History for former Vere sprinter

FORMER VERE Technical High School athlete Rene Medley has made history. Medley, a final-year student-athlete at Lincoln University of Missouri, was named the National Women’s Track Athlete of the Year for the 2020 NCAA Division 2 Indoor Track and Field season on Wednesday, by the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

This is the first time that an athlete from Lincoln, Missouri has won this award.

Medley produced the unmatched achievement of registering the best Division 2 performances in not one, but two individual events. She blitzed the 60m in 7.37 seconds, and her best run over 200m – 23.57 – is the fastest time ever recorded on an oversize track in NCAA Division 2 history.

Regulation size indoor tracks are 200m around. By comparison, Medley dashed her fast 200m on a flat 300m track in Pittsburgh, Kansas.

Repeat win

Coached by Jamaican Victor Thomas, Medley scored 20 points at the MIAA Indoor Championships when she repeated her 2019 wins in the 60 and 200m by 0.14 seconds and 0.21 seconds, respectively. Her contribution helped Lincoln into third place in the team standings.

The award may serve as some consolation for Medley,- as the NCAA Indoor Championships and Outdoor Championships have been cancelled because of the novel coronavirus. The 23-year-old Jamaican is the defending indoor 60 metre champion and, at last year’s outdoor meet, she did the sprint double. That feat included a promising 100m personal best of 11.20 seconds, making her the 10th fastest Jamaican woman of the season.

Solid in both sprints during her days at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships, Medley made the Class One 100 and 200m finals in 2015, placing fourth and eighth, respectively. In 2013, when she was in Class Two, she was sixth and fourth, respectively. She was also a finalist in the Class One 100 final in 2014.