Gates is Guilford's #1 Basketball Supporter

                  It’s fairly common for Division I schools to have fans that do not attend the institution, yet attend every game and follow the team closely. This phenomenon rarely exists at Guilford, except in the case of basketball super fan Andrew Gates.

                  Gate’s affection for the Quakers dates back to 2001 when his older sister, Sarah Gates Keel ’04, attended Guilford.

                   “My sister is 10 years ahead of me and we couldn’t do anything outside of the family except go to Guilford games, ” Gates said.

                  “Andrew wanted to go to Burger King and play in the ball pit, and Sarah wanted to go shopping or something. Basketball is something everybody could be happy with,” said Lynn Gates, Andrew’s mother.

                  Former Guilford associate head coach Matt Parke met Gates, asked him to come to games, and Gates has been coming ever since. Now Gates is on his way to a Guilford diploma as he will be a full time student at Guilford next school year.

                  “To me this is the way basketball should be,” he Gates “These kids aren’t getting full rides to come here. They come to play here because they love the game. It’s more pure basketball to me than Division I.”

                  In the 10 years Gates has been following the Quakers, he’s seen some of the best players in school history as Guilford grew into a national power.

                  “My three favorite players I’ve seen here is a tie between Ben Strong ‘08, Tyler Sanborn ‘10, and Josh Pittman ‘13,” said Gates, who appreciates players that score the ball. “My favorite graduating class would have to be (Caleb) Kimbrough’s class ‘07.”

                  “My favorite game would have to be the Sweet 16 game (against Lincoln Pa.) at Virginia Wesleyan when Jordan Snipes banked in about a 20-foot leaner to send the game into overtime and Ben Strong scored 59.”

                  Gates hopes to be remembered as a positive supporter. “I just encourage. If somebody has a down game, I just go congratulate them anyway. I just want to be there encouraging and supporting.”

                  Lynn Gates agreed saying, “We’re with you through thick and thin and it’s so gratifying to see you grow up and come together as a team.”

King's Journey Leads from Archdale, to App, to Guilford, to the U.S. Army

The road for receiver Ben King from his home in Archdale, N.C. to Appalachian State, to Guilford College, to his eventual spot in the U.S. Army’s Basic Training is one of twists and turns.

It starts at Trinity High School where King was a standout on the gridiron and won a state championship in basketball. King’s efforts in football earned him a spot on Division I Football Championship Subdivision powerhouse Appalachian State’s roster. After redshirting his first year at State, and dealing with debilitating injuries the other two, King transferred to Guilford in August of 2010.

King came to Guilford for two simple reasons. “I came to Guilford because it was close to home and I wanted to play football,” said King.

King’s transfer to Guilford did not lead the Quakers to any wins in 2010 as Guilford went 0-10, but in 2011 King helped the Quakers to two wins including a victory over cross-town rival Greensboro College. He was named Guilford’s game MVP after catching 10 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns.

King garnered First Team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) honors in 2011 and Second-Team All-ODAC the previous year.  He was named Third Team All-South region in 2011. He also led the Quakers in all receiving categories in 2010 and 2011 and set a new record for receiving yards in a single game with 251 yards in 2010.

“I think Ben’s success came because he had a lot of talent,” said head football coach Chris Rusiewicz. “He has great speed, quickness, ability to break away on a burst, and his desire to catch the football. When the ball’s up in the air he’s determined to go get it.  For a lot of great receivers that (want to) makes all the difference.”

King left a team that won three Division I FCS National Titles from 2005-07 to join the Quakers. “It was hard for me to go from winning to losing, but that’s part of life. You have to deal with losing, but I learned from it and I feel like it made me a better person overall,” said King.

 After the 2010 former head coach Kevin Keisel was let go. The coaching staff got a complete overhaul for what would be King’s final season and there were new players at quarterback, running back, and receiver. The result was a young and enthusiastic group, but one that still could not compete with the top teams in the ODAC. Factor in Add injuries to starting quarterback Zac Halbert and starting center Faris El-Ali and the Quakers were in for another challenging season.

“I would definitely have loved to win more games, if that had meant not experiencing so much personal success but winning more games I would have traded that in a heartbeat,” said King.

Despite the struggles on the field, King still enjoyed his time at Guilford. “I really had a bond with my teammates from last year. This year I was kind of the old guy on the team, but last year was really special,” said King.

King’s athletic pursuits are not completely done at Guilford as he will compete with Guilford’s  track and field team this spring. He hopes the running will prepare him for his next challenge, the U.S. Army.

