Hawai‘i must have a minimum of five athletes sent to this year’s Hershey Track and Field Games in Pennsylvania. So far for Kaua‘i, 12 young athletes are awaiting the call. Pierce Murphy, Kele Hanohano, Kelsey Cadiente, Bryson Cayaban, Isaac Fierro,
Hawai‘i must have a minimum of five athletes sent to this year’s Hershey Track and Field Games in Pennsylvania. So far for Kaua‘i, 12 young athletes are awaiting the call.
Pierce Murphy, Kele Hanohano, Kelsey Cadiente, Bryson Cayaban, Isaac Fierro, Kahi Higa, Kawehi Louis-Diamond, Taylor Foster, Michael Farley, Jonah Stokes, Jondee Rivera and Tiala O’Brien rank within the top six in the state in their respective events.
Murphy is ranked first in the 800- and 1600-meter run for the Boys 13 to 14 age group. Cadiente is ranked first in the 100-meter dash in the Girls 13 to 14 age group.
For the Boys 11 to 12 age group, Cayaban ranks first in the 100-meter dash and Fierro ranks first in the 400-meter dash. Rivera ranks first in the Girls 9 to 10 age groups in the softball throw.
Earlier this year, athletes participated in Kaua‘i’s Hershey track meet qualifier. Each island holds its own qualifying meet and the results are sent to the main office in Honolulu. The results from each island are then put together and the top performers of each event and age group are named.
From that list, the Hawai‘i team will be chosen and announced later this week.
“You can never really tell (who will get the call),” said Dave Walker, who runs the local track qualifying meets along with the county of Kaua‘i. “It’s really hard to figure because I don’t know what the other states look like. I think Cadiente looks like a pretty strong candidate. Pierce looks pretty strong because he finished way ahead of the second-place finisher. Cayaban looks pretty strong, too.”
These athletes range from ages 9 to 14 years old and compete in events such as the standing long jump, softball throw, the 200-meter dash and the 1600-meter run.
“Some years you’ve got people who look like they’ve got a pretty good chance of going and then they don’t go,” Walker said. “The district that chooses them tries to balance it out.”
The Hershey Track and Field Games is 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.
The games run from Aug. 2 to 5, but is 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.
The games will be held on Saturday, Aug. 4 and the athletes return home the next day.
For more information on the Hershey Program, visit www.hersheystrackandfield.com.
• Lanaly Cabalo, sports editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or lcabalo@kauaipubco.com.
