Tito Medrano - Women's Track & Field Coach - Syracuse University Athletics

Tito Medrano

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
frmedran@syr.edu

Tito Medrano returned to his alma mater to serve as an assistant cross country/track and field coach, and is now entering is second season in the role. Medrano brings nearly a decade of coaching experience to the Orange.

In his first season with the program, the 'Cuse men's cross country squad took second in the ACC, while the Orange women posted their sixth top-five finish in the last seven seasons.

Medrano joined ‘Cuse after spending over five years at Eastern Kentucky University in a few roles. He has previously coached both men’s and women’s distance, mid-distance and steeplechase at EKU.

He joined the Colonels as a men’s assistant coach in January of 2016 and while coaching there, he mentored Jamaine Coleman to a runner-up finish at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 3000-meter steeplechase in 2018. The following fall, James Sugira took 14th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Most recently, Ahmed Jaziri took 10th in the men’s steeplechase at the NCAA Championships last spring. He owns the school record in the steeplechase (8:32) and 3,000-meters (7:52).

Medrano’s role shifted to the women’s program in 2019 and they won back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference Championships (2019, 2020) and he helped coach Laura Taborda to the NCAA Cross Country Championships last fall. The 2019 OVC championship squad was comprised entirely of freshmen. Tabora also broke the school record in the steeplechase (10:06)

Before Eastern Kentucky, Medrano spent the summer and fall of 2015 at the University of Illinois, where the team had it’s most successful season in a quarter century. The Illini finished second at the Big Ten Cross Country Championship – its best finish in 26 years – and finished with its highest ranking since 1986, finishing at No. 19 in the USTFCCCA Coaches Poll. Dylan Lafond also earned All-America honors under his watch.

His first coaching stint came for the 2015 track season at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. While at IUPUI, the Jaguars had five individual Summit League Champions and set five new school records.

Medrano was an All-American cross country runner (2009) and earned All-America honors twice in the 10,000-meter run while at Syracuse (2008-13). He was also a two-time BIG EAST Champion in the 10k. In 2009, he was part of the Orange cross country squad that ended a 35-year drought and qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championships, where they took 14th. Syracuse has qualified for the event every year since.