ADA, OHIO- After his performance this weekend, senior Jon Garcia (Stoneham, Mass./Stoneham HS) will go down as one of the most decorated student-athletes in University of Massachusetts Dartmouth history.

Garcia earned his third NCAA championship and sixth All-America honor when he finished first in the 55-meter hurdles at the NCAA Division III Championships at the Ohio Northern University Sports Center Saturday. He is the first Corsair student-athlete to win three national championships. His six All-America honors ties him with distance runner Jim White, who received his last award in 1986, and diver Tom Egan, who received his final honor in 1992. Both White and Egan won two national titles and received All-American honors six times.

Garcia finished first in 7.46 seconds, three-hundredths of a second in front of the second place finisher, Jon Schellin of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Beresford Brown of Moravian was third in 7.52 seconds. The championship is Garcia's second indoor title. He also won the championship in the 110 meter hurdles outdoors last spring.

"I got off to a good start, and I wanted to take advantage of it," said Garcia. "All week, I was working on my start, coming out of the blocks.  I wanted to attack the first hurdle and keep that momentum going all the way.

I was a little sloppy going over the first hurdle, but I picked it up going over the second and third hurdles. Basically, I was in the lead and just kept it."

Winning a national title is something Garcia will always remember. "It feels great," said Garcia. "I love winning this championship. My focus was on finishing the race and running the best time that I could."          

Garcia is on track to graduate with a bachelor's degree in graphic design in May, and will spend the outdoor season as an assistant coach, helping the hurdlers, sprinters and jumpers with an eye towards training for a possible run at the Olympic Games in 2012.

As is the custom at the NCAA Track and Field Championships, UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Jon Hird presented the post-event awards, even though his view of the proceedings was limited. "I had Jon's camera, and I had a great spot to watch the race, but an official came along and said this is where he had to stand, and we had to move," said Hird. "I had to stand in a place where it was three deep, and I got a good look at the start and the first hurdle, but that was all I saw. I knew that he had won when I saw them all line up and cheer at the very end."

The meet was the final competition for both Garcia and the Corsairs.