Edinburg North senior and UIL 6A 800m state champion Keyshawn Garcia ventured out of the friendly confines of the Texas state borders to compete in a national competition. He fared pretty well by adding the win over other state champions and notching a new personal best time of 1:51.61.
Garcia executed a great last 250m and relied on his superior speed to outkick the early race fast starters. He shared with MileSplit that he knew he was faster than everyone and that confidence led to his composed running in the pressurized race. Garcia who also qualified for the UIL 6A state track meet in boasts a 48.51 personal best performance this year.
There were several other Texan half milers who ran and two others finished in the top-10. TAPPS 5A and TTFFCA champion Marcus Gaitan from Houston Lutheran South finished fifth overall after leading the majority of the race. Gaitan who ran 1:50.29 last week ran another elite performance with his 1:51.26. Alexander Niemiec (Canyon) entered with a 1:54.53 previous personal best ended up running the race of his life. Niemiec also finished with a barn burning kick showing his racing moxy and lowered his PR by nearly three seconds as he earned a 1:51.75 new personal best.
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