College Cross Country Results – Guilford Men Win Hagan-Stone Classic, Women Take Third

PLEASANT GARDEN, N.C. – Guilford College senior Andris Goncarovs (Ithaca, N.Y./Lehman Alternative Community School (SUNY Buffalo)) outkicked the entire 140-man field to win the Hagan-Stone Cross Country Classic Saturday morning at Hagan-Stone Park. He completed the eight-kilometer course in 25 minutes, 35.78 seconds and led the Quakers to a sweep of the top three places in the men’s race.

Behind Goncarovs, Chad Norton and David Cason (Clemmons, N.C./West Forsyth) finishing 1-2-3 among all individuals, Guilford won top honors among the four NCAA Division III teams entered at the meet. Goncarovs narrowly missed a new career-low for eight kilometers, finishing just over a second behind the mark (25:34.7) set Sept. 28 at the Charlotte XC Invitational. His time Saturday is seventh-fastest in school history. Norton crossed the line in 25:46.28, followed by Cason (25:51.22), who lowered his personal-best time by about three seconds. Rookie Nick Reynolds also had a career-low (29:37.28) and placed 14th overall.

Guilford’s women finished third among five NCAA Division III teams at the meet. Sophomore Rebecca Reyna (Liberty, N.C./Southern Alamance) had the Quakers’ top finish again for the fourth straight race, completing the five-kilometer course in 21:29.66. The second-fastest time of her career stood 12th among 71 runners ranked in the NCAA Division 3 class and two spots ahead of Naomi Madras (21:52.15). Junior Emily Cash (Hurdle Mills, N.C./Orange) finished 26th individually and had Guilford’s third-lowest time (23:19.56).

Meredith College won the NCAA Division 3 team prize with 43 points, well in front of second-place Randolph College (93). Wake Forest University’s Beth Hanson, running as an individual, was fastest in the Quakers’ group with a time of 19:11.0.

Coach Danny Cash’s teams are off until the Blue Ridge Open Oct. 18 in Boone, N.C.