This is Tito Medrano’s time of year.

Despite his second consecutive disappointing indoor season, Medrano is confident he can once again own the outdoor circuit in his final year at Syracuse.

Last season, Medrano suffered from iron deficiency, which plagued his ability to compete at full strength during the indoor season. This year, the fifth-year senior competed in two 3,000-meter and two 5,000-meter races indoors, failing to place higher than seventh each time.

But the two-time, Big East 10K champion knows outdoor season is his, and hopes the California sun will help him better his personal record at Friday’s Stanford Invitational, Syracuse’s first outdoor meet of the year.

“I don’t want to say I was not trying during indoor season,” Medrano said, “but for some reason, when we go outside to these big, fast meets, I feel like I rise to the occasion.”

Last year, Medrano took dietary supplements, recovered and set a personal record in the 10K at the Stanford Invitational with a time of 29:07.73.

This weekend, Medrano will be competing against more than 70 runners. For this meet, both collegiate and professional athletes are invited to participate. Despite the raised stakes, Medrano has his goal set for Stanford: an NCAA regional qualifying time.

“My goal is just to hold on as long as I can and feed off everyone else’s energy,” Medrano said. “The 10K is such a long race that people tend to break down, but I refuse to break when I am in the race.”

Medrano’s energy levels shouldn’t be a problem. He’s used to this. Head coach Chris Fox calls him a “scrambler” because of his ability to be ready for outdoor races despite mediocre indoor finishes.

To be cautious, though, Fox wants him to ease into the outdoor season, starting with this weekend’s race.

“I want him to be very conservative,” Fox said. “He needs to get his NCAA regional qualifier time and that’s all that matters out of this race. We’ll try to run him faster later in the year.”

Medrano credits his annual outdoor success to the pick up in his training during the mid- to late indoor season.

And his teammate agrees.

“What separates Tito from our other runners is his work ethic,” said senior distance runner Forrest Misenti. “He is someone you can really look up to and a person that is going to work harder than anyone on the team.”

But to Medrano, it’s just been the same routine for the past five years.

During February and March, he likes to build his base. When Spring Break hits in mid-March, Medrano refers to the time as boot camp. The athletes have off from class and therefore increase the level and volume at which they train.

This weekend, he needs every bit of that training. Medrano hasn’t run a 10K since the NCAA championships last June. In the mix with some of the best in the nation, including professionals, the stage is set for a breakout race for Medrano.

“When you run with fast people on a fast track, you usually run fast times,” Medrano said. “I’m just ready to turn it on another level this weekend.”

Published on March 28, 2013 at 2:09 am

Contact Bryan: bwrubin@syr.edu