High school track and field: Elyria honors Mateo Medina for amazing performance at state meet

ELYRIA — Mateo Medina set the bar extremely high last spring at the Division I state track meet. Tuesday night, the Elyria graduate was presented a state championship ring before Elyria's boys basketball game against Olmsted Falls for his record-setting performance. Medina was back in town on a break from Arizona State University, where he hopes to continue setting records with his track ability. "I think about it almost every day," Medina said when asked about what he accomplished last year. "It's very emotional for me. I've done so much more than I thought I'd ever do. Especially to honor this moment and my very close friend B.J. (Todd, his fellow student who died in the spring) and to see how many people came out for me. It's just awesome." Medina was a one-man show at the 116th state track and field championships, scoring all the points (30) for the Pioneers, who brought home the state title. Medina was the first atlete in the state to score all the points since Westerville North's Ryan Wilson did it in 1998. "His God-given ability allowed him to reach heights that you don't see very often," Elyria track coach Jerry Chizmar said. "It's been a pleasure to coach him. He's doing great academically at school. I feel I've done my job." Medina followed in the footsteps of Elyria West's Ray Armstrong (1979) in winning the 100, 200 and 400 dashes. No other Lorain County athlete has accomplished that feat and Medina was just the 16th in the history of the meet to win all three events. "You really have to be focused," Chizmar said. "You really have to believe in the training that he got. Because of that, he really knew what he was supposed to do. As soon as his race was over, his shoes were off, legs were elevated, he was resting up, getting ready for that next race." "Elyria has been making me feel like a little celebrity," Medina said. "That's for sure. I feel very grateful and blessed." Contact Tim Gebhardt at 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com.