THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - For two teams over a pair of academic years since 2013, Garrett Baker has suited up for the Kingsmen, running both cross country and track and field for Cal Lutheran.
After a stint at Ventura College where he participated in one season of cross country and two seasons of track and field for the Pirates, Baker brought his talent to CLU.
"I chose Cal Lutheran for its atmosphere," he went on, "The proximity to Ventura, the awesome teammates and the campus were the right fit for me. I felt right at home as soon as I got here."
He certainly has made a home for himself as a captain and leader both on and off the course and track. In the fall, he averaged an 8K time of 27:06.47 with his best race coming at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational with a finish in 26:36.10. He was just out of All-SCIAC contention at the SCIAC Championships meet. This spring he has run faster than ever and currently holds the best 3,000m time in school history after clocking an 8:51.53 at the Rossi Relays. It was the second time he broke the record for Cal Lutheran, though he has been battling with teammate Ryan Perez for the top spot throughout the season. Baker is also among the top-10 at CLU in both the 1,500m (4:01.63) and 5,000m (15:09.60), which he achieved in 2014.
Outside of the competition circle, Baker has been successful in the books as well. A criminal justice major with aspirations of working for the FBI, he was inducted into the CLU Scholar Athlete Society for the first time in 2014 following his first academic year at the school. In both the fall of 2013 and 2014 he helped the Kingsmen to USTFCCCA All-Academic cross country team recognition.
With his career winding down he has taken some time to reflect on his decision to become a Division III student-athlete at Cal Lutheran.
"Being a student-athlete is something I will cherish," he added, "I will miss the friendships I've created and of course I will miss the opportunity to compete and represent a team."
His career, however, is not over quite yet, as the Kingsmen are still competing on the track for a little over another month.
During the course of Division III Week (April 6-12), CLUSports will be distributing a series of student-athlete related materials via Social Media (links below) and on www.clusports.com.
CLU Twitter: https://twitter.com/clusports
CLU Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clusports
CLU Instagram: http://instagram.com/clusports#
Hashtags: #ownthethrone, #clusports, #gokingsmen #goregals, #purplepit #whyD3 #NCAAD3 #d3week