Waxahachie, Texas- November 18, 2015- For the young Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) cross country program, history will be made on Saturday when junior Destiny Garza competes in the 2015 NAIA Cross Country National Championship . This is the first time that a SAGU athlete has competed at the NAIA meet.
It was three and a half years ago that head coach Jason Covarrubias convinced Garza into taking a chance on a brand new program. “I was trying to show her that she had the opportunity to set the scene for the future, build a program from scratch around her, and leave a legacy,” says Covarrubias.
Covarrubias knew no other program around would offer the same opportunity to her. Luckily, Garza realized it too, “I was excited about starting up a new team with coach. He was very enthusiastic about having me on the team and called me almost every day to see if I had made my decision yet. It was clear he was eager to have me on his team.”
Coach Covarrubias’ convincing and Garza’s commitment made her the first signee to the SAGU cross country team.
In her three seasons at SAGU, Garza has become an elite runner. She has made three trips to the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) National Championship , and just last weekend she finished seventh and was named as an NCCAA All-American. Covarrubias swears he saw her talent from the beginning, “If you ask me if I thought then that Destiny would be an elite college athlete, the answer would be YES! She had all the tools then, but now has the desire to lead the future and there is no measurement for that.”
For the past two years Covarrubias attended the NAIA Cross Country National Championship just to experience the festivities and set goals for his program. On Saturday, November 21, 2015, Covarrbias will experience what he has envisioned for a while now. He will have a runner in the mix. Not only a runner in the mix, but one that will compete for a top spot. “Destiny is coming into the race with the 14 th fastest time in the field. She is well prepared and not afraid to compete. There are some fast ladies in this race, but with Destiny’s training and ability to flat out compete, there is no reason she won’t finish in the top 15,” explains Covarrubias.
Garza agrees, her goal is to finish in the top 15 so she can earn an All-American spot, “I expect to run my race with excellence. I want to be able to leave North Carolina satisfied with my work. I’m excited that I’ll be able to be the first SAGU runner to compete at the NAIA Nationals.”
While at the meet, she will be all business. But once it’s over, Garza says she is looking forward to one very much deserved treat, “I’m excited to eat pizza. I haven’t had pizza since the end of April.”
Garza will run at 11:30am eastern standard time. The race can be watched at the NAIANetwork.com .
Southwestern Assemblies of God University is a private, Christian university located 30 minutes south of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Waxahachie, Texas. The university was established in 1927, and now offers more than 70 associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees on campus or online. More information is available at www.sagu.edu or by calling 1-888-YES-SAGU.
Contact: Natalie Tristan, SAGU SID, [email protected]
