From Scotties to Salem: Magracia Makes Cross Country Trek to Success

Talk about cross country.

It’s 2,450 miles from 7323 University Ave. in La Mesa to 601 S. Church St., Winston-Salem, NC—the distance between Helix Charter High School and Salem College.

But according to Jamie Williams, Salem cross country coach, Highlander runner Cristi Marie Magracia was not some obscure and distant talent. She was his top recruit.  

“She is receiving [an] academic scholarship,” Williams said Wednesday after Magracia was named the Great South Athletic Conference Runner of the Week. The honor came in the wake of her second-place finish at 5,000 meters (3.1 miles) at the Wilbur Ross Invitational hosted by Winston-Salem State University.

She ran a personal best of 20 minutes, 39 seconds.

Her progress at the NCAA Division III program was no surprise to Williams.

“She worked very hard in the weeks leading up to the meet,” he said. “We felt confident she would have a high finish.”

With the conference meet and possibly the NCAA South Region meet looming, “Our hope is for Cristi to run near the front and challenge for high finishes,” Williams said via email.
       
What is the Lemon Grove native like in practice? 
       
“Cristi works very hard in practice, start to finish,” he said. “She is an achiever who enjoys the workouts and pushes herself to be better. … Cristi is a very competitive runner.  She runs very relaxed and wants to be near the lead.  She also has exceptional speed.”

Williams says Cristi has a very bright future at Salem College, both academically and athletically.

And via email, Patch conducted this inteview with Magracia, one of the valedictorians at the 2011 Helix graduation last spring.

La Mesa Patch: Are you surprised by your progress this season — basically becoming No. 1 runner at Salem?

Magracia: I am most certainly surprised by my progress this season, as I had known that some athletes do not take the transition from high school to collegiate athletics very well. I am definitely blessed to be doing as well as I am, and I must credit my high school cross Country coach, Robert Baird, and my former team at Helix for preparing me so well.

My team here at Salem is also great; we all work hard at every practice and we do our best at every race under Coach Williams and Coach [Andrew] Marshall.

Q: What are your goals for cross country and track this year?

A: My major goal for cross country this year is to qualify for the South/Southeast Regional Meet in Seguin, Texas. If I qualify for this meet, my family and friends in California will be able to come watch me run. All of my hard work this season will be made worth it if I can race with my parents cheering me on from the sidelines.

A bigger goal I have is to qualify for nationals, though I am concentrating primarily on getting to Texas currently.

Q: Have you chosen an academic major?  What are your favorite classes this semester?

A: My goals for track are very simple at the moment, especially as I am at such a critical stage in this XC season. As always, I will be working towards new PRs as well as establishing PRs in events I have not competed in yet. At this point, I may run the 5K in track, and I am very excited about trying the steeplechase. Other than that, I am too involved in my XC season right now to create more developed goals for track.

My academic major will be exercise science, B.S., though I do not declare until next year. As of right now, I plan on going to graduate school and becoming a physical therapist, though now that I have been more educated in the field of exercise science, that career goal may change.

My favorite classes this semester are my Honors Seminar, “Strange Fruit: On Racial Violence in America”; Beginning Modern Dance; and Intro to Exercise Science. Also, this upcoming January term, I will be taking the Manga Manga Anime course, which I am extremely happy about.

Q: Are you living in a dorm, sorority or off-campus?  How are you doing, being so far from home?

A: I am living in a first-year dorm on campus. It has been difficult at times to be so far from home, though the hardest part has been being separated from my twin sister, Divina, who is attending UC Berkeley.

Fortunately, our generation has amazing technology we can utilize, and I call, email or Skype my family in California often. I also have a wonderful support system here at Salem College, and quite a few of my friends come from out of state as well.

Our bonds as Salem Sisters are strong and I am never upset for long around them. Finally, I have family friends in Greensboro that I stay in touch with, and they have even come out to one of my XC races.

Q: Any messages for your friends back home?

A: To Helix cross country—good luck and have fun at Mt. SAC and with the end of your season, Baird Strong!