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Christian Montoya's Best Marks
800 - 1:59.80
1,600 - 4:28.81
3,200 - 9:52
5k - 15:59
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Q) Talk about the recruitment process - what other schools were you looking at, and how did you come to choosing the University of Arizona?
Throughout my recruiting process, at first I really had one goal in mind and that was to run somewhere in Colorado. Initially, I was looking at running either at the University of Colorado Boulder, or Colorado State University.
As I started to improve more I realized that opening my mind more about going to an out of state school may really benefit me as an athlete and a person. I reached out to a lot of schools in addition to CU and CSU and eventually Coach Li and I at the University of Arizona started to converse a lot.
I came to choosing Arizona because of the amount of interest they had in making me a successful athlete. Coach Li, Coach Harvey, and Coach Petersen and I shared a lot of the same beliefs with running and I fell in love with the school and the program as soon as I went on my visit and knew that I would achieve my goals as a Wildcat.
Q) What do you plan to study at Arizona?
I plan to major in Physiology out of the College of Medicine
Q) What got you into cross country and track in the first place?
Before I got into cross country and track in middle school, I remember me begging my parents to let me play football because all my friends in middle school played and I wanted to as well. They wouldn't let me, thankfully, and my mom actually convinced me to try Cross Country in middle school.
I went out for the team and had so much fun with my team and my coach. Once I started winning races and realizing how truly awesome the running community is, I knew this is the sport I was meant for.
Q) You've had success in everything from the 800 on over to the 5k, what would you say is your favorite event, and why?
My favorite event overall would definitely be the 1600. I feel so comfortable whenever I am running the 1600 and I love the workouts and training for the event. There is also so much strategy that can go into running this race and you have to be very mentally strong, patient and have great control over yourself to be able to navigate this race and be successful.
Q) You ran 21:01 in your first high school 5k, and have gone on to run a 15:59 personal best - talk about what you've done to improve so much over the course of four years.
When I first went out for Cross Country, I was running because of how fun it was for me and I didn't really understand the workouts and training I was doing so I just did it. It wasn't until I started working with Brad Hudson the summer of my Junior year and with REAL Training with Coach Christensen in the winter of my senior year that my training really got serious and I started to greatly improve as I understood and fell more in love with running.
Q) What event do you see yourself focusing on at Arizona?
I see myself focusing mainly on the 1500/mile in addition to cross country, but I definitely want to jump into a few 800's and 5k's!
Q) Could you share any goals you have for the final week of the track season?
I definitely want to win the 4x8 with my team and just run the hardest I ever have at my last state meet!
Q) What would your favorite high school moment be (so far)?
If I had to pick one moment in my high school career that was my favorite it'd probably be breaking 16 in the 5k for the first time. It really showed my that all the hard work I put in is paying off and that this is only the beginning of my success! Along with that moment though I've made so many amazing, lifelong friends through this sport and have had so much fun knowing so many people and making great relationships throughout my 4 years in high school!
