College Track & Field News – Guilford’s Goncarovs Named ODAC Athlete of the Week

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Guilford College junior Andris Goncarovs (Ithaca, N.Y./ Lehman Alternative Community School (SUNY Buffalo)) earned the Old Dominion Athletic Conference’s (ODAC) Men’s Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week Award Monday, Guilford’s first of the season. He also collected his second Guilford Student-Athlete of the Week Award of the year. The Guilford prize is presented weekly by the school’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

Andris Goncarovs 2014

Goncarovs, a 5-10, 145-pound distance runner, ran the ODAC’s fastest time in the 3,000 meters this season at the Winston-Salem State Open (9:02.40) Jan. 20. His time was fifth-fastest at the meet among 20 runners, tops among NCAA Division III contestants. Goncarovs’ time ranks fourth in Guilford history. He also anchored the Quakers’ distance-medley relay, which turned in the ODAC’s second-fastest time of the year (10:57.33). The time is third-fastest in school history and stands 30th in NCAA Division III this year.

Goncarovs, who earned NCAA Division III All-South honors for the Quakers’ cross country team last fall, now holds Guilford’s third-fastest indoor time in the 5,000 meters (15:32.64) and the fourth-best time in the 3,000 (9:02.40). His best mile time this season (4:29.50) is first in the ODAC and stands fifth all-time at Guilford. Goncarovs’ 5,000 time also leads the conference.

Coach Danny Cash’s team runs in the Liberty University Open this weekend (Jan. 25-26).

The Student-Athlete of the Week Award is presented by Guilford’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee, which is comprised of representatives from each of the school’s 20 varsity teams. The group meets regularly to discuss the state of Guilford Athletics and seeks to build community among the school’s student-athletes and non-student-athletes. Recent Guilford SAAC activities include a canned-food drive and participation in Champs Life Skills, which promotes intercollegiate athletics as a key part of the campus educational program and the student-athlete as an integral part of the student body. Its aim is to increase student-athletes’ community involvement and to engage the greater Guilford community with the athletic department.