Kyle Medina Voted 2017-18 CCAA Male Athlete of the Year
All-Time CCAA Athlete of the Year winners
SAN RAMON, Calif. – The Chico State Wildcats continue to amass team, individual and institutional acclaim after a stellar 2017-18, and the awards continue to roll in. Distance runner Kyle Medina has now have been voted as the 2017-18 CCAA Male Athlete of the Year.
Medina, a recent graduate of Chico State hailing from Ventura, earned both the 2017 CCAA Runner of the Year as well as the 2018 CCAA Track & Field Athlete of the Year after a phenomenal final season of collegiate racing.
A traditional cross country and track & field powerhouse, five of the last six men selected for this award have come from Chico State, with four being a cross country and track & field athlete. This marks the sixth time in the past seven years and the 10th time a Wildcat has won distinction as CCAA Athlete of the Year.
In the fall, Medina took home the conference individual title while helping the Wildcats to their 16th-consecutive CCAA cross country title. He followed that up with a runner-up finish at the NCAA West Regional, where the Wildcats again earned top team honors. Medina finished up the cross country season racing to a fourth-place finish, leading Chico State to ninth in the team standings.
This spring, Medina conquered a new challenge on the track, adding the 3,000 meter steeplechase to his repertoire. He logged the NCAA Division II fastest steeplechase time of the year during the regular-season, and raced to second at the NCAA Track & Field Championships. Just last weekend, Medina competed in his first post-collegiate race, qualifying for the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships slated for later this month, taking third at the 2018 Portland Track Festival finishing with an automatic qualifying time of 8:37.19 despite a fall over the first barrier.
Along with his success in the steeple in 2018, Medina took third at the NCAA Championships in the 5,000 meters and he earned his third CCAA title in the 1,500 meters.
All told, Medina will live in the Chico State record books with a program-record nine All-America awards, six on the track and three on the cross country course. He owns the school record in the steeplechase and the 1,500 meters, and ranks second all-time at Chico State in the 5,000 meters, and placed fifth or higher in eight career NCAA races.
Medina also make a mark on the conference, with nine All-CCAA awards to his name, back-to-back Male Track & Field Athlete of the Year distinction as well as CCAA Cross Country Athlete of the Year and four total CCAA individual championship titles.
The CCAA’s Athlete of the Year awards are voted on annually by the 13 Sports Information Directors from around the conference. Both the male and female winner coming from the same institution is a rarity, as 2017-18 marks the sixth time in the history of the awards to see such a feat.