Former Student-Athlete Spotlights (Dec 2025)
Would you like to be featured in the next 'Block S' Club Alumni Spotlight? We'd love to share your story! Fill out the interest form HERE and we'll be in touch! We plan to highlight one men's student-athlete and one female student-athlete each quarter. Read our last alumni spotlights here.
Christopher Elmore '22
FootballIf you google the words “selfless”, you’ll probably see a picture of Chris Elmore right there. Chris “Rhino” Elmore is everything you’d want in a player – adaptability, selflessness, and drive. Chris’ adaptability was put to the test many times in his football career at Syracuse. During his 2020 football season at Syracuse, his team suffered from countless injuries, leaving the team weakened in various positions. What seems like a nightmare season to have as coach soon came with a bright spot.
That bright spot was Chris. Chris selflessly gave up his fullback slot and played offensive guard for the first nine games. Something he hadn’t done since middle school. Back in his hometown of Chicago, Chris grew up playing fullback and defensive tackle in high school, but at Syracuse his role was more than multiplied. As his team suffered from untimely injuries, Chris stepped up. In that season he played defensive tackle, offensive tackle, fullback, tight end, and kick returner. Imagine training most of your life to master your position and then being thrown into a whole new role. Most college athletes would shy away from taking on all those different positions and responsibilities, but not Chris. He accepted it.
“Chris Elmore is so unselfish. We would not have been able to finish the season without him. I can’t thank him enough for the unselfish act he did in keeping us afloat and keeping us running through these games,” said former Syracuse Football Coach Dino Babers. Not only is he the type of player that coaches love, but he was well-loved by his Syracuse teammates as well.
“Chris Elmore is an amazing football player. Since I got here, I watched him step into roles that not a lot of guys could step into. The guy can do anything. If every quarterback goes down, guess who’s going to be playing quarterback — Rhino. He’s a heckuva player,” said Chris’s Syracuse teammate, Taj Harris.
Chris’ adaptability and selflessness is what lead him to go on to play professionally in the AFL with the Grand Rapids Rampage. But aside from his playing career, his biggest impact has been inspiring his community back in Chicago.
Chris competed at the highest level in collegiate athletics and then continued to play professionally, but he didn’t just do it for himself. He did it for those around him. He wanted to be a positive representation of what it looks like to make it out of the Southside of Chicago, and he did that and more.
Chris was and still is a role model for many, not just for the community of Chicago, but for men everywhere of all ages. Chris’ adaptability, selflessness, and drive can translate to any career or sport. Whether you are putting on pads, shooting hoops, or working in the corporate world, Chris’ character is something that everyone can learn from.
Today, Chris is a football coach at Morgan Park High School where he helped his team win the 2025 Great American Rivalry Series. Chris now spends his time pouring back into young men who have the same dream he had as a kid – to play football at the highest level.
Stay connected with Chris on Instagram: @j5_elmore
Aviana K. Goode '20
Track and FieldAviana, also known as Avi, is no stranger to success on the track. Before turning 18, Avi had already won three state championships and earned multiple bronze medals, along with a silver, while competing for her high school track team — and even added a school record in the process. Her winning nature carried over to Syracuse where she balanced being a student and an athlete, studying Communication and Rhetorical Studies at VPA and Sports Revenue Management & Operations at Falk College. This balance paid off as she earned top-six finishes at the 2019 ACC Indoor and Outdoor Championships in the high jump. She continued to add to her long list of track achievements during her graduate transfer year when she competed for The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) where she previously held the indoor program record for 60m hurdles and the outdoor record for the 100m hurdles and heptathlon. Although she no longer competes on the track, she has found a new way to stay involved with the sport she loves.
It was always Aviana’s dream to earn a trip to TrackTown USA in Eugene, Oregon. For those who may not know, TrackTown is a world-class track and field facility organizing events such as the 2015, 2022, 2023 USATF Outdoor Championships and the 2016, 2020, and 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Aviana’s dream to make it to TrackTown USA, also known as Hayward Field, came true when she was selected as one of four photographers to cover the 2024 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team Trials as park of the Black Women Photographers and TrackTown USA creative team.
“It was surreal,” Aviana said. “My goal in life, in track and field specifically, was always to make it to Hayward Field. It was supposed to be as an athlete, but I guess God had different plans for me. I ended up there with a whole new lens, literally and figuratively.”
Aviana spent over a week at TrackTown shooting world-class athletes like Olympic champion and eight-time World Champion, Noah Lyles, Olympic long jump champion, Tara Davis-Woodhall, and even Olympian and World Record breaker, Sydney McLaughlin.
The unique part about the entire situation is that Avianna was just a newbie in the sports photography world at this point. She had started sports photography just two years prior to shooting on this world-class stage and had only shot one outdoor track meet before. Despite the lack of experience, Polly Irungu, founder of Black Women Photographers, loved her photos and style.
The opportunity to shoot the Olympic Trials allowed Aviana to grow tremendously as a person but also as a photographer. While covering the Olympic Trials, she noticed that not many women of color were working as creatives although the sport is predominately black. There were only five other creatives that were black women that she saw capturing the events at TrackTown. This realization inspired Avi to be a role model and a representation for young black women and women of color who want to step into the creative world. As a freelance photographer based in NYC, she continues to refine her craft, working with athletes, brands, and events to create high-impact imagery that resonates.
"Being a photographer allows me to go out there and still feel like an athlete. I can feel the emotion. I'm capturing everything to remember the moment and to show the love and passion for the sport that I think is the hardest sport in the world, Aviana said.
Stay connected with Aviana on Linkedin: Aviana Goode | LinkedIn & Instagram: @goode.flicks
Archived Alumni Spotlights:
September 2025
July 2025
