Alberto Garcia is an assistant coach for Wagner cross country and track and field on Staten Island, New York. He joined the Seahawks under head coach Marvin Azor and brought decades of coaching and competitive experience to the program. Garcia arrived after serving on the staff at Manhattan, where he worked primarily with the jumpers and helped produce strong results at the MAAC, IC4A, ECAC, and Penn Relays levels. At Manhattan, Garcia led the jumpers to major contributions at both the indoor and outdoor MAAC championships. Indoors, his athletes scored 34 points, highlighted by a gold medal in the men’s long jump, a silver in the men’s high jump, a runner-up finish in the men’s triple jump, and the men’s Rookie of the Field award. Outdoors, his group helped the team finish third in the MAAC with a gold medal in the long jump and a bronze in the high jump. On the women’s side, every athlete under his direction recorded a personal best and qualified for the ECAC indoor and outdoor championships. His jumpers also played a role in a seventh-place finish at the Indoor IC4A by scoring in both the long jump and high jump, and in 2025 he coached six jumpers to qualify for the Penn Relays. Garcia’s coaching résumé also includes earlier stops at LIU from 1988 to 1994 and at St. Francis Brooklyn from 2021 to 2023. During his time at St. Francis, he played an important role in improving the team across cross country and both track seasons, with all of the runners under his guidance recording personal bests. A major part of his legacy, however, was built at Notre Dame Academy on Staten Island.
He served as an assistant there from 2008 to 2014 before taking over as head coach through 2021. Under his leadership, Notre Dame Academy won seven straight indoor and outdoor CHSAA city championships, put together a five-year unbeaten run across cross country, indoor, and outdoor competition, claimed five CHSAA state cross country titles, and produced the school’s best finish at the New York State Cross Country Federation Meet. His teams also won the championship division of the Brown Invitational, competed annually at national meets, and produced an All-American distance medley relay in 2019. Garcia also co-founded the Island Express youth cross country and track and field team, helping develop athletes on Staten Island for many years. As a competitor, he was a standout at Mount St. Michael Academy, where he won three CHSAA titles, finished as New York State runner-up in the indoor 1600 meters in 1984, and posted one of the fastest Van Cortlandt Park times in CHSAA history. He later starred at St. John’s, where he ran 3:48 for 1500 meters, 8:18 for 3000 meters, and 14:26 for 5000 meters. He helped set a New York State graduate record in the 4x1500 relay and scored in multiple events at the 1987 Big East Championships as St. John’s won the team title. His own running career later included a win in the Metropolitan Mercedes Mile on Fifth Avenue in 1988 and the national 1500-meter title for Puerto Rico in 1989. Garcia’s connection to the sport also extends through his family, with his wife, Youree Spence-Garcia, a St. John’s Hall of Famer, and all four of their daughters competing in Division I track and field.
