SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Furman indoor track and field athlete Cameron Ponder has been named the Southern Conference Student-Athlete of the Week for all competition from March 9-15. The selection, Ponder’s second of the season, is made by the conference office.
 
Ponder received second-team All-America honors after recording a time of 8:03.99 to finish 11^th in the 3,000-meter run at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday, March 12, at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama. The senior qualified for the meet for the second consecutive year after posting a career-best time of 7:45.56 in the event at the JDL DMR Invitational on Feb. 19, with his time ranking 11^th on the NCAA Indoor Championships qualifying list and 14^th nationally. Ponder, who earned first-team All-America accolades in the 3,000-meter last season after recording a time of 7:54.56 to take eighth place at the NCAA Championships, is the sixth Paladin in the history of the Furman’s men’s indoor track and field program to earn the honor. He has recorded four sub-4:00 mile marks during his indoor track career and won the mile with a time of 3:59.75 at the Southern Conference Championships in February. The Winston-Salem, North Carolina, native also competed as a member of the Paladins' DMR team, which took silver at the event.
 
Ponder maintains a 3.41 grade point average and is pursuing a degree in economics.
 
The 2022 men’s outdoor track and field campaign begins on Friday, March 25, with a few Paladins set to compete in NC State’s Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the rest scheduled to compete at South Carolina’s USC Weems Baskin meet.
 
Also nominated for Student-Athlete of the Week: Laylo Bakhodirova (ETSU women’s tennis), Bill Knight (Mercer baseball), Emily Coltharp (Chattanooga softball) and Matthew Marchal (Wofford baseball).
 
SoCon Student-Athletes of the Week
Sept. 1       Meghan Yaffa, R-Jr., OH, Wofford volleyball
Sept. 7       Hamp Sisson, Jr., QB, Furman football
Sept. 15     Timmy Bleekrode, R-So., PK/P, Furman football
Sept. 22     Kayla White, Sr., OH, UNCG volleyball
Sept. 29     Kyla Reynolds, Jr., F, Samford women’s soccer
Oct. 6         Atkins Roberts, So., K/P, Wofford football
Oct. 13       Alyssa Frazier, Sr., MF, Samford women’s soccer
Oct. 20      Cole Strange, Sr., OL, Chattanooga football
Oct. 27       Annie Karle, Sr., OH, Mercer volleyball
Nov. 3       Tereza Malecka, Grad, ETSU women’s golf
Nov. 10      Carol Pyon, Sr., Mercer women’s golf
Nov. 17      Mary Raymond, Jr., MF, Samford women’s soccer
Nov. 24      Malachi Smith, So., G, Chattanooga men’s basketball
Dec. 1       Alexis Tomlin, Sr., F, Wofford women’s basketball
Dec. 8       Abbey Cornelius, Jr., F, Chattanooga women’s basketball
Dec. 15      Andrea Cournoyer, Jr., G, Samford women’s basketball
Dec. 22      Abbey Cornelius, Jr., F, Chattanooga women’s basketball
Dec. 29      Jacksen Greco, So., G, Mercer men’s basketball
Jan. 5        Andrea Cournoyer, Jr., G, Samford women’s basketball
Jan. 12      Alexis Tomlin, Sr., F, Wofford women’s basketball
Jan. 19      Megan Marvin, So., Furman women’s indoor track and field
Jan. 26      Laylo Bakhodirova, Jr., ETSU women’s tennis
Feb. 2        Cameron Ponder, Sr., Furman men’s indoor track and field
Feb. 9        Jacob Greiner, R-So., A, Jacksonville men’s lacrosse
Feb. 16      Megan Marvin, So., Furman women’s indoor track and field
Feb. 23      Brooke Parrott, Jr., P, Chattanooga softball
March 2     Megan Marvin, So., Furman’s women’s indoor track and field
March 9     Alexis Tomlin, Sr., F, Wofford women’s basketball
March 16   Cameron Ponder, Sr., Furman men’s indoor track and field