Garcia finishes 65th at Nationals, sets PR

Alejandro Garcia, senior of Pine Bluffs, Wyoming, completed an impressive season finishing 65th of 242 competitors at the 2016 NCAA D-II Men’s Cross Country Championships Saturday in St. Leo, Florida.
Garcia clocked a personal record of 31 minutes, 44 seconds on the 10k course.
“He (Garcia) went out really fast,” Head Cross Country Coach Brian Medigovich said. “He ran the first mile of the 10k, which was uphill, in about 4:30, what most high school kids run just a mile in. But he ran really well overall on a tough course and a hot day.”
In addition to being the first CSC cross country runner to compete at a national meet and setting a PR, Garcia was awarded the NCAA D-II Men’s Cross Country Elite 90 Award Friday.
The NCAA website states, “The ELITE 90, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers.”
The Elite 90 honors an individual competitor at each of the NCAA’s 90 national championships. These individuals must be at least a sophomore both academically and athletically and in at least their second year of athletic eligibility at their current institution. The individual must also have the highest cumulative grade point average among his or her peers at the championships with only credits earned at his or her current institution.
Garcia is a physical education major with a 4.0 GPA after completing 70 credit hours at Chadron State. Prior to CSC, Garcia completed 77 credits at Gillette College, Gillette, Wyoming.
According to Medigovich, Garcia does not have any indoor track and field eligibility remaining so he will take a break then start off slower in his training to gear up for the 2017 outdoor track season.