Jondee Rivera joined her Hawai‘i teammates yesterday to leave for the Hershey Track and Field games to be held this week in Hershey, Penn. The 10-year-old athlete is the only one from Kaua‘i out of the five Hawai‘i athletes selected
Jondee Rivera joined her Hawai‘i teammates yesterday to leave for the Hershey Track and Field games to be held this week in Hershey, Penn. The 10-year-old athlete is the only one from Kaua‘i out of the five Hawai‘i athletes selected to be on the team.
Rivera will compete in the softball throw, the event in which she is ranked No. 1 in Hawai‘i. She was also ranked second in the state for the 50-meter dash, but was not selected to compete in that event.
Every year, athletes 9 to 14 years old compete in several track events to earn their spot on the Hawai‘i Hershey team. At the local qualifier at the Vidinha Stadium, Rivera placed first in the softball and the 50-meter dash and second in the 100-meter dash.
This is Rivera’s first time on the team.
“I’m a little nervous,” she said while she was waiting for her flight at the airport.
For her event, she must stand behind the designated straight line and throw the softball as far as she can. She may take a running start if she wants to.
She should be fine in the throwing department. The Wilcox Elementary student played backup pitcher and third base for the Lihu‘e Mets in the Lihu‘e Baseball League’s Mustang division.
Rivera will be missing her first week of school this week, but that didn’t seem to bother her much.
The Hershey Track and Field Games run from Thursday to Saturday, but it’s not just a four-day track and field meet. The first day consists of activities for the kids and an Olympian presentation, the second, a day for photo ops, team workouts and a tour of the Hershey Chocolate plant.
Aside from the competition, it’s the chocolate plant that she’s looking forward to seeing.
The games are hosted by the Hershey Youth Program, which is now in its 30th year. The games were established to “promote active lifestyles, sportsmanship and to provide an opportunity for kids to be the best that they can be,” states the games’ Web site.
Originally, there were 12 Kaua‘i athletes in the running to make the team. Rivera was the only one to receive the invitation.
For more information on the games or to view the results after the weekend, visit www.hersheystrackandfield.com.
• Lanaly Cabalo, sports editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or lcabalo@kauaipubco.com.