After graduating in May King plans on going through basic training in the Army, followed by Officer's Candidate School. He wants to complete his time in the military, travel, and use his training to enter the field of federal law enforcement, which has always been a field of interest for him. If that does not work out King will try o use the business management degree he earned at Guilford.

King says he’ll miss Guilford, but treasures of the past two years. “I will definitely remember being on and off the field with my teammates, having a good time and competing.”

Smith Finds Success on the Track and in the Art Design World

Smith '14

            Speed is a passion of people. We love fast cars, we love fast boats, but most of all, we love fast people. Guilford sophomore Johnathan Smith has speed, and lots of it. In his rookie year he became Guilford’s first track & field athlete to reach the NCAA Championships. He went on to win All-America honors in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes. During the upcoming indoor season, he will also run the 55- and the 60-meter races.

            “My favorite is the 200,” said Smith. “Towards the end guys start to get tired and that’s when I start to speed up.” Smith made his aptitude for the 200-meter obvious at the 2010 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships when he won the event and helped Guilford to a fourth-place finish.

            Smith then placed second in the event at the 2010 NCAA Division III National Championships by a mere half second. He also set the school record in a qualifying heat with a time of 21.15 seconds. Smith also earned All-America status in the 100 by finishing sixth with a time of 10.98 seconds. He holds Guilford records in both events

            With such lofty times some might wonder why Smith didn’t try to ply his trade at a Division I school. Smith made it clear his unaccomplished goals at Guilford were the reason for his return.

            “Winning a championship was a big incentive,” said Smith. “We’re building a team from the ground up and I want to help put Guilford on the map.”

            For his sophomore season Smith’s goals are equally lofty. “I want to go to nationals again and try to win a national championship,” said Smith. To this end Guilford sprint coach Marcus Bell has a goal for Smith’s improvement.

            “We want him to get down to 10.5 in the 100,” said Bell.

            Smith, a West Coast transplant by way of Conyers, Ga. came to Guilford to get his art degree and because of the scenic campus. Art was Smith’s first passion as he only picked up track his senior year in high school. As for his interest in art, Smith enjoys web site design and plans on making that his career.

            “I want to work in web design and design websites for companies,” said Smith. Smith worked with the Kaiji Foundation out of Mclean, Va., on building their website design. Smith has also crafted flyers, posters, and made CD covers for various music artists and events. Smith is currently working with fellow Guilford students Travis Robinson and CJ Green on a T-shirt designing project called Unique Critique.

            “This is serious for me for the future,” said Smith. “Right now it’s getting off the ground, but if it gets big, it will be a job for me after college.”

            Though his graduation date is far removed, Smith still has an eye on his future as a runner. “I’m interested in running professionally,” said Smith. “It’s just all about making the times.”

            This is not going to be an easy step for Smith according to Guilford head Track & Field Coach Bill Cason.

            “Right now there’s a level of training out there he doesn’t even know about,” said Cason. “He has all the physical tools. He’s got the DNA, but he’s got to work much, much harder.”

Story By Will Cloyd

Broos Training Room Provides Space for Healing and Learning

Walking through the new Mary G. Broos Training Facility in the basement of Alumni Gym, the first thing that strikes me is the huge space. The old training room only had four treatment tables, but now nine shiny crimson treatment tables flank two walls. In the old room, student-athletes often had to awkwardly hop on counters for treatment on. Now a large, low, gray table connected to an island provides ample work space.



The offices of the new training room



Two spacious offices for staff sit on the back wall next to a short hallway, which leads to an evaluation room for visiting team doctors. In the middle of the training room an island connects with the gray table, which holds various supplies. The old space only had two cramped offices and no private evaluation area. Opposite the offices and evaluation room, twin ice baths provide plenty of space for post practice and post-game soaking.

The old training room, now a refurbished locker room, will serve different teams based on season and need. Athletes and trainers packed in the old space like pedestrians in a subway. I remember vividly student-athletes packing the room looking for treatment. There was always a struggle to accommodate everyone. When we hosted teams there was even less room as visiting teams also needed treatment.

“We can take care of a lot more people a lot faster than we used to,” said assistant athletic trainer Danielle Duffy. “The fact that we can fit a soccer team and a volleyball team and a football team, plus visiting teams, makes our jobs a lot easier.”

Head athletic trainer Gary Rizza also noted how the new facility will help attract students to the college and aid coaches in recruiting.

“Coaches can bring recruits down here with their parents and see what we have in here, as well as what’s out on the field,” said Rizza.

