Calgary, AB – One of the most decorated athletes in the history of the University of Guelph has punctuated his collegiate career with the biggest award of them all.  Monday night (May 4) at the Martha Cohen Theatre in Calgary, Ross Proudfoot of the Gryphons cross country and track teams took home the prestigious BLG Award as the top male athlete in Canadian Interuniversity Sport for the 2014-2015 season.  Proudfoot becomes the first Gryphon ever, male or female, to win the award.  The top female athlete of the year also came from Ontario as Windsor basketball player Korissa Williams took home the honour.  The awards show that took place Monday night in Calgary will air nationally later in May on Sportsnet. 
 
2014-2015 CIS Athlete of the Year Nominees
 
Male:
CWUAA: Andrew Buckley, Calgary, Football
OUA: Ross Proudfoot, Guelph, Cross County/Track ***winner***
AUS: Justin Maheu, Cape Breton, Soccer
RSEQ: Cédric McNicoll, McGill, Hockey
 
Female:
CWUAA: Jessica King, Trinity Western, Soccer
OUA: Korissa Williams, Windsor, Basketball  ***winner***
AUS: Emma Taylor, St. Francis Xavier, Rugby
RSEQ: Mariam Sylla, McGill, Basketball
 
Official BLG Awards website: www.blg.com/blgawards
CIS website: www.cis-sic.ca

All eight nominees – one female and one male from each of the four CIS regional associations - received a commemorative gold ring and a watch from Timex, the official supplier of CIS. Williams and Proudfoot were also presented with a trophy and a $10,000 scholarship to attend a Canadian University graduate school.
 
The winners were once again selected by the Canadian Athletic Foundation, a not-for-profit Board established for the purpose of administering the BLG Awards and protecting the integrity of the selection process. For the first time, the general public was also encouraged to vote as part as an online pilot project and over 10,000 votes were casted over a 12-day period.
 
"On behalf of BLG and the Canadian Athletic Foundation trustees, I would like to congratulate Korissa Williams and Ross Proudfoot, the winners of the 23^rd annual BLG Awards," said Doug Mitchell, National Co-Chair of BLG. "The eight student-athletes who were nominated are all outstanding in their sport. I congratulate all the nominees for their great accomplishments."
 
"Congratulations to all nominees being recognized at this year's BLG Awards. The BLG Awards are amongst the most prestigious awards an athlete can attain. To be one of eight amongst 11,500 student-athletes across Canada is an extraordinary honour," said Thérèse Quigley, president of CIS. "On behalf of the CIS, I also wish to extend our sincere appreciation to our long-standing partners at BLG for their ongoing support and belief in university sport in Canada."
 
In an era when the depth of talent was at an all-time high in his respective sports, Ross Proudfoot emerged as the best-of-the-best. He ended his extraordinary varsity career as a nine-time All-Canadian in cross-country running and track and field, a six-time national champion and with 19 CIS medals to his name (10 team and 9 individual).
 
Last November, despite windy, hail-like conditions in St. John's, Nfld., Proudfoot captured individual gold at the CIS cross country championships while leading the Gryphon men to their remarkable ninth straight team title. In the process, he was named a first-team All-Canadian in the sport for a fifth consecutive season, becoming just the third athlete in CIS history to accomplish the feat, and the first to combine that achievement with five team banners.
 
Four months later, in March, he was named the most outstanding male athlete at the CIS track and field championships in Windsor, where he prevailed in his two events (1500m, 3000m), came one hundredth of a second short of matching an 18-year-old meet record in the 3000-metre race and guided Guelph to second place in the men's team standings.
 
Aside from going undefeated against CIS competition on the track in 2014-2015, Proudfoot also impressed at several of the most prestigious events south of the border this winter, including a third-place finish in the elite men's one-mile run at the New Balance Games in New York City and second place at Notre Dame's famed Meyo Invitational, where he narrowly missed out on breaking the four-minute mile (4:00.68). Then on Valentine's Day in Geneva, Ohio, he became the fastest ever CIS runner over 3000 metres with his time of 7:53.02 to win the Spire NCAA Division 1 Invitational.
 
Not to be lost in all of this is the fact Proudfoot has achieved these results while also pursuing his Master's in Human Kinetics. The 22-year-old, who reached the 1500m final at the 2013 World University Games in Russia, is now working towards qualifying for this summer's Pan Am Games in Toronto, as well as the 2015 IAAF world championships and the 2016 Summer Olympics.
 
