Chico competes in state senior track event
SCARBOROUGH, Maine — James “Chico” Hernandez of Washburn turned in a strong performance at the Maine Senior Games Track and Field Championships, held July 30, 2016 at Scarborough High School.
Hernandez, who serves as an assistant track and field coach at Caribou High School in addition to being the school’s varsity wrestling coach, competed in six events.
The 62-year-old placed first in his age division in the 1,500-meter race power walk, was second in the 50-meter dash, third in both the javelin and the long jump and fourth in both the shot put and the discus.
Hernandez was grateful for the work that veteran CHS cross country and track coach Roy Alden did this summer in preparing Hernandez for the meet, which included over 100 athletes representing eight states.
He has been involved in track and field competitions for most of his life. Hernandez is more renowned for his wrestling, as he has competed in national and international events for many years and has been inducted into several shrines, including the Maine Sports Hall of Fame, the AAU Wrestling Hall of Fame and the UMPI Athletic Hall of Fame. He was once featured on a box of Wheaties Energy Crunch cereal and was listed in Sports Illustrated magazine’s Faces in the Crowd.
His next venture in wrestling is the North American Grappling Association Ireland Championships in submission grappling and Brazilian Ju-Jitsu. That will take place Sept. 3 in Dublin, Ireland.
