HONORS: All-American: Cross Country (2020); Mountain West Student-Athlete of the Year: Cross Country (2020); All-Region: Cross Country (2019); First-Team All-Mountain West: Cross Country (2020); Second-Team All-Mountain West: Cross Country (2019, 2021); USTFCCCA All-Academic Team (2020 XC, 2022 T&F); Academic All-Mountain West (2019 T&F, 2019 XC, 2020 T&F, 2020 XC, 2021 T&F, 2023 T&F); Mountain West Scholar-Athlete (2020 XC, 2021 T&F).
INDOOR RECORDS: Ranks third all-time at USU in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:04.95, set in 2023... Ranks third all-time at USU in the 5,000 meters with a time of 13:53.07, set in 2023.
OUTDOOR RECORDS: Ranks fifth all-time at USU in the 10,000 meters with a time of 28:58.24, set in 2022… Ranks 10th all-time at USU in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:04.19, set in 2021.
2023 (SR)
Cross Country (2022): Placed 214th with a 10K time of 31:17.3 at the NCAA Championships, helping Utah State finish 26th as a team… Finished 41st with an 8K time of 25:04.9 at the Mountain West Championships, where the Aggies placed third as a team… Opened the season by placing 22nd with an 8K time of 23:27.1 at the Lehigh-hosted Paul Short Run to help Utah State place third out of 46 teams… Placed 172nd with an 8K time of 24:34.0 at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational.
Indoor: Finished 13th in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:47.99 and 28th in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:39.11 at the Mountain West Indoor Championships… Set a personal best in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:04.95, which ranks third in school history, as he finished 12th at the Washington Invitational… Set a personal best in the 5,000 meters with a time of 13:53.07, which ranks third in school history, at the Washington-hosted Husky Classic… Set a personal best in the mile with a time of 4:15.59 as he took 12th at the Nebraska-hosted Mark Colligan Memorial.
Outdoor: Finished fourth in the 10,000 meters with a time of 30:19.85 and ninth in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:21.83 at the Mountain West Outdoor Championships… Placed eighth in the 5,000 meters with a season-best time of 14:05.85 at the Oregon Twilight… Took 11th in the 10,000 meters with a season-best time of 29:27.50 at the Stanford-hosted Payton Jordan Invitational… Earned academic all-MW honors.
2022 (SR)
Cross Country (2021): Was the third Aggie across the line at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships, placing 35th with a time of 30:44.7 to help Utah State finish eighth out of 17 teams… Earned second-team all-Mountain West honors after placing 14th with a time of 23:54.1 at the conference championships, helping the Aggies finish third as a team… Finished 46th with a time of 24:01.9 at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational… Placed first in the Gold 8K race with a time of 23:29.4 as Utah State finished fourth out of 40 teams at the Lehigh-hosted Paul Short Run… Opened the season at the Montana State Invitational, where he helped lead the Aggies to the team title by placing sixth with a time of 24:31.60.
Indoor: Placed fifth in the 3,000 meters with a career-best time of 8:14.45, which ranks eighth all-time in school history, at the Mountain West Indoor Championships, where he also finished fourth in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:20.97… Placed second in the 5,000 meters with a career-best time of 14:11.48 – the fifth-fastest time in school history – at the Washington Invitational … Won the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:17.76 at the New Mexico-hosted Don Kirby Elite Invitational
Outdoor: Placed 27th in the 10,000 meters with a time of 29:29.78 at the NCAA West Preliminary Championships… Finished sixth in the 10,000 meters with a time of 31:23.59 at the Mountain West Outdoor Championships… Placed 25th in the 10,000 meters with a personal-best time of 28:54.24, which ranks fourth all-time in school history, at the Stanford Invitational… Finished ninth in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:08.80 at the Fresno State Invitational... Earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors and was named a Joe E. and Elma Whitesides Scholar-Athlete.
2021 (JR)
Cross Country (2020): Earned All-American honors after placing 28th with a time of 30:31.2 at the NCAA National Championships, where he led the Aggies to an 11th-place finish, their best in school history… Named the Mountain West Student-Athlete of the Year and earned first-team all-league honors after capturing the individual title with a time of 23:38.4 at the MW Championships… Posted a top-five finish at the Dixie State Invitational, finishing fourth overall with a time of 23:40.5… Placed 31st with a time of 24:14.4 in the Florida State Winter Classic Garnet Race… Earned USTFCCCA All-Academic, academic all-MW and MW Scholar-Athlete accolades.
Indoor: Season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Outdoor: Competed in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA West Preliminary Championships, but did not finish… Placed fourth in the 5,000 meters with a season-best time of 14:04.19 at the Mountain West Outdoor Championships… Finished seventh in the 10,000 meters with a season-best time of 29:06.64 at the Stanford Invitational… Placed sixth in the 10,000 meters with a time of 29:20.69 at the Fresno State-hosted West Coast Relays… Earned academic all-MW and MW Scholar-Athlete accolades.
