Freshman (2011):
Took to the course in five competitions during his rookie season ... Season-best 8K time of 26:58 was good for the runner-up spot on the team and 56th overall out of 309 runners at the Southeast Classic ... Ran at the UAA Championships ... Second-best time of 27:48 came at the JSU Foothills Invitational, good for 35th position out of 94 hopefuls ... Also competed at the Sewanee Invitational and Berry College Invitational.

High School:
Four-year member of the cross country and track and field program at Neuqua Valley ... Was coached by Paul Vandersteen ... As a senior, he helped his squad to a third-place finish at the IHSA 3A State Championships by running a personal-best three-mile time of 15:18 ... Turned in a personal best performance of 16:15 in the 5000 meters at the IHSA 3A Regional Championships, good for 11th place out of 63 entries ... All-conference in cross country in 2010.

Personal:
Son of Raj and Neeru Gaikwad ... Plans to major in business ... 2011 Illinois State Scholar.