Athletes urged to bring honor to CNMI

Chef de mission and Northern Marianas Sports Association president Mike White challenges Team CNMI to bring honor to the Commonwealth as bulk of the squad left Saipan yesterday to compete in the XV Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea.

CNMI athletes and officials pose for a photo at the departure area of the Saipan International Airport yesterday before leaving for Papua New Guinea to compete in the XV Pacific Games.
(Roselyn B. Monroyo)

“Do your best. Play hard but fair. Bring honor to the CNMI, to your teammates, to your families, and to yourselves,” said White, who arrived in PNG yesterday morning and was the first CNMI delegate to make it to Port Moresby.

White will be joined in PNG by the Commonwealth’s swim, canoe, triathlon, sailing, and beach volleyball teams, which left Saipan yesterday afternoon and are expected to touch down at Jacksons International Airport at 8:05am today. Athletes and officials of the five squads had stops in Guam and Cairns, Australia before reaching their final destination.

The swim team is headed by coach Jacoby Winkfield and has swimmers Victoria Chentsova, Takumi Sugie, and Angel De Jesus, and assistant coach Edna Delos Santos. The va’a (canoe) squad is made up of Joe Ayuyu, Carter Calma, Jack Kabiriel, Dino Manning, Ben Olopai, Joe Quan, and Jason Tarkong, while the triathlon group has three members in Brad Ruszala, Peter Prestley, and Tony Stearns. Tony is also a member of the sailing team, joining her daughter, Emma and wife Janet McCullough-Stearns. Clay is the fourth member of the Stearns family included on Team CNMI, as he will be competing in beach volleyball with Andrew Johnson and coach Darcy Wylie.

“Andrew and I are both looking forward to being able to represent the CNMI together. The competition level is going to be very high, but we have been practicing a lot and are looking forward to the experience,” Clay said in an interview with Saipan Tribune yesterday.

The beach volleyball tournament will run from July 13 to 19 at the Sir John Guise Outdoor Stadium with the CNMI battling New Caledonia, Fiji, and the Cook Islands in pool play, according to Clay.

The Commonwealth’s triathletes will see action first in the quadrennial event when they compete on July 5 in Konedobu, Port Moresby. Up next are the CNMI va’a, swim, and sailing teams, which will begin their respective bids on July 6.

With majority of Team CNMI on their way to PNG, only golf, athletics, and bodybuilding athletes and officials are on Saipan and they are expected to leave the island early next week. The medal-rich athletics competition and bodybuilding will start their respective competitions on July 13, while golf is set to hit the fairways of the Royal Port Moresby Golf Club beginning on July 15. The CNMI has two entries in athletics in Beouch Ngirchongor and Orrin Pharmin, while bodybuilding also has two competitors in Donivan Mendiola and Aaron Tomokane. In golf, the Commonwealth has a four-player team composed of the returning Joe “Kamikaze” Camacho, Harry Nakamura, Franco Santos, and Luis Tilipao.

The CNMI has a total of 32 delegates to the Pacific Games, which will have its opening ceremony this Saturday at the Sir John Guise Outdoor Stadium. The Commonwealth has yet to choose its flag bearer for the traditional parade of teams in the opening rites this weekend.