On Jan. 9, a Newark Memorial junior was honored at Newark’s city council meeting. After an outstanding 2024 cross country season Kenji Kawabata received a commendation from Newark Mayor Michael Hannon on behalf of the entire Newark City Council.
“It’s always exciting when we recognize outstanding effort by students within our city organization,” said Mayor Hannon before introducing Kenji to the audience. To name a few accomplishments, the Newark Memorial athlete led this team to victory at the Mission Valley Athletic League cross country opener in September, he earned first place at the Clovis Invitational in the Division III category of the 5K, holds the school record in the 3200-meter, received first place at the North Coast Section Division III 3-mile course and ranked 14th overall in the California Interscholastic Federation State Championship. Again, all these achievements as only a junior.
Kenji took advantage of the opportunity to share some words as he acknowledged the support system in his life. “I want to thank all my coaches at the high school and all the staff who’ve been there to support me. And most of all I’d like to thank my family who’s always there to support me at home. I would also like to thank my teammates for always pushing me to be the best version of myself.”
Newark Memorial’s cross country and track coach, Tyler Jorgens, shared his experience coaching Kenji. “I first met him when he was in elementary school coming to watch his brother and sister run in the meets. It’s been great to watch him grow up over the years.”
While Kenji credits his teammates for his hard work, Jorgens also credits him for pushing others. “The standard Kenji holds himself to and the consistency of work he puts in is a great example for younger athletes on the team”
“Kenji has a really bright future in the sport and I can’t wait to see what he does in his senior year and beyond,” shared Jorgens.
Visit https://tricityvoice.com/newark-memorial-cross-country-make-their-mark-at-state-championship/ to read about Kenji Kawabata at the Cross Country State Championship.
