Running for North Carolina State University, the Elon alumnus placed 7th in the 10,000 meter run, earning his fourth All-America award.
Following his graduation from Elon in 2015, Vargas still had one year of track eligibility remaining and chose to enroll in a master’s program at North Carolina State University and join the Wolfpack track team. He earned three All-America track awards – in addition to the 10,000m outdoor award, he won All-America honors during the indoor track season in the 3,000 meter and 5,000 meter runs. He was the first Wolfpack runner to earn All-America honors in the 10,000m since 2004. Earlier this spring, he placed second in both the 5,000 meter run and the 10,000 meter run at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Meet.
Vargas became Elon first men’s cross country All-America runner after he finished 25th overall at the NCAA Championships in fall 2014. He raced in his first NCAA Cross Country championship meet after he won the NCAA Southeast Regional title and earned the Southeast Regional Athlete of the Year award. Prior to the NCAA Championships, Vargas went undefeated in each of his six races he competed in, including capturing the Colonial Athletic Association’s men’s cross country individual championship at the league’s championship meet, clocking a time of 24:11.37 in the men’s 8K race and breaking his own school record. He was named the CAA’s Most Outstanding Performer and the Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year. He received Elon’s Basnight Outstanding Athlete Award in May 2015.
A native of Mexico, Vargas will now have a shot at running in the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, hoping to qualify for Mexico’s national team.