For four years, Carlos Garcia was the best Bishop Kenny High School had to offer.
He won three state championships as a member of the 4x800 relay team and was a constant threat in the mile and two-mile events while running for the Jacksonville school.
Garcia graduated from Bishop Kenny for a four-year stint at Lafayette College where he ran cross country and outdoor track. After coming back to Jacksonville, Garcia applied for a job teaching Spanish at his alma mater and got it quickly. He was prepared to assist his former coach Brian Devine until Devine moved out of state last summer. Suddenly, Garcia, only five years older than many of Bishop Kenny's runners, was back on the team, this time as cross country and track coach.
At 24, Garcia knows he's young. Years younger than Devine who was considered a father figure to the Bishop Kenny runners.
"I think they respect me even though I am closer to their age,'' Garcia said of his runners. "I think they look at me as m...