Fresno State Athletics
Garcia Named WAC Athlete of the Week
10/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 6, 2008
FRESNO, Calif. - After winning the individual title at the Pepperdine Invitational for the second consecutive year, the Western Athletic Conference named Erick Garcia the Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week on Monday. This is the second time Garcia has won the award this season, fifth in his two seasons at Fresno State.
Garcia, a sophomore from Parlier, Calif. (Parlier HS), finished the 8K race with a time of 24:25.19. Garcia finished ahead of 88 other competitors for the title. Garcia's performance helped Fresno State to a second place team finish.
"Erick really deserved the award with the way he competed this weekend," said cross country coach Sean McManus. "But the way Erick ran the race, he should be named teammate of the week. Erick held back to help the younger guys along and that really made a difference in the way our team finished as a whole."
According to McManus, the team went into the race with the strategy of running as a unit, even if it meant holding back for some racers - like Garcia.
The Bulldogs ran together, keeping at least five of the teammates among the top 20 throughout the race. After running alongside Eric Battles and working their way up the hill together, Garcia cut loose.
"It was pretty special for him to have won the award on a week when he didn't set out to win the race but to help his teammates," said McManus. "His individual effort in the last two miles really allowed him to win the race."
Garcia spotted the race's frontrunner just 30 seconds after taking off from Battles' side and one mile later Garcia was striding alongside the leader. Garcia paced with him for a half mile before pulling away in the final mile to win the race by five seconds.
The Bulldogs compete at the UCSD Triton Classic on Saturday.
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