T&F11/17/2017 9:53 AM | By: Cal Athletics
Cal Track & Field Adds Four Signees
BERKELEY, Calif. – Director of track & field/cross country
Tony Sandoval announced a group of four signees that have signed National Letters of Intent and will join the team for the 2018-19 school year.
The Bears will welcome Sydney Vandegrift, Jalyn Jackson, Colby Corcoran and Moises Medrano into the fold next year. All four additions hail from California.
Vandegrift will look to help the women's distance group, which is currently ranked 23rd in the nation in the USTFCCCA poll and competing at the NCAA Cross Country Championship. Corcoran and Medrano will look to help the men's distance group return to the championship as a team as they sent two individuals this year. Jackson will add his talents to a men's jumps group, which will return everyone from this upcoming season.
Sydney Vandegrift
Distance | St. Francis High School | Elk Grove, Calif.
Vandegrift earned All-Delta League status for the third consecutive season during the 2017 cross country season. She finished second overall at the league meet and won the Oakmont Invitational. She recorded seven top-five finishes including a second place finish at the CIF San-Joaquin Cross Country Championships which ensures her fourth straight CIF Cross Country Championships appearance later this fall. Vandegrift finished in the top 20 as both a sophomore and junior.Vandegrift qualified for the CIF State Track and Field Championships in the 3200 as a sophomore as she finished 12th overall. Last year, she took first place at the Delta League Championship. She holds personal bests of 10:32.12 in the 3200m and 4:59.50 in the 1600m.
Colby Corcoran
Distance | St. John Bosco High School | Long Beach, Calif.
During the 2016 cross country season, Corcoran took seventh place at the CIF-SS Division Finals as he set a season-best time of 15:02.8 in the three miles. He bettered that mark this season as he posted a mark of 14:44.7 at the Apache Invitational, one of two victories for Corcoran in 2017.
Corcoran earned a berth at the CIF State Championship in the 3200m where he took 17th place with a time of 9:23.10. He qualified for the championship with a personal best of 9:07.77 at the CIF-SS Masters Meet and took third place. Corcoran won the Trinity League Championship in both the 1600m and the 3200m; his 1600m performance was a personal best as he crossed the line in 4:15.11.
Moises Medrano
Mid-Distance | Highland High School | Bakersfield, Calif.
Medrano joins the Bears as one of the top 800m runners in the nation. Milesplit ranks Medrano as the eighth-best at that distance in the high school class of 2018 as he sports a personal best of 1:51.47. Medrano set that mark at the CIF Central Section Masters Championship. He followed that up with a third place finish at the CIF State Championship Finals. Overall, Medrano won six 800m races during the year.
Medrano also excelled at longer distances as he did not lost a race at 1600m at all during his junior season. He picked up eight victories, including a first place finish at the CIF South Area Championships. He posted a season-best time of 4:19.05.
Jalyn Jackson
Jumps | Eastlake High School | San Diego, Calif.
Jackson joins the Bears as a specialist in both the triple jump and the long jump. Milesplit ranks him as the no. 35 recruit in the entire 2018 high school class. Jackson sports a personal best of 48-5.25 in the triple jump which came as he claimed a silver medal at the CIF State Championship Finals. Jackson claimed six triple jump victories during his junior year including a win at the CIF San Diego Section Championship.
Jackson is also a prodigious long jumper as he boasted a personal best of 23-4. He claimed sixth place at the CIF State Championship meet after winning the CIF San Diego Section and Mesa League championships in the long jump. He also won the Mesa League in the 110m hurdles.