"Ross competes with a sense of teamship that elevates the performance of his teammates to new levels," says Guelph head coach Dave Scott-Thomas. "I've been fortunate to work with some of Canada's best endurance athletes, including those on the Olympic stage, and there is no doubt in my mind that Ross breathes in that same air. It's a gift to be able to work with him."
 
 
ALL-TIME BLG AWARD WINNERS:
 
2014-15: Korissa Williams (Windsor – basketball) / Ross Proudfoot (Guelph – c-country & track)
2013-14: Justine Colley (Saint Mary's – basketball) / Philip Scrubb (Carleton – basketball)
2012-13: Shanice Marcelle (UBC – volleyball) / Kyle Quinlan (McMaster – football)
2011-12: Ann-Sophie Bettez (McGill – hockey) / Marc-André Dorion (McGill - hockey)
2010-11: Jessica Clemençon (Windsor – basketball) / Tyson Hinz (Carleton – basketball)
2009-10: Liz Cordonier (UBC – volleyball) / Erik Glavic (Calgary – football)
2008-09: Annamay Pierse (UBC - swimming) / Joel Schmuland (Alberta - volleyball)
2007-08: Laetitia Tchoualack (Montreal - volleyball) / Rob Hennigar (UNB - hockey)
2006-07: Jessica Zelinka (Calgary - track & field) / Josh Howatson (Trinity Western - VB)2005-06: Marylène Laplante (Laval - volleyball) / Osvaldo Jeanty (Carleton - basketball)
2004-05: Adrienne Power (Dalhousie - track & field) / Jesse Lumsden (McMaster - football)
2003-04: Joanna Niemczewska (Calgary - volleyball) / Adam Ens (Saskatchewan - volleyball)
2002-03: Kim St-Pierre (McGill - hockey) / Ryan McKenzie (Windsor - cross country & track)
2001-02: Elizabeth Warden (Toronto - swimming) / Brian Johns (UBC - swimming)
2000-01: Leighann Doan (Calgary - basketball) / Kojo Aidoo (McMaster - football)
1999-00: Jenny Cartmell (Alberta - volleyball) / Michael Potts (Western - soccer)
1998-99: Corinne Swirsky (Concordia - hockey) / Alexandre Marchand (Sherbrooke - track)
1997-98: Foy Williams (Toronto - track & field) / Titus Channer (McMaster - basketball)
1996-97: Terri-Lee Johannesson (Manitoba - basketball) / Curtis Myden (Calgary - swimming)
1995-96: Justine Ellison (Toronto - basketball) / Don Blair (Calgary - football)
1994-95: Linda Thyer (McGill - track & field) / Bill Kubas (Wilfrid Laurier - football)
1993-94: Sandra Carroll (Winnipeg - basketball) / Tim Tindale (Western - football)
1992-93: Diane Scott (Winnipeg - volleyball) / Andy Cameron (Calgary - volleyball)
 
About the BLG Awards
 
The BLG Awards were established in 1993 to recognize the top female and male athletes from universities affiliated with Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS). The Awards are based on athletic accomplishments, outstanding sportsmanship and leadership. Each of the 56 CIS schools nominates one female and one male athlete of the year. From these nominees, one female and one male athlete are chosen within each of the four regional associations: Atlantic University Sport (AUS), Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ), Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and Canada West Universities Athletic Association (CWUAA). To be eligible, a student-athlete must have competed in a CIS sport for a minimum of two years and cannot be a previous recipient of a BLG Award.
 
All nominees receive a commemorative gold ring and a watch from Timex – the official supplier of CIS - and winners are presented with a trophy and a $10,000 scholarship to attend a Canadian university graduate school. Winners are selected by the Canadian Athletic Foundation (CAF), a not-for-profit board established for the purpose of administering the BLG Awards and protecting the integrity of the selection process. The CAF Board of Trustees consists of 19 members from five Canadian cities representing major corporations from across the country who are committed to ensuring that Canadian university athletes receive the recognition they deserve.
 
About Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
 
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) is a leading, national, full-service Canadian law firm focusing on business law, commercial litigation and arbitration, and intellectual property solutions for our clients. BLG is the country's largest law firm with more than 750 lawyers, intellectual property agents and other professionals in five cities across Canada. We assist clients with their legal needs, from major litigation to financing to trademark and patent registration. For further information, please visit www.blg.com.
 
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
 
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Every year, over 11,500 student-athletes and 700 coaches from 56 universities and four regional associations vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships.