Kamehameha’s Chenoa Frederick ran, jumped and set records, and her accomplishments landed her in elite company.
Frederick was named the 2017-18 Gatorade Hawaii Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year on Thursday.
The 5-foot-6 sophomore won three individual events at the HHSAA state championships this past season. Frederick captured the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.52 seconds while soaring a meet-record 39 feet, 10 inches in the triple jump and 17-5.75 in the long jump. She also placed fourth in the 400-meter dash.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the track, distinguishes Frederick as Hawaii’s best high school girls track and field athlete.
Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year award to be announced in June, Frederick joins an elite alumni association of state track and field award-winners, including Olympians Lolo Jones (1997-98, Roosevelt High School, Iowa), and Allyson Felix (2002-03, Los Angeles Baptist High School, Calif.).
Frederick has served as a peer mentor in her school.
“Chenoa’s track accomplishments this year speak for themselves,” said Kamehameha coach Manly Kanoa. “She set and reset her own state record in the triple jump several times, and she was mentally tough in a variety of different situations. But she knows there’s room to improve and she’ll continue to push the envelope.”
Frederick has maintained a 3.12 GPA in the classroom. She will begin her junior year of high school this fall.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which works with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.
Frederick joins recent Gatorade Hawaii Girls Track & Field Athletes of the Year Kristen O’Handley (2016-17, Kaiser High ), Emma Taylor (2015-16, Hawaii Preparatory Academy), Kathleen Funcheon (2014-15, Moanalua), Alyssa Bettendorf (2013-14, Seabury Hall), Zoe Sims (2012-13, HPA), Charlinda Ioane (2011-12, Kapolei), Kailea Tracy-Visintainer (2010–11, Seabury Hall), Ashley Satterwhite (2009-10, Punahou), Bailey Massenburg (2008–09, King Kekaulike), Zhane Santiago (2007-08, Kahuku), and Samantha Cabreros (2006-07, Punahou) among the state’s list of former award winners.
As a Gatorade Player of the Year, Frederick will be able to select a national or local youth sports organization to receive a grant as part of the Gatorade Play It Forward program. Every Gatorade Player of the Year state winner receives a $1,000 grant to donate and will have the opportunity to enter for an additional $10,000 spotlight grant by writing a brief essay explaining why their selected organization deserves additional support. 12 spotlight grants — one for each sport — will be announced throughout the year.
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