GREENSBORO, N.C. – Guilford College will send a school-record three runners to the NCAA Division III Men’s Cross Country Championships next Saturday in Hanover, Ind. Seniors David Cason (Clemmons, N.C./West Forsyth), Andris Goncarovs (Ithaca, N.Y./Lehman Alternative Community School (SUNY Buffalo)) and Chad Norton (Walled Lake, Mich./Walled Lake) will represent the Quakers by virtue of their top-seven finishes at Saturday’s NCAA South/Southeast Regional Championships in Newport News, Va. The official selections were announced Sunday afternoon.
Norton finished second among 174 runners in Saturday’s eight-kilometer race at the Lee-Hall Mansion. He completed the course in a school-record time of 24 minutes, 41.81 seconds, over 25 seconds faster than the previous standard set by Derick Kosgei ‘12 in 2010. In addition to earning his school-record third NCAA Championship appearance, Norton’s performance received his third All-South/Southeast Region commendation. He had Guilford’s top NCAA Championship finish in the 2012 national meet when he placed 73rd in 25:31.11.
Like Norton, Goncarovs will run in his second straight NCAA Cross Country Championships. The 2013 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Runner of the Year placed fifth in Saturday’s regional race in a personal-best 25:10.46, the third-fastest time in school history. His performance landed All-South/Southeast honors for the second straight season and marked his fifth top-five result in six events this year.
Cason will take his first trip to nationals after placing seventh at the regional race with a career-low 25:13.43, the Quakers’ fifth-fastest time in school history. His effort garnered All-South/Southeast Region honors for the second straight season.
The Quakers’ senior trio helped Guilford place 13th among 24 scoring teams at the regional meet. Guilford’s ODAC-rival Bridgewater College placed three runners among the top-20 finishers and won the regional team crown.
Coach Danny Cash’s women’s team placed 25th among 27 scoring squads with 696 points. Rebecca Reyna ran the second-fastest six-kilometer race of her career in 25:46.87, the 10th-best clocking in school history. She placed 109th overall in the 193-runner field. Teammate Pasangi Perera followed 13 places later in a personal-best 26:08.56. Emily Cash (27:48.69), Rachel Flint (28:16.47) and Molly Anne Marcotte (28:47.71) also set career lows for the Quakers.