VALLEY / VENTURA ROUNDUP : Track

Jason Medearis of Hart High, one of the top hurdlers in the state, signed a national letter of intent with the University of Wyoming on Monday.

Medearis took recruiting trips to Wyoming and Montana--and was offered full scholarships to each--before choosing the Western Athletic Conference school.

“The coaches were real cool and I like the campus,” Medearis said. “The academics will fit me well out there.”

Coaches from Purdue, Colorado and Arizona State spoke to Medearis in recent weeks about making trips to their campuses, but he declined.

“I thought about taking my last three trips to those schools, but I just wanted to get this over with,” Medearis said. “I’m happy with my decision.”

A wide receiver and defensive back in football, Medearis will compete only in track in college.

“A few schools such as (Northern Arizona) recruited me for both football and track, but I made a decision to focus on one sport,” he said.

Medearis has personal bests of 14.12 seconds in the 110-meter high hurdles and 37.42 in the 300 intermediates.

He finished second in the intermediates and third in the highs in last year’s Southern Section Division I championships.

Kenny Haslip of Pasadena Muir, the defending state champion in the intermediates, is the only hurdler in the state to defeat Medearis this season.