The Big Island’s Jayla Medeiros has made a name for herself in the annual NFL Punt, Pass and Kick competition over the past five years. The young lady from Kealakekua has dominated the event on the national stage and on Jan. 2, she added to her trophy collection by winning her fourth first place title, this time while competing in the 12-13 year old age group during halftime at the Colts and Titans game on Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Field.
The Big Island’s Jayla Medeiros has made a name for herself in the annual NFL Punt, Pass and Kick competition over the past five years. The young lady from Kealakekua has dominated the event on the national stage and on Jan. 2, she added to her trophy collection by winning her fourth first place title, this time while competing in the 12-13 year old age group during halftime at the Colts and Titans game on Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Field.
“It feels good to be on top again, it is a friendly competition and to finish first overall is an honor,” Medeiros said. “However, my main focus was to represent Hawaii and show them what we can do. It’s all about traveling and meeting new people.”
Medeiros has reached the national stage in four of the last five years. Along with this year’s victory, she also placed first at nationals in 2010, 2012 and 2013. She finished second in 2014 and was a top-5 competitor in 2011. The top four go on to compete in the national finals. Medeiros faced some stiff competition this year, but her well rounded performance, and dominance in the punt, allowed her to edge out the second place competitor by 11 feet and six inches.
Opening with the punt competition, Medeiros boomed a shot 105-10. That distance easily took first with the runner up finishing with a kick of 98-03. Medeiros finished second in both the pass (103-03) and kick (106-11) for a combined score of 316-00.
“I was the younger one of the group and I thought I might finish third or fourth after watching the other girls warming up,” Medeiros said, “but I didn’t get overwhelmed and was able to bring myself together and win.”
Medeiros reached the championship round by finishing fourth nationally after the Team Championships on Dec. 20. She was the top performer at her event in San Diego with a combined score of 280-10. However, that put her in as the fourth seed, with the three competitors above her going in with a combined distance of 282 or higher.
A total of 10 participants from the Big Island placed first in the Hawaii State Sectionals at Wong Stadium on Nov. 8 and eight placed in the trip to San Diego. Austin Filoteo (Boys 6-7) and Jason Alani (Boys 12-13) finished first at the Team Championships along with Medeiros, but they were not able to attain a national ranking of fourth or higher to compete in Indianapolis.
Also placing were Leahi Kaupu (4th, Girls 8-9), Chaynce Hing (4th, Boys 8-9), Tylana Abraham (4th, Girls 10-11), Nalukea Kamakea (3rd, Boys 10-11) and Derik Camacho (2nd, Boys 14-15).
The NFL PPK program is a national skills competition for boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 15. Established in 1961, it is the oldest NFL Youth Program. The event is free to both the competitors and to organizers who host the local competitions. For more information on the NFL PPK visit www.nflppk.com.