Talented golfer from Mexico barred from playing on Kansas high school varsity team
Mateo Garcia should be preparing for postseason golf in Kansas, but the foreign exchange student was deemed ineligible to play varsity golf this year.
TOPEKA, Kan. — One of the sweetest swings in Kansas will not be featured in the high school state tournament this year. Meet Mateo Garcia, Kansas’ best junior varsity golfer.
The foreign exchange student has been enjoying his life at Hayden High School in Topeka, where the senior will soon be wrapping up his studies and graduating in a few weeks. “The education here is way better and gives me a better chance at life,” Garcia said. “They put more effort in classes here and you learn more, there’s so many more chances in life.
” Garcia hails from León, Mexico, about four hours northwest of Mexico City. Education is important to Garcia, and he saw an exchange program as a chance to improve. This is Garcia’s second year in Topeka.
Ed Lee, who is also a science teacher at Hayden, has been Garcia’s host family since he arrived in Kansas’ capital in 2024. When Garcia first came to America, he spoke very little English. It was a true blind spot for him and a major reason he wanted to study at an American school.
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