Garcia commits to Monterey Bay
EL CENTRO — Despite having only competed as a member of his school’s cross-country team for three seasons, Nathan Garcia made enough of an impact at Southwest High School to garner the attention of college scouts.
Back in December, Garcia filled out a recruitment questionnaire sent to him by Cal State Monterey Bay and followed that up with a visit to the university in January.
During his visit, the Eagle senior had the opportunity to train with the team and explore the campus. “I really enjoyed it,” Garcia said of his visit. “They made me feel like they really wanted me there and it helped to be able to run with the team.”
Monterey Bay’s recruitment of Garcia paid off as the accomplished distance runner committed to the Otters’ cross-country program during a signing ceremony on Eagle Field at Southwest High. “It was between (CSUMB) and the University of Redlands,” Garcia said. “I just liked the location a lot better, they offered me more and overall I liked the coaches and team better.”
Monterey Bay picked up a solid athlete in Garcia as he helped the Eagles to an Imperial Valley League cross-country title his junior season and also earned backto-back IVL Athlete of the Year honors his junior and senior year.
This year, Garcia set new a school record at the Eagles’ home course located at Sunbeam Lake, after he completed the three-mile path in 15 minutes, 44 seconds on Nov. 10 at the IVL finals.
In addition to being a decorated cross-country athlete, Garcia also competes for Southwest’s track and field team. The 18-year-old is the defending IVL champion in the 1600 and 3200 meter events and recently set a new school record in that sport as well.
At the Arcadia Invitational on Saturday, Garcia completed the 3200 meters in 9:43, breaking the previous Southwest High record by about 10 seconds.
Garcia’s dedication to his training and recovery is one of the many reasons his cross-country and track coach, Richard Bird, believes he’ll be successful at the next level. “Nathan really showed his dedication this year,” Bird said, and recalled Garcia crawling to the finish during the CIF-San Diego Section Cross-Country Championship in order to complete the race. “He really stepped it up with his training and worked on his own.” Garcia will be joining a veteran Otter squad later this year, which has plenty of returning talent from 2017. Last season Monterey Bay took first place at the Humboldt State Invitational and advanced to the NCAA Div. II West Region meet in Oregon.
The Otters compete in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, which is the most successful conference in Div. II of the NCAA.
Garcia said it was this level of competition that he was looking forward to the most.
“I think it’ll be exciting to see how I compare to the other runners,” he said. Garcia plans to pursue a degree in psychology and said he’d mostly miss traveling and spending time with his teammates on the way to meets.