Medina's Mia Heine to run at University of Cincinnati

A torn ACL suffered on the soccer field in late September didn't stop Medina senior Mia Heine from getting a college scholarship to run track and cross country at the University of Cincinnati. "I started talking with them the summer after my junior year, and I had a decent amount of reassurance they were going to stick with me," Heine said Monday. "That's one of the reasons I picked UC, because of the understanding we had. "It's definitely a sense of relief knowing I get to spend my next four years at a place I feel comfortable with. It feels good to know all my hard work paid off." Heine, who carries a 3.5 grade-point average at Medina and is undecided on a college major, will have earned three letters in cross country — she was Gazette MVP in that sport as a junior — four in soccer and four in track and field by the time she graduates from high school. The 17-year-old participated in the Division I state cross country meet as a sophomore and junior and has competed in six events at the state track meet. She was on the Bees' title-winning 4x800-meter relay and placed 13th in the 800 as a sophomore and was fourth in the 800 as a junior. "I looked at other schools, but the main thing that drew me to Cincinnati was the coaching staff," she said. "I overall liked the campus, but getting to go on the tour with the team and feeling comfortable made it an easy decision." The 5-foot-2 Heine had surgery on her left knee in November, not long after sister Avery, a 2022 Medina graduate, suffered the same injury while playing soccer at the University of Mount Olive in North Carolina. "I didn't accept the fact that it happened until I got the MRI results, but I definitely kind of knew that night," she said. "It took me some time to accept the fact I wasn't going to finish my cross country and soccer seasons, so I had to change my ways so I could still be part of the teams." Heine's rehabilitation is progressing well and she hopes to resume running for Medina's track team around the middle of the season. "With the knee and everything, not coming back in my best shape, I have to go at the season with an open mind and whatever happens, happens," she said. "I'm not going to be at my peak fitness, so we're going to take it race by race and see what happens." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X.