TRACK AND FIELD / JOHN ORTEGA : Medearis Inches Up in Hurdles

Jason Medearis in the past year went from being one of the top high school hurdlers in the nation to being “just another freshman” in the Western Athletic Conference. Yet the former Hart High standout said his first season at the University of Wyoming was among the most enjoyable of his career.

He concedes the transition from the 39-inch-high school high hurdles to the 42-inch collegiate highs has been difficult.

He allows he has several physical and psychological barriers to clear when it comes to running the second half of the 400 intermediates.

And training conditions in Laramie, Wyo., with its elevation of 7,163 feet and typical springtime weather of 30-35 degrees with 20-30- m.p.h. winds, are far from ideal.

Yet the challenges have not fazed Medearis, who placed second in the 300 intermediates and fourth in the 110 highs in last year’s State high school championships.

“I knew that there was going to be a big difference from being a high school star and being a freshman in an NCAA Division I program,” Medearis said. “But overall, I feel like it was a good first year.

“I was in the best shape of my life so I was really happy about that. I had gotten rid of any excess weight that I carried around in high school. I was much stronger and I was more defined.”

A shade over 6 feet and 180 pounds, Medearis is nearly an inch taller and 10 pounds heavier than he was as a senior at Hart. And still he was dwarfed by college opponents who were taller, heavier and also a few years older.

“I figured that I was going to have to adjust to that during my first year, but still it was hard,” Medearis said. “There were times when you were running against guys who were so big and strong and fast and quick between hurdles that you just found yourself watching them and saying, ‘Wow, I wish I could run like that.’ ”

Which is not to imply that Medearis had a disappointing season. He finished second--.01 seconds behind the winner--in the 55-meter high hurdles at the WAC indoor championships and placed fifth in the 110 highs and seventh in the intermediates at the WAC outdoor meet.

He was the only freshman to qualify for the finals of both hurdle events in the outdoor meet and his bests of 14.31 seconds in the highs and 53.50 in the intermediates were quality marks for a freshman.

His only real disappointments were his failure to improve on his 53.50 season-opening clocking in the intermediates and his withdrawal from the finals of the high hurdles in last month’s USA Track & Field Junior (ages 14-19) championships because of a sore hamstring.

“I feel like I’ve got the first five hurdles of the intermediates down pat,” Medearis said of the 10-hurdle event. “It’s the second half of the race that I need to improve in.

“I didn’t realize how much that race hurt until after I ran that 53.5.”

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Medearis was a promising wide receiver and defensive back prospect at Hart before a dislocated left shoulder ended his senior season.

He hinted last year he might give football another try at Wyoming after his freshman season, but he no longer envisions that happening.

He is on a full track scholarship that prohibits him from participating in other sports. He also received a painful reminder of his shoulder’s weakness in December when he dislocated it after diving off a three-meter springboard at the school’s indoor swimming pool.

“I’m sticking completely with track,” Medearis said. “I miss [football] every once in a while and I follow the [Wyoming] team.

“But I’m happy with just running track.”

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Another former Hart competitor, Dan Lange, this season firmly established himself as a top college coach.

Though relatively small for a hammer thrower, Lange parlayed a successful career at Cal State Northridge into a job as the weight-event coach at his alma mater in 1989 and ’90. He moved on to USC in 1991.

Regarded as a bright, up-and-coming coach at Northridge, Lange, 30, had a banner past year for the Trojans. In last month’s NCAA championships, he guided Balazs Kiss to his third consecutive title in the hammer throw, Nils Fearnley placed second in the javelin and former Simi Valley High standout Chad Danowsky placed sixth in the discus and 14th in the hammer to earn All-American honors in those events.

Kiss, regarded as an enormously talented thrower when he arrived at USC from Hungary in the fall of 1992, has flourished under Lange’s tutelage.

Kiss improved his personal best from 230 feet in 1992 to 253-2 in ‘93, threw 255-1 last year and ranks second on this year’s world list with a Hungarian record of 269-4. He is unbeaten and recently defeated world leader Igor Astapkovich of Belarus.

“It’s been real exciting coaching someone of [Kiss’] ability,” Lange said. “Especially this year because he’s developed into one of the top hammer throwers in the world.”

The relationship between coach and athlete also has grown stronger. Lange concedes he and Kiss did their share of head-butting in 1993, but they are both committed to Kiss placing high in next month’s World Outdoor championships in Goteborg, Sweden, and winning the gold medal in next year’s Olympic Games in Atlanta.

“It would be great to win the world title,” Lange said. “But you’ve got to remember that this is [Kiss’] first year at that level.

“He’ll be throwing against seasoned guys and he’s a 23-year-old kid. Hopefully, the experience he gains this year will really help next year.”

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Regina Jacobs of the Mizuno Track Club was winless after her first three races on the European track circuit, but she turned in a trio of impressive performances in less than a week.

The 1981 graduate of the Argyll Academy--now Campbell Hall High--ran 1 minute 59.61 seconds to finish fifth in the 800 in a meet in London last Friday. She ran 2:35.46 to place second in a 1,000 in Stockholm three days later and timed 4:24.33 to finish second in a mile in Nice, France, on Wednesday.

The 800 time was Jacobs’ fastest since she lowered her personal best to 1:59.36 in 1987, and she narrowly missed her 2:35.03 best set last year with her effort in the 1,000. The mile time was a personal best by more than three seconds and moved her into fifth on the all-time U.S. list.

Jacobs, who won the 1,500 in the World Indoor championships in March, will attempt to add another 1,500 gold medal to her collection when the World Outdoor championships are held in Goteborg, Aug. 5-13.