Cross country/distance runner Carlos Villarreal has had to overcome more hurdles in life than the ones on the track.
At just six years old, Villarreal moved from Sonora, Mexico, to Rio Rico, Arizona.
“It was a really big change," Villarreal said. "I had to learn English and it took me awhile to get the hang of it.”
After years of learning a new language, Villarreal had the hang of it by the time he went to middle school, finally making things easier for him.
Unlike many athletes who start playing their sport early, Villarreal did not find his love for cross country until he was a junior in high school.
“I played on the basketball team for my high school and I actually went out for track to get conditioning for basketball,” Villarreal said. “I started out as a sprinter and I slowly moved my way up to the 400-meter run and then at the end of the year, the 800-meter run.”
Villarreal's means of conditioning for basketball landed him fourth at state in the 800m, and then won the 4x800m with his teammates.
“I decided I was better at running, so I quit basketball,” Villarreal said.
Turned out to be a good decision to focus on running, but going from basketball to cross country and track was a bit of transition for Villarreal.
“When I was playing basketball, it wasn't bad,” Villarreal said. “You would just play then you were done. For this, you would have to run over the summer and stay committed, you had to stay on top of things. That was hard at first because everyone on my team had really good grades, so I wanted to keep that. It was hard fitting into the system of running.”
Villarreal's transition from basketball to running was not the only adjustment he had to make. In high school, things were pretty laid back. He had a reasonable amount of homework and had a decent amount of free time.
Now, Villarreal, a criminal justice major, is swamped with three hours worth of homework that he has to finish on top of his busy training schedule.
“Time management is crucial,” Villarreal said.
Although time management may not come easy, running does. Villarreal says that he believes his biggest accomplishment was breaking the state record in the 1600-meter run at state, which was his goal from the beginning of the season.
“It actually happened unexpectedly,” Villarreal said. “I was trying to make it a conservative race because I had three or four other races after that. The guy took off and I went after him. He wanted to make it a crazy pace to run me down and I just hung with him.”
With just one lap to go, Villarreal saw the clock was at 3:07 and he knew the record was 4:05, so he told himself he could beat it.
“The crowd was already up on their feet and it was getting really loud, so I used the crowd,” Villarreal said.
Since attending the University of Arizona, Villarreal's goals have only gotten bigger and better.
“If I am here, I might as well shoot for an NCAA title,” Villarreal said. “That is going to be the big picture and the big goal. That is what I am going to work towards every day.”
Villarreal has spent the cross country season redshirting while training to become more acclimated to college meets. The coaching staff has big plans for the freshman, and clearly, the sky is the limit for him.
