Jorge Medina joins Hawai’i Pacific University as the new head men’s and women’s cross country coach. He accepted the position with the Sea Warriors after three successful years as assistant coach at the University of West Alabama (UWA).
During his tenure at UWA, Medina’s work as recruitment coordinator attracted top athletes from all over the country. By doubling the size of the squad in three years, he pushed both the men’s and women’s teams to achieve their highest conference and regional finishes each year. In the Gulf South Conference (GSC), both teams earned third place last fall after finishing as low as 10th the season before his arrival.
Although each team had only one all-conference runner in 2009, this past season Medina coached four all-conference and two all-region men, four all-conference and two all-region women, and even their first GSC individual champion. Medina is looking forward to replicating this success with the Sea Warriors in the PacWest Conference this season.
Originally from San Jose, California, Medina graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) with a degree in physical education and sport administration. At IUP, he enjoyed four successful years as a runner in cross country and track. As an eight-time All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference athlete in both sports and a two-time All-Atlantic Region performer in cross country, Medina was a provisional qualifier for the NCAA National Championships in track five times and competed in Pensacola, Florida, for cross country in 2006. He also qualified for the 2008 USA Half Marathon Championships with a time of 1:08:35 and boasts personal bests of 14:36 in the 5K and 30:37 in the 10K.
During his collegiate career, Medina was also a member of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee and Latino Student Organization, and he attended the NCAA Leadership Conference in 2005 as captain of his team and representative of his university. In addition, Medina holds a master’s degree in counseling and psychology from UWA and a Level 1 coaching certification from USA Track & Field.
