TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Senior cross country runner Akis Medrano will represent Indiana State at the NCAA Cross Country Championships next Saturday in Madison, Wisc. after being selected as an one-of-four Great Lakes Region at-large athletes by the NCAA on Sunday.
 
"What a difference a year makes," Associate Head Coach for Cross Country Kyle Walsh said. "Akis left the 2017 NCAA Regional disappointed with the end of his season and has dedicated an entire year of training to accomplish this great feat. This took a solid year of uninterrupted training that he was willing to put in."
 
Medrano has had a stellar senior campaign for the Sycamores, making great strides throughout the 2018 season en route to being the first Sycamore to qualify for the championships since John Mascari qualified in 2015.
 
"He has simplified his life and made many sacrifices to ensure he's able to train at a high level while recovering appropriately. Training seven days a week, twice a day, can take its toll on the body, but he's meticulous with sleep, nutrition, mental relaxation and minimizing stressors," Walsh said.
 
The Boswell, Ind.-native started his season with two top-three finishes at the Miami Opener and John McNichols Invite, before claiming a big individual victory at the Joe Piane Invitational. Medrano raced well against some staunch competition to claim victory in the five-mile race with a time of 24:31.9, the best race of his career at Notre Dame.
 
On October 13, Wisconsin hosted the Pre-National Invitational for a preview of the championship course and Medrano earned a top-50 finish with some of the top athletes in the nation, taking 47th at 24:36.00. Two weeks later at the MVC Championships he cut 30 seconds off of his 8K time to earn All-Valley honors with a third place finish and time of 24:06.40, the third-best time in ISU history.
 
All the hard work that the senior put in during the season paid off on Friday, as he clocked an impressive personal-best time of 31:27.40 in the men's 10K at the Great Lakes Regional, which was good for a 14th place finish. His placement gave him his first All-Region honor and allowed him to be one of the four at-large athletes from the region.
 
"I'll never forget the look on his face when we got the official NCAA notice that his dream had come true for him," Walsh said. "He's in the best shape of his life and I can't wait to watch him battle with the best runners in the country at the NCAA Championship."
 
The NCAA Championships will be hosted by the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisc. at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course on Saturday, Nov. 17. The men's 10K race is slated to begin at 12:45 p.m. ET.
 
"Akis is a great young man and deserves this opportunity, so I'm extremely pleased to see him reap the benefits of his hard work," Walsh said.
 
For the latest information on the Sycamore Cross Country teams, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter.