Previous Story
NMA gives thanks to departing coach
|
Posted on Sep 29 2005
Northern Marianas Athletics recently held an appreciation party recognizing the efforts of track and field coach Chris Porco, who will return to his home in Michigan after assisting the athletics body for the past year.
The party was held Tuesday evening at the Kilili Pavilion, as athletes, members of the board, fellow coaches, and supporters, including Rep. Ray Tebuteb, gathered to show their appreciation.
“This is the closest family I got here on Saipan,” Porco said. “I know athletics in the CNMI will flourish because we have people who are dedicated to growing the sport.”
Porco, who was heavily involved in the sport during his high school years, said he had heard about the NMA—then Northern Mariana Islands Track and Field Federation—and contacted president Kurt Barnes in hopes of getting involved through coaching.
“He just told me to show up at the track and next thing I knew, I was coaching,” he said.
Porco had recently guided long jumper Dexter Dillay and accompanied the athlete, as well as sprinter Darrel Roligat and fellow coach Elias Rangamar, to the 2005 Palau Mini South Pacific Games. He was also active in organizing the recent McDonald’s All Schools Track and Field Championships, and several All Comers meets, and is credited for creating a website for the federation.
Meanwhile, the NMA reminds all interested individuals that it will hold the first qualifying trials for the upcoming Micronesian Athletics Championships tomorrow at the Oleai Sports Complex track and field facility.
NMA officials will be at the facility for registration at 2pm. More qualifying trials will be held in the near future, and all individuals interested in representing the CNMI in the Championships must qualify. Only three slots for men and women have been allotted for the CNMI delegation for each event.
The Championships will be held on Dec. 14 and 15 on Saipan and will play host to about 100 athletes from the CNMI, Guam, Palau, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, and Kiribati.
