The Red and Black

Issue date: 5/1/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: JIM DIFFLY Senior Ross Ridgewell hopes to leave his name "etched in the record books and be remembered." [Click to enlarge]

Roo is determined to leave a legacy.

Ross Ridgewell, affectionately dubbed "Roo" by a former coach, was destined to make a significant difference somewhere - even if he had to make one on the opposite side of the world. The native Australian has nestled his way comfortably into the University's community in his three years in Athens, as well as in the Georgia track and field record books.

As a senior middle distance runner, Ridgewell holds the fourth-best time in Georgia history in the outdoor 800-meter run, and he understands he has only a few more chances to break the mark and win an SEC and NCAA 800-meter title.

"I have been here [at Georgia] for three years now and have absolutely fallen in love with this place," said Ridgewell, named an All-American after his junior indoor season. "I would love to leave my name etched in the record books and be remembered here for a long time."

The conference and national titles have proven to be elusive for Ridgewell in his tenure on the track. In his junior indoor season, he was merely feet away from claiming a national title in the 800-meters - he would take third place and All-America honors home. After finishing fifth and seventh in the finals of the 2008 SEC outdoor and indoor championships, respectively, Ridgewell then went on to a second-place finish at this year's SEC Indoor Championships.

Unlike most college students, the University of Georgia does not simply serve as a place for Ridgewell to compete and get an education - Athens has become his one and only home. Three years have passed without having the opportunity to travel back to visit Australia, and talking to friends and family from there is somewhat of a rarity. His former hometown is Mullumbimby, a city in New South Wales. Ridgewell fondly describes Mullumbimby as a laid-back, coastal town where "all the hippies in Sydney [Australia] moved to after the 1970s."

Ridgewell received the Brad Davis SEC Community Service Award this month for his efforts in Athens. He helped raised money for cancer patients and recorded textbooks for blind and dyslexic students. He has been the campus contact for Habitat for Humanity, a leader of Recyclemania and has helped with the Adopt-A-Dog program.

"He represents the type of student-athlete that every program wants to have," said distance coach Jeff Pigg. "This guy is as good as I have ever seen, as far the complete package, in all of my years of coaching."

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