About me
Associate Head Coach - University of Toledo
Tito Medrano joined the for the University of Toledo as Associate Head Coach for the Cross Country and Track & Field programs in May 2023. Medrano leads the men's cross country squad and assists with the women's distance and mid-distance runners in the cross country and track & field programs.
Cross Country
Under Medrano’s guidance, Dennis Mutai became Toledo’s first-ever individual cross country MAC champion in 2023, finishing with a course-record 8K time of 23:57.19. Toledo finished runner-up overall in the MAC with six top-20 finishers, leading to Medrano’s selection as MAC Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year, Toledo’s first-ever MAC Coach of the Year honor in men’s cross country. UT finished runner-up for the third consecutive season in the MAC Championship meet. Mutai claimed First Team All-MAC while Benjamin Otis (11th/24:37.16) and Geoff Howles (14th/24:47.99) each were selected to the second team.
Following his success at the MAC championship, Mutai then claimed UT’s highest-ever individual finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, finishing 17th with a PR time of 30:10.8 and earning Toledo’s first-ever Great Lakes All-Region honors. Otis, a senior, also claimed a top-50 finish regionally, coming in at 48th with a 30:54.9.
Track
Toledo’s distance runners totaled 10 crowns across the 2024 indoor and outdoor track & field seasons. The indoor season was highlighted by the distance medley relay team of Lianna Surtz, Laura Nicholson, Krystal Clark and Cadence Christie taking gold at the MAC Championships (11:30.45). To cap the outdoor season, Laura Nicholson (800m – 2:07.83, 1500m – 4:23.32) and Mercy Kinyanjui (5000m – 16:32.01, 10,000m – 34:29.19) each won two individual MAC championships.
Kinyanjui was named MAC Women’s Freshman Track Performer of the Year for the outdoor season, and Medrano’s distance runners totaled seven All-MAC selections in 2024. Four Rockets – Kinyanjui (5000m, 10,000), Nicholson (1500m), Vilde Henriksen (3000m steeplechase) and Lou Trois (1500m) each qualified for the NCAA East Regional.
Before Toledo
Medrano came to Toledo from Syracuse University, where he has served the past two seasons as an assistant coach. He worked with both men's and women's distance athletes. During the fall, the men posted their highest finish since 2016, finishing 12th as a team at the NCAA cross country championships. Savannah Roark earned All-American honors finishing 23rd overall at the NCAA cross country championships. During the indoor season, Amanda Vestri finished sixth in the indoor NCAA 5k championships and set school records in the 3k, 5k, and ran the 16th-fastest 10k race in collegiate history. Paul O'Donnell also won the indoor ACC individual 5k title. In the last two years, three Syracuse men broke the four-minute barrier in the mile during the indoor season.
At Eastern Kentucky, Medrano served as the recruiting coordinator and coached both men and women's distance runners over the course of six years. During that time, the Medrano coached seven All-Americans, including the 2018 NCAA Steeplechase runner-up Jamaine Coleman. EKU won a total of 14 OVC titles, including the only triple crown EKU ever earned by securing team titles in cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track in the 2017-18 season. EKU also finished in the top 20 of the NCAA cross country championships by securing 16th place.
Medrano has extensive experience in international recruiting and coaching, working with some of the best student-athletes in school history in their respective schools such as Ahmed Jaziri (NCAA champion in the 2022 steeplechase), Jamaine Coleman (the 2018 NCAA steeplechase 2nd), James Sugira (World Cross Country, NCAA Cross Country All-American), Jakob Abrahamsen (World Championships steeple, NCAA track All-American), Paul O'Donnell (ACC 5k champion) and many others.
Before Eastern Kentucky, Medrano spent 2015 at the University of Illinois. 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.
Medrano is an All-American cross country runner and earned All-America honors twice in the 10,000-meter run while at Syracuse University. He was also a two-time BIG EAST Champion in the 10k. He was part of the Orange cross country squad that ended a 35-year drought and qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championships, along with winning its first Big East team title. He also competed for Team USA at the 2009 World Cross Country Championships in Amman, Jordan.
Medrano completed his undergraduate degree at Syracuse University with a bachelor's degree in Public Health with a minor in Nutrition. He continued his studies in a Masters of Sports Administration with a concentration in Intercollegiate Athletics from Western Kentucky University.