2020 (SO)
Cross Country (2019): Placed 99th with a time of 32:06.3 at the NCAA National Championships, where the Aggies finished 16th as a team… Garnered all-region accolades by placing 22nd with a time of 31:06.3 at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships… Earned second-team all-Mountain West honors after placing 14th with a time of 23:40.7 at the conference championships… Helped the Aggies capture their first-ever MW title with 42 team points… Recorded a trio of top-20 finishes in Utah State’s first three meets, placing third (21:52.63) at the USU-hosted Sagebrush Invitational, 10th (25:32.4) at the Montana State Cross Country Classic and 18th (23:51.0) at the Lehigh-hosted Paul Short Run… Placed 111th with a time of 24:39.9 at the Wisconsin-hosted Nuttycombe Invitational... Earned academic all-MW honors.
Indoor: Placed 10th in the 5,000 meters with a time of 15:02.73 at the Mountain West Indoor Championships… Ran season-best time of 14:29.58 in the 5,000 meters at the Washington Invitational, where he placed 12th in the event… Recorded a pair of third-place finishes in the 3,000 meters at the North Dakota State-hosted Bison Team Cup (8:35.19) and the New Mexico-hosted Don Kirby Elite Invitational (season-best time of 8:34.48)… Earned academic all-MW honors.
Outdoor: Season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2019 (FR)
Cross Country (2018): Competed in four meets during the season and recorded a pair of top-15 finishes, placing ninth at the Utah State-hosted Sagebrush Invitational (22:10.33) and 11th at the USU-hosted Steve T. Reeder Memorial Invitational (22:04.64)… Tied for 32nd at the BYU-hosted Autumn Classic (22:03.5) and finished 41st in the unseeded race at Pre-Nationals (26:08.1).
Indoor: Ran career-best times of 2:08.76 in the 800 meters and 4:41.44 in the mile at the Montana State Dual Meet… Ran season-best time of 8:52.51 in the 3,000 meters at the Boise State-hosted Bronco Challenge.
Outdoor: Ran career-best time of 9:01.49 in the 3,000 meters at the Utah Valley Invitational and a season-best time of 15:03.90 in the 5,000 meters at the UC Irvine-hosted Collegiate Classic… Earned academic all-Mountain West honors.
HIGH SCHOOL: A five-time letterwinner in cross country and track & field at Springville (Utah) High School… Tabbed all-region and all-state in cross country… Placed fourth at both the region and state championships in cross country… Placed 50th at the 2017 Nike Cross Nationals… Finished 12th in the two mile at the 5A state track & field championships… Recorded career-best times of 15:21 in the 5,000 meters, 14:47 in the three mile, 9:33 in the 3,200 meters and 4:30 in the 1,600 meters… Helped the Red Devils to three state championships in track & field (2017 and 2018) and cross country (2017)… Helped Springville HS earn two region championships in cross country (2016 and 2017) and place third at the 4A state championships in 2016… Led Red Devils to second-place finish at the Nike Cross Regionals in 2017 and third in 2016… Helped Springville HS capture fifth place at the Nike Cross Nationals in 2017 and 15th in 2016… Member of the National Honor Society… Named academic all-region.
PERSONAL: Son of Alfredo and Stacy Garnica… Has two brothers… His twin brother, Brandon, is a member of BYU’s track & field and cross country teams, and his younger brother, Logan, is a freshman on USU’s track & field and cross country teams... Majoring in mechanical engineering.
PERSONAL BESTS INCLUDE:
| EVENT |
INDOOR |
OUTDOOR |
| 800 Meters |
2:08.76 |
NA |
| Mile |
4:15.59 |
NA |
| 3,000 Meters |
8:04.95 |
9:01.49 |
| 5,000 Meters |
13:53.07 |
14:04.19 |
| 10,000 Meters |
NA |
28:58.24 |
POSTSEASON RESULTS:
NCAA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
| YEAR |
PLACE |
TIME |
| 2019 |
99th |
32:06.3 |
| 2020 |
28th |
30:31.2 |
NCAA CROSS COUNTRY REGIONALS
| YEAR |
PLACE |
TIME |
| 2019 |
22nd |
31:06.3 |
| 2021 |
35th |
30:44.7 |
MW CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
| YEAR |
PLACE |
TIME |
| 2019 |
14th |
23:40.7 |
| 2020 |
1st |
23:38.4 |
| 2021 |
14th |
23:54.1 |
NCAA OUTDOOR WEST PRELIMS
| YEAR |
EVENT |
PLACE |
TIME |
| 2021 |
10,000 Meters |
-- |
DNF |
| 2022 |
10,000 Meters |
27th |
29:29.78 |
MW INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
| YEAR |
EVENT |
PLACE |
TIME |
| 2020 |
5,000 Meters |
10th |
15:02.73 |
| 2022 |
3,000 Meters |
5th |
8:14.45 |
| 2022 |
5,000 Meters |
4th |
14:20.97 |
| 2023 |
3,000 Meters |
28th |
8:39.11 |
| 2023 |
5,000 Meters |
13th |
14:47.99 |
MW OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
| YEAR |
EVENT |
PLACE |
TIME |
| 2021 |
5,000 Meters |
4th |
14:04.19 |
| 2022 |
10,000 Meters |
6th |
31:23.59 |
| 2023 |
5,000 Meters |
9th |
14:21.83 |
| 2023 |
10,000 Meters |
4th |
30:19.85 |
