Garcia paves way for CSC runners

Alejandro Garcia, graduate student of Pine Bluffs, Wyoming, ran strong once again at the Fort Hays State Open Meet Saturday in Victoria, Kansas. He completed the 8k course in 24 minutes, 31 seconds for 8th place of 176 runners.
Garcia ran in an impressive mix of competition including the 2015 NCAA D-II Cross Country Championships winner, Western State’s Keifer Johnson, and Adams State’s Oliver Aitchison who boasts several individual and relay track and field national titles. Garcia crossed the finish line just three seconds behind Johnson and eight seconds ahead of Aitchison.
“This race has definitely given me confidence heading into conference and I hope it also helped to give confidence to my teammates,” Garcia said.
Other scoring Eagles were Dylan Stansbury, senior of Crawford; Riley Howard, freshman of Anchorage, Alaska; Levi Avila, junior of Mitchell; and Eric Yager, junior of Hot Springs, South Dakota, placing 37th, 79th, 84th, and 96th, respectively. The men’s team finished ninth of 19 teams.
On the women’s side, Margaret Vinton, senior of North Platte, covered the 6k course in 18:47 placing her 62nd of 134 runners. Freshmen Savannah Silbaugh, of Upton, Wyoming, and Dominique Oden, of Anaheim, California, followed Vinton in 97th and 105th. Taylor Allison, junior of Gordon, and Vanessa Sawyers, freshman of Hot Springs, South Dakota, were Chadron State’s fourth and fifth runners finishing in 108th and 109th places. The Chadron State women finished 14th out of 15 teams.
“Regionals is our main focus and I believe we can place high as a team,” Garcia said. “Anything can happen and we just need to perform. Individual spots for nationals are open too and are a possibility as well. It’s going to come down to who wants it more.”
Eagle runners will compete next Oct. 22 at the RMAC Championships in Spearfish, South Dakota.