 41:33 (M30-39)
8 - Philip Ucci - 41:43 (M20-29)
9 - Ryan Marsaw - 41:53 (M40-49)
10 - Stacey Carter - 42:15 (F20-29)

1st - M1-19 - Stavros Gallant - 42:36
1st - M50-59 - Jim Shea - 44:34
1st - M60-69 - Daniel Merrick - 50:23
1st - M70-79 - Louis Moustgaard - 1:04:26
1st - M80+ - Walter Karen - 1:45:38
1st - F1-19 - Avery Sutherland - 52:19
1st - F30-39 - Maureen Marshall - 44:11
1st - F40-49 - Veronique Bertrand - 50:54
1st - F50-59 - Philippa Spoel - 56:52
1st - F60-69 - Francoise Bellehumeur - 1:00:03