When Miguel Rebollo was a freshman at Madera South, he saw five of his cross country and track teammates sign National Letters of Intent to run in college, and he wanted that for himself.
“I think I was going to be a college athlete from the beginning of high school,” he said. “I was around those guys my freshman year. When I saw those guys commit, I knew I could go to college to run. It was a matter of how good of a college I could go to.”
Rebollo officially committed to run cross country and track at UC Merced earlier this year, and is happy to see his athletic career extended and keep the legacy of sending cross country runners to college continue.
“I felt like I need to go to a four-year to continue the legacy,” he said. “Those senior guys talked me through the process and gave me advice. They told me how to do it, as well as the college recruitments. When they told me as a freshman, I wanted to do this for them. I wanted to show them their little freshman can also go to college. It feels great. Every year, we send someone to college. Being able to be the guy that gets the baton to pass it forward is great. I know next year, they will have a couple of kids go to college. It feels good to keep the chain going.”
Rebollo graduated with a 4.3 grade point average, even with self-proclaimed senioritis at the end. He plans to major in biology, and get a masters in physical therapy.
He was talking the Long Beach State and Fullerton, but Seattle University was the one in contact the longest. He was contemplating going to Seattle until UC Merced came in at the last minute.
“I was a hair away from committing to Seattle,” he said. “It would have been a little too expensive. I had some scholarships, and it was feasible to go to Seattle. At the end, I didn’t want to put that financial stress on me and my parents. Seattle was going to be really expensive. UC Merced was the best opportunity for me. I’m happy with the decision. I think I’m going to be taken care of. If I stay close, I’ll have people that know me and will take care of me.”
He also chose UC Merced because of the potential of the team, and the school. UC Merced just gained entry into the NCAA Division II.
“I was a lot better in track. But, after this year, I had a really good cross country season, and I grew to love it,” Rebollo said. “I’m more excited in cross country. It think I can do more. I’m going to see what the coach thinks I’m going to be good it. It might be the 1,500. It depends on if I want to go higher with the 5K or 10K or drop down to the 800 or 1,500. Steeplechase might be my event. I can jump.”
With his great grade point average, Rebollo was accepted to every college he applied to. Getting into college wasn’t the worry for him, it was where was going to be the right fit.
“The scholarship I got from UC Merced is given to the cream of the crop,” he said. “It’s a guaranteed full-ride. They pander to those scholarship recipients. If I didn’t have my GPA, I wouldn’t have gotten that.”
However, after an exciting freshman year running with all of the seniors that went on to college, Rebollo feels he didn’t live up to his goals.
“I think my career was a little lackluster,” he said. “My goals were set pretty huge. My track season was pretty bad to how I wanted. There were issues with injuries and other things that derailed my season. Overall, I think I set a standard. It was some rebuild years for Madera South the past four years. Next year, they have a good chance at winning.”
But, when Rebollo committed to UC Merced, he felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.
“It’s amazing to know where I’m going. I felt the stress to figure out where I was going. Everything washed away after I committed. I could enjoy the last days as a senior,” he said.
Even through the recruiting process, Rebollo had, at the back of his mind, a thought about going to college just to go to college.
“I had so many bad races. I though why was I running if I had these time. I was putting in all these hours to run sub-par times, for me. I had that conversation with myself of was it worth it? I stuck with it. It was just a fluke. I know what I could do and am capable of. I bet on myself,” he said.
Now, he’s signed to UC Merced, a school that his parents can come visit or watch his races.
“My parents think it’s amazing. They liked that it was close to home,” he said. “If I went to Seattle, they wouldn’t be able to visit me. They were ecstatic about UC Merced.”
Now, Rebollo is following the summer training plans, but also has plans to relax a little and have some summer fun with friends.
“It’s going to fly by,” he said. “I have some friends going to UC Merced. We are arranging things. We’re getting exciting to experience some college.”