Published: August 16, 2008 12:17 am         

Adaway jumps to title in Hershey’s Games

10-year-old wins standing long jump in national meet

Jalen Adaway has gotten off to quite a start to his athletic career.

The 10-year-old from Logansport recently won a national title in the standing long jump at the Hershey’s Track and Field Games Final meet in Hershey, Pa. Adaway recorded a personal-best jump of 6 feet, 9 1/4 inches to claim the gold medal in the 9-10 age division. He defeated runner-up Max Fox of Bowie, Md. by three-quarters of an inch.

The track and field event Adaway competed in was just part of the festivities he took part in during the week.

On July 31 Adaway and his four Indiana teammates flew to Philadelphia. From Philadelphia they took a bus to Elizabethtown College, just outside of Hershey, Pa., where they stayed in the college dorms. On Aug. 1 the team traveled to Hershey for a tour of the worlds largest chocolate factory. Completing the tour the team ventured to the Hershey Park Amusement Complex right next door where they spent the entire day with their families.

On Aug. 2 the team headed out to the Milton Hershey School for the track meet. All of the teams paraded around the track during the opening ceremonies led by Olympic gold medalist Rafer Johnson, the event’s grand marshall, and Olympic gold medalists Carl Lewis and Bruce Jenner.

At the completion of the meet the teams were treated with dinner at the Milton Hershey School and then closing ceremonies.

Adaway said the entire experience was “real fun.”

Adaway was introduced to Hershey track through his sister, Megan Coldiron, as Coldiron was the 2007 girls 13-14 age group state champion also in the standing long jump as well as helping coach the 2008 local team along with coaches Tim Wilson, Randy Kuhn, Vicki Ward, Dena Camp, Jim Newport and Jeff Newport.

Hershey’s Track and Field Games is the largest youth sports program of its kind with over 400,000 children participating in the program yearly, representing over 3,000 communities. For the final meet approximately 560 youth athletes representing all 50 states and Canada spent four action-packed days in Hershey visiting the sites, meeting peers and famous track and field athletes, then competing in the nationally-recognized track event.

Adaway is fourth grade honor roll student at Landis Elementary School and also enjoys playing baseball, football, basketball, golf and swimming.

Beau Wicker can be contacted at

(574) 732-5113 or via e-mail at beau.wicker@pharostribune.com