Windsor's Ben Tilson Eyes Canadian Nationals After Return at John Loaring Classic

Windsor, ON — After missing last season with Achilles issues, Ben Tilson was back over the hurdles for the first time in a while at Sunday's John Loaring Classic. ""It was ok." He told Powerplay Sports. "I'm never truly satisfied with certain outcomes."

The outcome was a 6th place finish for the Windsor Lancers standout ran. Tilson's time of 51.48 seconds in the 400m hurdles placed him sixth in a field that included international competitors from Barbados, the United States and Jamaica.

He clipped the final hurdle, which he figures cost him some time. "Considering the way I finished the race, I'm pretty happy with the time," he said. "If I would have hit that last hurdle a little better, it would have been a pretty quick time so with all of that got to be a bit satisfied but not satisfied at the same time."

Tilson was the second fatest Canadian behind David Moulongou who finished 3rd in 50.01 seconds.

The run was essentially his audition for Canadian Nationals in Ottawa later this month. Tilson believes he's currently ranked third or fourth in the country and said a decision on whether he makes the trip is coming soon. "I'm not going to confirm or deny, but I would say my coach would be pretty happy with what I ran — so it's very likely I'll be running."

Tilson didn't compete for the Lancers last season but said the time away may have worked in his favour. "Throughout last year, although it sucked to sit out, I had it in the back of my mind next year I'll be a year stronger, a year faster. In the grand scheme of things, it might be for the best. You never know."

He's completing a master's degree at Windsor, giving him one more year of eligibility with the Lancers next season.

Canadian Nationals are scheduled for Ottawa June 17-21 at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility. The Championships will include national championships for Open, U20, Para Athletics and Combined Events.