The old training facility, now a locker room

One thing in particular that I like, and visiting recruits will like as well, is the ice bath room. I use the ice baths often after basketball practice and they are great for tired legs. In the old training room, the ice baths were in the main room, sandwiched between the ice machine and two treatment tables. The quarters were cramped and rubber mats were required because the floor was not slip-resistant. I almost fell several times. Now there is more space for the tubs and the floors are designed for wet feet.

Assistant athletic trainer Jared Siglin noted out how the old facility also did not stack up against the competition in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.

“You look at a place like Virginia Wesleyan, that doesn’t have a football team, and they had a bigger space than we did,” said Siglin. “Four treatment tables (in the old facility) were not enough for all the students we had coming in. We were behind the times.”

Duffy added the old facility did not fit all the people and waiting became an issue. It was also old, occupying the same space since Alumni Gym was constructed in 1950.

The space is named for Broos, Guilford’s athletic trainer from 1978 to 2008, because of her over 30 years of service and to honor her role as a trailblazer in the profession. When she started at Guilford in 1978 she was the only woman in charge of a college sports medicine program in North Carolina. Broos did not expect the room to be named in her honor and was very emotional about the new training space.

“I felt very humbled and very surprised to be honored. I never dreamed about this happening. It was just a shock,” said Broos. “The room will allow students more space to come in and work as well as learn.”

Story by Will Cloyd 

Musically and on the Pitching Mound, Winterstein is at the Top of His Game



Winterstein '12



Coming off an injury is one of the most frustrating experiences an athlete can go through. Rehabilitation is a difficult experience that presents trial and hardship more than any other athletic preparation. For Guilford senior pitcher Micah Winterstein, aka DJ Skywalker, this frustration was doubled due to the nature of his injury and its consequences.

“In high school l started having pain my junior year in my elbow and the doctor and I weren’t sure what was causing the pain, so I did some therapy,” said Winterstein. What started out as tendonitis led to a tear, and Winterstein underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow after his senior year. This procedure takes a tendon from another part of the body and replaces the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow. This double procedure is highly risky and the rehabilitation process is long.

“After Tommy John it was very discouraging, because there wasn’t an immediate time that I could get back on the field,” said Winterstein.

It was also in high school that Winterstein began to DJ as a hobby.

“It started out as a hobby for sure. Music is something that I really love and have a strong passion for and as I progressively did it more and got better at it, that hobby became something I could use as a job.”

At Guilford Winterstein met, and began to collaborate with hip-hop artist Beau Young Prince, a fellow student. The pair hit it off and opened shows for major artists, such as Chiddy Bang and Wale.

After the surgery, Winterstein didn’t play at all his freshman year and played for the Quakers' developmental baseball team in 2010. Assistant baseball coach Daniel Hadra saw potential in Winterstein and suggested he drop down to a sidearm release from his more conventional over-the-top release.

“Coming off his previous arm surgery, I didn’t see him having a spot on the team. He wasn’t good enough,” said Hadra. “I saw he wanted to play and he’s extremely athletic. I thought dropping down wouldn’t be a drastic change.”

Winterstein’s new sidearm release made him far more effective.

“My strength isn’t blowing by people, but it’s relying on how much I can move the ball and putting the ball where I want,” Winterstein said. “Pitching sidearm allowed me to get more of that movement.”

In 2011 he came into his own as a pitcher. Winterstein posted a team-best 2.45 earned run average in 22 innings. He pitched effectively in 12 appearances out of the bullpen. His effectiveness was even more noticeable due to his interesting pitching style. Entering his senior season Hadra, has high expectations of Winterstein.

“He’ll come out of the bullpen and pitch two, three, four innings. I really want to get to him as fast as I can,” said Hadra. “He (Winterstein) had the best fall of any pitcher on the team. He’s much better than last year. He has much more confidence.”

As for his future as a DJ, Winterstein continues to take music one day at a time. He is not affiliated with any record label, although Popup Shop Records supports Beau Young Prince. The duo continue to collaborate and do shows on campus, as well as off.

Winterstein’s is at the top of his game musically and on the baseball diamond. He’s taking his success and his future plans one day at a time though, for someone who had to overcome so much adversity that only makes sense.

Kosgei Gets Long Overdue Trip Home

Kosgei '12

            On a bright September morning senior Derick Kosgei takes off from the starting line at the Guilford X-C Carnival and a little over 16 minutes later he crosses the finish line with a very solid fourth-place finish, one that helps Guilford’s cross country team win its season-opening meet.

            A little less than a month later, Kosgei is on a plane back to Kenya for the first time in four years after the passing of his grandmother.

            Part of the reason he hadn’t been home sooner is the expensive trip. In order to make this trek, head cross country coach Bill Cason coordinated the fundraising effort, relying mostly on Facebook.

