Heather Garcia was more than mentally prepared to compete in the 2006 AAU National Cross Country Championships on Dec. 2.

After all, she sat on a bus that traveled from Kansas to Orlando, Fla., for more than a day.

“It took a long time – about 26 hours,” the Baldwin High junior said. “It was fun getting to know everybody, though. We watched movies, talked and played cards.”

The bus carried The Brocaw Blazers – 21 high school runners from Kansas – to Orlando.

Garcia, who won the Kansas Class 4A cross country meet in the fall, simply dominated the competition in Orlando. She won the race, which contained 78 participants, by a staggering 22 seconds with a time of 17 minutes, 54.53 seconds.

“That was my second time ever running a 5K race,” Garcia said. “I didn’t know what to expect. It was cool traveling somewhere out of Kansas.”

To make the situation even more interesting, Garcia said she wasn’t even in ideal cross-country shape. December is basketball season, and Garcia plays for Baldwin High.

She said training for the two sports was completely different.

“Right now, I’m more in a sprinting mode,” Garcia said. “In cross country, you run at a consistent time at a steady pace.”

But Garcia wanted to represent Kansas admirably in the national meet. She was so dedicated that after basketball practice, Garcia would partake in separate track workouts to stay in shape.

“It was hard, but I kept my body as rested as possible and tried to stay as healthy as I could,” Garcia said.

Garcia found a way to make the Orlando course work to her strengths as a runner. In Kansas, hills play a major role in Garcia’s races. In Orlando, however, the course was flat.

Cross Country runners Heather Garcia, left, a Baldwin High junior, and Brittney Graff, a Eudora High senior, led their AAU team, the Brocaw Blazers, to the AAU National Cross Country Championship on Dec. 2 in Orlando, Fla. Garcia placed first individually and Graff was third. The two are pictured Wednesday at the Haskell cross country course.

Garcia said it felt like running on a track.

Mike Spielman, Baldwin cross country coach, has seen his fair share of Garcia’s dominance. Although he didn’t make the trip to Orlando, he witnessed Garcia win every meet she competed in this year, except for one. Spielman said it was a great honor for Garcia to win the national meet. But it probably wasn’t a huge surprise, based upon Spielman’s knowledge of Garcia’s talent.

“She has some natural speed,” Spielman said. “She’s really fast, and her ability to work hard and push herself makes her very competitive. I knew she’d be one of the top runners there.”

When asked what made Garcia a great runner, Spielman didn’t hesitate.

“Her confidence, “he said. “She’s very confident in her running, and she’s in really good shape.”

Garcia, who has been running since seventh grade, said her mom, grandfather and a few friends flew to Orlando to see her first-place finish.

“It meant a little bit more,” Garcia said about the appearance of family and friends. “It was a nice race for me individually, but you want to do it for the team also.”

The Olathe-based Blazers dominated the meet as a team. They divided 21 players into three teams, and finished first, third and fourth in the team scores. The Blazers had the top five individual finishers in the race as well.

Baldwin High's Heather Garcia (57) rounds a corner just ahead of Eudora High's Brittney Graff in the 3,200-meter run at last year's state track meet. They placed 1-2 at the event in Wichita. Earlier this month in Orlando, Fla., they placed 1-3 at the AAU National Cross Country Championship.

Blue Valley Northwest’s Laura Roxberg finished behind Garcia in second place overall. Eudora High’s Brittney Graff placed third.

“I’ve never competed in a national race like that before,” Graff, a senior, said. “It was really warm. After we left here, a big snowstorm came through. Then, we got to Orlando, and I had to wear sunblock.”

Graff said she initially showed interest in running in middle school, due in large part to coach Paul Boone. Graff has had the same coach for a while now. She continued running at Eudora High, where Boone also coaches cross country.

“We get along really well,” Graff said. “The best advice he’s ever given me is to push around the curves at my races. In Orlando, every time I did it, I would pick up ground against everyone I was racing.”

Graff finished the Class 4A cross country meet in second, behind Garcia. The two don’t hang out outside cross country meets, but it’s evident they respect each other.

“At my usual races, my plan is to go out with Heather because she always runs a good race,” Graff said of Garcia. “It was cool to compete with her in the Florida race.”