GREENSBORO, N.C. — Guilford College senior Freddy Gomez (Valparaiso, Chile /Williams (N.C.)) has been named to the North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association’s (NCCSIA) College Division First Team All-State squad. Classmates Ronnie Castellanos (San Pedro Sula, Honduras /North Forsyth (N.C.)) and Drew Gunter (Kernersville, N.C. /East Forsyth) were second-team all-state honorees.
The all-star units are comprised of men’s soccer student-athletes from North Carolina’s NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA institutions. Sports information professionals nominated student-athletes for the teams, which were selected by NCCSIA members.
Gomez, a 5-6 midfielder, earned all-state honors for the second time in his distinguished career. He also received Third Team All-South Atlantic region honors from the National Soccer Coaches’ Association of America (NSCAA) and was a First Team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) selection last fall. Gomez started in 15 of 18 games as a senior and tallied a career-high 12 goals, which ranks 11th in school history. He also had one assist for 25 points, the Guilford’s best mark. Gomez led the ODAC with 1.67 points and 0.80 goals per game and stood second in the conference in points and goals. His four game-winning goals were fourth in the league. Gomez’s best appearances came against Averett University Sept. 2 and versus conference-rival Emory & Henry College Oct. 3, when he scored two goals in both of the Quakers’ wins.
In his 71 career games as a Quaker, Gomez netted 42 goals and 12 assists, which rank second and ninth in school history, respectively. His 96 career points stand third all-time at Guilford. He earned First Team All-ODAC honors for the third straight season this year after receiving second-team recognition as a freshman. Gomez is Guilford’s first three-time first-team All-ODAC men’s soccer honoree and joins Tim Imafidon ’02 as the Quakers’ lone four-time All-ODAC selections.
Like Gomez, Castellanos was a Third Team All-South Atlantic and a First Team All-ODAC pick in his senior season. The 5-5 midfielder started in 17 games and tallied nine points. He scored two goals and contributed five assists, which ranked first on the team and 10th in school history. Castellanos led the ODAC in assists and assists per game (0.29). He scored at least one point in seven different matches, including the Sept. 19 win over Ferrum College, when he netted the game-winning goal.
In his 67 career games at Guilford, Castellanos totaled 47 points on 17 goals and 13 assists. He leaves ranked 11th among the Quakers’ career scoring leaders and seventh in career assists.
Gunter, a First Team All-ODAC defender, appeared in 14 of Guilford’s games before suffering a season- ending leg injury. He contributed to the Quakers’ 1.44 goals against average and five shutouts. Gunter also had a goal and two assists this season. Both of his assists came in the Sept. 2 win over Averett.
In his three seasons as a Quaker, Gunter played in 50 games and tallied nine points on two goals and five assists. He was a Second Team All-ODAC selection in 2010 and served as a team captain as a senior.
The trio helped seventh-year head coach Jeff Bateson’s Quakers to a 10-8 record, 7-4 in the ODAC. Bateson expects as many as 15 letter winners back in 2013.
Founded in 2002, NCCSIA is comprised of sports information professionals from North Carolina’s NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA and independent institutions for the purpose of promoting collegiate athletics and student-athletes. Membership is open to those affiliated with a college, university or conference located in North Carolina, and whose area of responsibility lies within sports information.
NCSSIA selects all-state teams for men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, softball and baseball on the College (Division II, III, NAIA) and University (Division I) levels. More than 1,000 student-athletes have been recognized on NCCSIA All-State teams since 2003.