Inspired by a movie, Golden Valley star tried a sport. Now he has a college scholarship.
Inspired by the movie “MacFarland, USA,” Golden Valley senior Christian Garcia decided to try cross country four years ago.
Now he’s headed to college with a scholarship.
Garcia knew he wanted to try a sport when he got to high school. He just wasn’t sure which one.
Then one day he watched the movie “MacFarland, USA” and decided he give cross country a shot. The movie told the story of how the small Central Valley school’s cross county team won a state championship in 1987.
“It was just seeing how they achieved their goals,” Garcia said. “They were underdogs.”
Garcia joined the Golden Valley cross country team and during his high school career he worked his way to becoming one of the top runners on the team.
On Thursday afternoon, Garcia had his movie-like ending as he signed his national letter of intent to run cross country at San Diego Christian College. Garcia will be receiving an athletic and academic scholarship to attend San Diego Christian.
“It’s a dream come true,” Garcia said. “A lot of hard work paid off.”
Garcia’s love for cross country wasn’t an instant attraction. After his first practice as a freshman he wanted to quit.
“I hated it at first,” he said. “But I just kept doing it. I remember seeing how some of the runners had smiles on their faces after they were done. I remember thinking how could they be smiling after running that far. Now I’m one of those smiling after a race.”
Golden Valley cross country coach John Wooding says Garcia wasn’t one of the top athletes when he joined the team as a freshman, but he’s definitely one of the top athletes now.
“Christian is one of the hardest working kids we’ve ever had,” Wooding said. “He wants to be good, he wants to be competitive, he’s always asking what he needs to do to get better.”
Garcia says he was close to committing to a school in Kansas before San Diego Christian College came in the picture late. He preferred to stay in California and quickly felt comfortable with the coaches and teammates.
Garcia, who compiled a 3.25 GPA at Golden Valley, plans to major in criminology.
This story was originally published January 29, 2021 at 3:03 PM.
