With the cancellation of the remainder of the spring season and the winter championships, the Cortland seniors and graduate students from those rosters will be highlighted each week. Today's featured student-athlete is senior Chad Dunham from the men's track and field team.

When did you start competing in your specific sport?
I started competing in modified, so seventh grade.
 
What is your major and why have you chosen it?
I'm a history major. I've sort of found myself thrust into it by happenstance but mostly because to me history is one giant story, and I find it fascinating.
 
If you weren't playing your sport at the collegiate level, what other sport do you think you would be competing in at the collegiate level?
Probably lacrosse or ninth-string quarterback.
 
If you had only one sport to play the rest of your life, besides your sport at Cortland, what would it be?
That's a hard question. Like a lot of distance runners, I'm a one-trick-pony but probably golf for the sake of longevity.
 
Why did you choose Cortland to continue your athletic career?
I'd always admired Cortland runners when I was running for the other school I attended. I knew Coach Patrick to be well-respected and when I met with him, he was very warm and welcoming, so I was comfortable and enthusiastic to come here and run. 
 
What is your favorite memory at Cortland as a student-athlete?
Rolling big, long runs with my teammates each Sunday morning between August and November.
 
What is your favorite memory at Cortland as a student?
Getting the chance to take classes with so many intelligent professors. It's hard to narrow down any one specific class or project, but the History department has some wonderful faculty.
 
If you had to eat just one fruit the rest of your life, what would it be?
Watermelon without a second thought.
 
Would you rather go bowling, throw darts or shoot pool?
Shoot pool.
 
Would you rather go fishing, go sledding or go for a hike?
Hiking without a doubt.
 
What show are you most likely to binge watch now that you have more free time?
I seriously cannot name a current TV show. Maybe How I Met Your Mother?
 
What are your plans after this semester?
To go to graduate school and keep acquiring smarts. I'd like to be a grad assistant coach as well.
 
What are your thoughts about the shutdown of athletics throughout all divisions?
I think that it makes sense granted the seriousness and our lack of understanding (or acceptance) of how serious the virus is. I came across someone who said something along the lines of in the end it will be obvious if we over or under reacted to this crisis, and in a crisis, I'm going to assume it's better to overreact. It's heartbreaking to lose a senior season for sure, especially when athletes were told the cancellation at their national championship. But in the end, there's more to life than sport sometimes, and the majority of us will forget this lost chance at a season and remember the time spent with our friends instead as life continues. So, for the sake of not getting more people sick and stressing our hospital systems, the shutdown seems necessary.
 
Will you consider using the extra year of eligibility that the NCAA has allowed due to the shutdown?
If the opportunity presents itself, certainly. I haven't decided if it's something I'm going to seek out yet.
 
If you needed to turn to one teammate in a crisis situation, who would that be and why?
Probably Cabel McCandless. We've done many 20-mile runs together and in the course of that you get to know a person pretty intimately.
 
If you needed a teammate to make you laugh, who would it be?
Grant Boyd. I'd never tell him this, but he may be the funniest person I've met.
 
Yes or no, milk in meatballs?
Oddly enough, I do have an opinion about this as I used to work in a meat room and made meatballs. Yes, because the milk will help tenderize tough cuts of meat used in making the meatballs and keep the meat from drying out without altering the flavor. Eggs will do the same thing.