            “It started on a Wednesday night I just sent out some Facebook messages to some friends and a post on the Guilford Track & Field Facebook page,” said Cason.

            Someone at the Greensboro News & Record picked up on the news and ran a story the following day. The money started flowing in from multiple sources.

            “The phone just started ringing and the first guy who called asked how much money we had, about $150, and I said we needed about $2,000, and he said he’d have the check over shortly,” said Cason.

             “It was good to go home, even though everyone was mourning. It was still good to go back,” said Kosgei.

            The trip back home gave Kosgei an opportunity to reflect on what it’s like to live in America as opposed to Africa. “The infrastructure here is much better. The roads, and the technology are better than home too,” said Kosgei.

            Kosgei first went to school at East Central College in Oklahoma then transferred to Guilford. He came to America to run and to get his education.

 “A friend of mine got me into running,” said Kosgei.

            “His brother ran in America and he told me I could be good since I was a better athlete than him.” Kosgei took to running like a fish to water and came across the Atlantic to test his skills.

Since coming to Guilford Kosgei’s hard work earned him 2010 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Runner of the Year and First Team All-ODAC honors. He was also Guilford’s first contestant in the Division III Cross Country National Championships.

Kosgei running at the Guilford X-C Carival

Cason collected $3,000 the day after Kosgei’s story broke, and after the collection was over, he had enough money for multiple trips to Africa, $3,775 in total.

            “The man who donated first was a Guilford grad who hadn’t been back on campus since he graduated. He brought the money over himself, so that was pretty special,” Cason said.

            Kosgei looks ahead to the future with lofty goals and optimism. “My main goal this season is to go to nationals and be an All-American”.

            As for life after Guilford Kosgei plans on staying the course both in his education and running. “I want to go to graduate school and continue to run, maybe run in some competitions,” said Kosgei.

            No matter what lies ahead Kosgei’s trip home was a long overdue homecoming for a young man who spent far too many nights away.

Mercier Making Strides on the Long Road to the Pros

Mercier '14

Sophomore Tyler Mercier has always had to work for things in his life on and off the tennis court. This kid is the best tennis player at Guilford and he's paying his own way through college. Coming from a working-class background in Omaha, Neb., Mercier began working at an early age in various capacities.

 "I worked at Applebee's and other restaurants. I also shucked corn," said Mercier. Mercier's work in the fields of the great Midwest taught him the value of hard work and self-reliance. It also taught him to dream big.

"I plan to go pro (after I graduate)," said Mercier, who has enjoyed his time at Guilford and used the time to work on his game and have new experiences at College.

"Guilford really showed me that I need to get my stuff together, because at home I didn’t really have the tools to succeed," said Mercier, who is also getting a job here in Greensboro.

His work ethic extends to the offseason. Mercier, for financial reasons, cannot go home during the summer and has only been home for about two weeks since he came to Guilford. Instead, he travels to Gainsville, Fla. to live with his aunt and work on his game. Paying for practice space in the Midwest is exorbitant and Mercier can ill afford to waste money, so the arrangements work out.

Mercier, who has a brother and sister who both play college tennis, had a shot to play tennis at the University of Oregon at Eugene, his sentimental first choice, but came to Guilford because he wanted to be the number-one player and because of the influence of head coach Dave McCain.

"He found me on a website and I flew out here for a visit," said Mercier. McCain is a huge part of the reason Mercier chose Guilford as McCain's expertise and experience as a coach appeal to him. McCain helped Mercier excel last year as he won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year Award and finished with a 12-3 record as the Quakers’ top singles and doubles player. His goals for this year, however, are even higher.

"I really want to go undefeated," said Mercier. The goal was dashed, however, this past weekend at the ITA Division III South Region Championship where Brian Kowalski of Emory exposed Mercier’s weaknesses on the court, his tendency to take too many risks and let opponents get in his head.

“He faced a guy who just didn’t miss,” said McCain. “Tennis is a game of confidence, once you lose that then it’s tough to win.”

McCain’s praises Mercier’s physical game saying, “ He hits the ball really, really well, we’re trying to get him to open up the court and hit smarter shots.”

McCain also feels that Mercier has a shot at the pros, but that it will be an uphill battle as his mental toughness catches up with his physical toughness.

“About three players playing college tennis play on the tour (each year),” said McCain. He says that as long as Mercier keeps his cool on the court that he will get a shot at going pro.

But for a kid coming from Omaha who came to Guilford with a dollar and a dream, a shot is all he can ask for.

Story by Will Cloyd