While most spent winter break at home on their couches bingeing shows on Netflix, our winter sports teams were hard at work, resulting in an array of successes. This success carried into the spring semester, and each of the teams has something to look back upon and be proud of.
The men’s basketball team’s season concluded with a loss to Emory and Henry College in Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinals. The Quakers finished with a record of 16–11, fourth in the conference. This placed them a spot ahead of where they were listed in the preseason polls.
In addition, several players from the team received conference recognition.
First-year forward Alston Thompson earned ODAC Rookie of the Year and lone senior forward Will Freeman was named to the All-ODAC Second Team. Junior guard Zachary Houston also received all-conference honors being named to the All-ODAC Third Team and was recognized as the ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete.
On the women’s side of the hardwood, the Quakers finished second place in the ODAC regular season and were ODAC Tournament runners-up. Finishing the season with a 21-5 record, the Quakers earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time since 2013.
Playing in Thomas More College’s region, the Quakers were able to get a first round win over the University of Mount Union for their first playoff win since 2002. The Quakers did fall to Thomas More in the next round, capping off their great season.
With these successes came honors for numerous student athletes. Junior guard Anais Weatherly earned honorable mention NCAA Division-III All-American honors to go along with her Second Team All-South Region and First-Team All-ODAC honors for the season. Sophomore forward Lauren Ramsey earned Third-Team All-ODAC honors for her performance on the season.
Head Coach Stephanie Flamini was also honored for the team’s performance this season. Flamini was named the ODAC Coach of the Year as well as the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s Region Five Coach of the year and was one of the 12 finalists for the United States Marine Corps/WBCA Coach of the Year Award.
Both basketball teams had great seasons they can build off of and successes they hope to carry into next season.
Both the men and women’s track and field teams wrapped up their indoor season at the ODAC Championships. The teams finished ninth and had strong individual performances at the championships.
For the men’s team, junior sprints runner Josephus Mitchell had a third place preliminary time of 7.09 seconds, 0.06 seconds away from the top qualifying time. He added a 6.99 seconds run in the next round, just 0.07 seconds away from the top time.
Sophomore jumper and sprinter Alex Martin placed fourth in long jump with a jump of 6.65 meters. Senior middle distance runner Trent Evans claimed a fourth place finish in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:58.80, just 2.07 seconds away from the top time. Senior Yashua Clemons placed fifth in the triple jump with a jump of 12.86 meters.
On the women’s side, junior thrower Becca Benfield claimed a top ten finish in the shot put with a throw of 10.02 meters, good enough for ninth place. Senior Rebecca Reyna was the women’s top runner at the championships with an 800-meter run of 2:33.95, breaking the previous school record.
Both teams now shift their focus to the outdoor season, which will conclude at the end of the spring.
The Quakers swimming team also was able to put up good times at the ODAC Women’s Swimming Championships. The 400-yard freestyle relay team of sophomore Isabel Gutierrez, first-year Veronica O’Neill, first-year Kate Nunke and senior Nina Troy was able to score points at the meet. Troy also posted the team’s top 100-meter freestyle time of 1:06.81.
So with the winter season at an end, the focus shifts to Guilford’s spring sports. Please come out and support all of Guilford’s teams as the spring season is in full swing.
