Dallas, Texas- January 4, 2016- While Christmas break was spent relaxing for most college students, Southwestern Assemblies of God University ’s (SAGU) Destiny Garza spent some of her time competing in her first ever half marathon.  Garza competed in the Dallas Marathon with 10,000 other runners and finished second overall for women.

“Destiny impressed me at the race.  I was standing at mile five just to check on her because I knew she had never raced that distance but she looked relaxed.  She looked at me as she passed nodding with a smile. I knew she would be okay,” explains cross country coach Jason Covarrubias .

Garza finished the race with a time of 1:22:26, which is a 6:18 mile average.  Her goal for the race was to beat 1:30, which is the national qualifying standard for the NAIA National Marathon held during the Outdoor Track Championships in Gulf Shore, Alabama in May.

Before competing in the half marathon, Garza’s longest race to date was the 10,000m run last May (2015) at the NCCAA National Track Championships where she finished second in the nation.  The 10k is 6.2 miles.  The half marathon is over double that at 13.1 miles.  Now, in May, Garza will be doubling her half-marathon and going 26.2 miles for the NAIA National Marathon.

Garza is coming off of a record breaking cross country season where she finished as an All-American in the NCCAA (7 ^th overall) and 31 ^st at the NAIA National Championships.

Dawn Grunnagle finished first in the Dallas Marathon.  She finished 1:19:29, with a 6:04 pace.

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]