NMI finishes MAC with 24 medals

The Northern Mariana Islands delegation put up a strong charge in the 2nd Micronesia Athletics Championships, winning a total of 24 medals.

The delegation matched its first day performance by hauling in another 12 medals on Thursday, striking gold three times to finish in third place in the medal standings. Guam placed first with nine gold medals, while Palau was in second with eight gold.

The NMI’s 24 medals, however, was the most hauled in by a delegation in the competition.

Mini South Pacific Games veteran Dexter Dillay put up a strong performance in the men’s 110m hurdles and took the gold with a time of 17.43 seconds, beating out Guam’s Kenneth Karosich (17.68).

The NMI’s second gold of the evening came courtesy of Micronesian Games discus record-holder Doris Rangamar, who dominated the women’s javelin throw with a distance of 25.71 meters. Kiribati’s Taatia Riino took silver with a throw of 22.95 meters, while CNMI’s Arcy Moncrief grabbed the bronze with a distance of 22.66 meters.

The gold streak was capped by a record-breaking run by Tyrone Omar in the men’s 200m as he clocked in at 23 seconds. Taking silver was Jack Howard of the Federated States of Micronesia (23.05) while bronze went to Nauru’s Rikko Thoma (23.58).

Dillay also medalled in the long jump after his leap of 6.04 meters was good for silver. Teammate Jeff Saures took home his third bronze medal of the MAC with a jump of 5.61 meters. The gold went to Kiribati’s Buraieta Yeeting, who jumped 6.30 meters and set a new record.

Also making her presence felt was Jacque Wonenberg, who took home her fourth medal of the games with a silver in the women’s 400m. The Sadog Tasi resident clocked in at 1:05.28, just a little over a second behind gold medalist Ngerak Florencio of Palau (1:03.53). Palau’s Avon Grace Mazo won bronze in 1:05.55.

For her part, Noriko Jim won silver in the women’s 1,500m with a time of 5:08.47. She only trailed Guam’s Leana Peters (5:07.97), and was ahead of Guam bronze medalist Nicole Layson (5:14.18).

Sidro Tebuteb continued to have a good experience as he won bronze in the men’s discus with a throw of 32.57 meters. Guam’s Justin Andre won gold with a distance of 40.44 meters while Tunia Kaotirake of Kiribati got silver with a throw of 34.56 meters.

Rangamar also medaled in the shot put when her throw of 8.96 meters was good for bronze. Palau’s Chandis Cooper was the gold medalist (10.58) and Nauru’s Tracey Duburiya (9.05) got silver.

Wonenberg, Reylynn Sapong, Lia Rangamar, and Lyza Locsina also won bronze in the women’s 4X100m relay, with Wonenberg anchoring the team and crossing the finish line in 58.36 seconds. Nauru took gold and FSM silver in a photo finish ending.

Also, Chang Jang Wang won bronze in the men’s 10,000m with a time of 41:00.75. Guam took gold and silver as Jay Antonio (38:27.44) and Toby Castro (38:44.20) were far ahead of the competition.

MAC Medal Tally (Final)

Country G S B Total
Guam 9 7 4 20
Palau 8 2 2 12
NMI 5 6 13 24
Kiribati 4 7 1 12
FSM 4 2 2 8
Nauru 1 7 6 14
RMI 0 0 1 1