Switch suits Medlock just fine

During his sophomore year at Indian River, Tim Medlock received devastating news. He was going to have to give up on his dreams of becoming a star football player after a cyst was discovered on his brain.

There would be no more tackling for the hulking sophomore. His frame, built perfectly for the gridiron, was going to have to inhabit another venue if he wanted to pursue an athletic career of any sort.

"I was definitely pretty crushed," Medlock said. "I was definitely looking to play football in college and continuing on after that."

But this news was taken in stride by Medlock. And that spring he began hurling the shot and discus with a newfound dedication as a member of the track and field team.

"It was pretty easy to see that I would be successful in track like I would have been in football," Medlock said. "Now I realize that it might've been for the better."

His proficiency at propelling 12-pound balls led him to Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., where he's setting records and lifting the men's throwing team onto his broad shoulders.

In the 2007-08 indoor season, Medlock aided the Bison to a second-place finish at the Patriot League track and field championship. Bucknell went on to finish third in the outdoor meet the following spring.

"We have a very good team over here and feel like we can win a Patriot League title this year over Army and Navy," Bucknell coach Kevin Donner said. "Tim has really helped elevate our entire throws program. When they see him throwing far they want to throw far, too."

Medlock is currently the school-record holder for indoor shot put, with a distance of 54 feet, one-half inch. His throw broke the record of 52-81/4 set in 1995, and both he and coach Donner seem confident that he'll be breaking his own record soon. He's also second in the record book for outdoor shot put and is just 71/2 inches short of claiming the record there, too.

Medlock spent his senior season at Indian River trying to break the school record, but finished his high school career falling short of the required distance. But during his four years at Indian River, this two-time All-Frontier League track standout won a pair of Section 3 outdoor titles, one Section 10 indoor title and placed eighth in the state meet his senior year.

"My focus and motivation are definitely up," Medlock said. "I was a little, I would say, lazy in high school. I didn't really work as hard as I should've. That's changed a lot. I realized that I've got to put a lot more work in than I was to be successful."

Both Medlock and Bucknell hope to turn that hard work into indoor and outdoor Patriot League titles this season. The indoor meet will take place from Feb. 20-22 at Navy, and the outdoor meet is slated for May 2-4 at Army.

THE MEDLOCK FILE
Age: 21.
Year: Junior.
Hometown: Evans Mills.
Family: mother, Jeanette; father, Todd; sister, Jessica.
Major: computer science and engineering.
Other activities: Kappa Sigma fraternity.