ALISO VIEJO, Calif. — After a remarkable season that included conference titles, All-America honors, and multiple school and conference records, Chico State's Damian Garcia was named the 2025 CCAA Men's Track & Field Athlete of the Year, as announced Tuesday by the conference office.

Garcia was selected by the league's head coaches following a spring that saw him claim the CCAA Men's Track Athlete of the Meet award, earn All-West Region recognition, and finish as a second-team All-American in the 1,500 meters at the NCAA Championships. He becomes the first Wildcat to earn the conference's top honor since Cristian Brady in 2022 and gives Chico State its fifth CCAA Men's Track & Field Athlete of the Year in the last seven years.

The sophomore distance standout had already earned West Region Runner of the Year in cross country last fall and followed it with another exceptional campaign on the track. Competing in his hometown of Turlock, Garcia won both the 800 and 1,500 meters at the 2025 CCAA Championships, earning 20 crucial points that helped the Wildcats edge past three-time defending champion Cal Poly Pomona, 234.5–233, to win the program's first CCAA title since 2019.

Garcia clocked NCAA provisional qualifying times of 1:50.15 in the 800 and 3:47.53 in the 1,500 to capture the conference double, and his dominance didn't stop there. At the APU Franson Last Chance meet, he shattered the CCAA record in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:39.47—elevating him to No. 8 in NCAA Division II history. Earlier in the year, he also ran 4:01.88 in the mile at the Chico Invitational, a mark that now ranks fourth all-time in DII and just shy of Chico State legend Scott Bauhs' 3:59.81.

Garcia capped his year by advancing to the 1,500-meter final at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, where he placed ninth to earn second-team All-America recognition.