Medearis Overcomes a Major Hurdle in Hart Track Victory

For Jason Medearis of Hart High, the wait was well worth it.

Medearis, a junior, had been anticipating Tuesday’s Foothill League dual meet against Canyon for several weeks because it pitted him against Canyon senior Kirk Sweetnam, who had never lost to Medearis.

“I’ve been waiting all year for this,� Medearis said after winning both hurdle races in the meet at College of the Canyons. “My coaches had him picked to win, so these wins are huge.�

With Medearis and several other teammates turning in come-through performances and with Canyon self-destructing in two events, Hart rolled to a surprisingly easy 84-52 victory in the boys’ meet.

The win gives the Indians (2-0, 1-0 in league meets) the inside track for their fifth consecutive league title; Canyon (4-1, 2-1) had been considered Hart’s toughest challenger.

“We just worked on getting the kids mentally ready for this meet,� Hart Coach Dan Houghton said. “We knew they were there physically, and I think the mental preparation helped. We got some unexpected points from some kids.�

Houghton had Medearis finishing second behind Sweetnam in both the 110-meter high hurdles and in the 300 intermediates on his dope sheet, but Medearis pulled away from Sweetnam in the latter stages of both races, timing a wind-aided 14.5 seconds in the highs and a personal best of 38.9 in the intermediates.

Sweetnam had times of 14.7 and 39.9.

Ari Swierk won the long jump (20 feet 8 1/2 inches) and triple jump (42-5 1/2) with personal-best efforts for Hart after teammate Deriek Charles was unable to compete because of an illness.

The Indians also dominated the distance events: Paul De La Cerda (1 minute 54.8 seconds in the 800), Brett Strahan (4:21.0 in the 1,600) and Tommy Givens (9:44.8 in the 3,200) won their respective events.

De La Cerda and Canyon’s Mike Wenz (1:55.9) staged the most exciting race of the day, running shoulder to shoulder around the final turn before De La Cerda powered ahead in the final 100.

Freshman Kevin Brown won the 200 (wind-aided 22.2) and 400 (51.8) for the Cowboys.

Hart, two-time defending Foothill champion, defeated Canyon, 83-44, in the girls’ meet.

The Indians (2-0, 1-0) had four double winners, topped by Jessica De La Cerda in the 800 (2:25.4) and 1,600 (5:27.0), and Karianne Ursey in the shotput (35-8 1/4) and discus (111-11).