College Cross Country News – Guilford’s Goncarovs Wins Fourth ODAC Runner of the Week Honor

FOREST, Va. – Guilford College senior Andris Goncarovs (Ithaca, N.Y. /Lehman Alternative Community School (SUNY Buffalo)) was named the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Men’s Runner of the Week Monday. Goncarovs is the Quakers’ first runner to win the honor four times in one season and has won the prize five times in his career.
Andris Goncarovs 2014

Goncarovs, a 5-10 senior, ran the third-fastest eight-kilometer time in school history to help the Quakers place fifth among nine non-NCAA Division I teams at the Blue Ridge Open Oct. 18. He completed the loop at the Don Kennedy Trails in a personal-best time of 25 minutes, 19.51 seconds, the fastest time in the ODAC this year. He lowered his career low by over 15 seconds and had the top result among NCAA Division III runners. Goncarovs’ time stood 23rd among all 229 contestants in the race.

Goncarovs owns the ODAC’s top times in both five-kilometer and eight-kilometer races this season. He holds four of the 10 fastest eight-kilometer times in Guilford history. Goncarovs placed third in the season-opening ODAC Preview Meet (8/30) in 26:26.40 and had the top college-division finish at the five-kilometer UNC Wilmington Invitational with a time of 15:29. He also placed fourth among college division runners and 12th among all contestants in 25:34.7 at the Charlotte XC Invitational (9/28. Goncarovs finished first at the Hagan Stone XC Classic (10/5) in 25:35.78, marking the third-fastest time of his career. Goncarovs was an All-South and First Team All-ODAC runner in 2012.

Coach Danny Cash’s team returns to action Nov. 2 at the ODAC Championships in Farmville, Va.