Sep 14, 2008 - StFX cross country alumnus and 2008 Olympian Eric Gillis was honored Saturday afternoon by the university, Town and County of Antigonish prior to the StFX Invitational cross country meet. In a recognition ceremony held prior to the StFX Invitational cross country meet, StFX Sports Information Director Krista McKenna commented, “We thank you Eric for being such an inspiring athlete, role model and a fantastic ambassador for this university, town and county.� A distance runner, Gillis recently participated in the 10,000m event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, placing 33rd with a time of 29:08.10 in a race dominated by East-African runners. He is a native of Antigonish, NS and graduated from StFX in 2004 with a Human Kinetics degree. He was a member of the X-Men cross country team during his five-year tenure at StFX, and to date he has been the program’s most successful athlete. He was the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) cross country champion in 2003 along with being named the CIS Runner of the Year. He was a CIS all-Canadian for four consecutive years, competed internationally in two World University Games and three World Cross Country Championships and was a two-time StFX Male Athlete of the Year award winner. Since graduating from StFX, the 28 year old has been living and training in Guelph, ON with the Speed River Track Club. He is the two-time reigning national champion in the 10,000m event. Eric returned to Antigonish this week to celebrate his recent marriage, and was welcomed with open arms by community members. StFX Vice President of Recruitment and Student Experience Keith Publicover along with Director of Athletics & Recreational Services Leo MacPherson presented Gillis with a framed StFX cross country singlet and picture during the ceremony. Eric also received gifts from Antigonish Town counselor Sean Cameron, Warden Herb Delorey from the Municipality of the County of Antigonish and StFX Alumni Association representative Bill Kiely. StFX Invitational Meet Director Joanne Doiron presented Eric with the proceeds of a Fun Run held Saturday morning. The donation totaled over $550 and will be used to assist with his ongoing training and competition costs. Gillis participated in the Fun Run with local community members and young runners and signed many autographs and posed for numerous pictures throughout the day.