For most the state meet is the end of the journey - the cultivation of all the hard work put in from throughout the season. For one athlete it was only the beginning. Since the Missouri Class 1-2 State Championship a month ago Sophia Rivera has had quite the the travel schedule. First it was to New Mexico for Great Southwest then Cuba for the Caribbean Scholastic Invitational, followed by Greensboro, North Carolina for New Balance Nationals, then her last stop was in Eugene, Oregon where she competed on both the junior and senior level.
In her most recent meet Rivera delivered in a big way. In the shot put Rivera climbed atop the national leaderboard yet again this season with a throw of 53-5.75, a quarter inch further than the previous leader. With that she punched her ticket to the Edmonton, Canada where she will represent Team USA at the Pan Am Junior Championship. She also competed in the javelin on the senior level against professionals where she finished top twenty in the country.
While one would think with four big trips down already and another slated for the end of July this would be enough for the Brentwood junior. However, she isn’t done quite yet. This week she will be in Chicago, Illinois at the World Youth Trials where she will look to add to her travel schedule. Assuming that Rivera performs as she has in recent meets she will have another ticket booked this time to Cali, Columbia for the IAAF World Youth Championship.
