Rafely Garcia, initially, felt a bit unsure.
As he kicked off his first season of high school track a year ago, the then-Lawrence High sophomore had his doubts that distance running was the right fit.
“A bad experience in the 2-mile had me trying other events for a while,” he said. “I liked the mile OK, but I wouldn’t say I enjoyed the 2-mile right away. It felt daunting. But it really happened out of necessity. The team needed someone to cover the 2-mile, so that was a motivator to give it a try.”
That selfless act proved to be a stroke of luck for both Garcia and the Lancers.
A year later, Garcia has emerged as the Lancers’ top distance runner, winning the mile at last week’s Merrimack Valley Conference Week 2 meet in a then-personal record 4:56.13. He topped that time this week in 4:55.24.
He also ran on the 4×800 relay (9:14.68) that placed second overall at the MSTCA Winter Festival.
“I would say I’m very excited about the start of the track season,” said Garcia. “I’m really excited after seeing my times drop in cross country, and wondering how it would all translate into track. I think I’ve overall performed well. Winning the MVC mile last Friday was really exciting. And now I’m looking forward to the chance to improve my 2-mile PR.”
The win was the second significant victory for the junior, 11 months after he took home the mile title at the MVC Freshman-Sophomore Invitational.
“I started running track because of a clinic in seventh grade, but I mostly gave up on the sport after it,” he said. “The memory of the sport stuck, though. It was an introduction, an introduction that eventually led me to being convinced by to join the team. My now-teammate Jairo (Barrera) told me it would be a good idea for me to join the team.
“My biggest win emotionally in my high school career so far was the Freshmen-Sophomore Invitational. It was a meet that I thought I’d surely lose, an assumption that would’ve proven right if it wasn’t for my strategy that day. It was also my first win, which I guess makes Friday my second.”
Garcia said he was boosted by a strong cross country season, that saw him earn Eagle-Tribune All-Star honorable mention this fall after he placed team-best 39th at MVCs (18:02). He also took second overall (18:07) against Haverhill.
“Running had always been a thing I did to play tag as a kid, but I never quite utilized it in anything other than that,” he said. “So I’d say competitive running was a thing that came later. Cross country season dragged me back to longer distance, improved me overall as a long distance runner, and kept me going through whatever weather or workout we had to go through. It was a really fun experience.”
Lawrence track coach Jonathan Speing is thrilled with the way Garcia has emerged.
“Rafely had a strong cross country season and is really starting to come into his own,” said the coach. “He’s also a very hard working and passionate student athlete.”
While he is happy with his accomplishments, Garcia hopes this is only the start for the winter and spring.
“My goals for the rest of this winter and spring are to improve my 2-mile time and bring it down to something under 11:50,” he said. “Keep running well in the mike and to see if we can run a 4×800 relay soon. It seems like a fun challenge.”
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