Yvonne Bennett wins gold in Samoa

CNMI sprinter Yvonne Bennett finished strong in the 2011 Oceania Regional Championships in Apia, Samoa, winning a gold medal in the last day of the competition.

Bennett claimed the gold medal in the 400m race last Thursday after clocking in at 57.66 seconds. Her time was a bit slower than her personal best and CNMI and Micronesian records (57.14 seconds), but it was enough to pull her ahead of Papua New Guinea’s Venessa Waro (57.85 seconds) and Guam’s Naomi Blaz (60.12).

Before her gold-medal win in the 400m run, Bennett shattered records in the first two days of the three-day tournament. She timed in at 12.52 seconds in the qualifying heat for the 100m run in Day 1 to crush both the CNMI and Micronesian marks (12.68 seconds), which she owned. In Day 2, she posted 25.67 seconds in the qualifying heat for the 200m race, surpassing both the CNMI and Micronesian records (26.41 seconds), which she also logged in Palau last year during the Micro Games.

In the finals of the 100m run, the 21-year-old Bennett submitted 12.59 seconds and won a bronze medal. She had another bronze medal when she finished third in the 200m finals with a time of 25.70 seconds. In the preliminary heats of the 100m and 200m runs, Bennett came in at second place in both races.

Besides Bennett, also delivering medals for the CNMI were Clayton Kenty ad Ryan Ichihara.

Kenty placed third in the 110m hurdles, clocking in at 17.43 seconds. PNG’s Reginald Monagi recorded 16.40 seconds to take the gold, while Guam’s Michael Herreros secured the silver with his time of 17.31 seconds. Kenty also joined the 400m hurdles, but notched only sixth place (61.28 seconds). PNG’s Mowen Boino (51.88 seconds) won the event.

Ichihara secured a bronze medal in the long jump after tallying 5.66m. Kiribati’s Boitu Baiteke (6.52m) and PNG’s Monagi (6.03m) claimed the gold and silver, respectively. Ichihara joined two other events—100m and 200m races. He advanced to the finals of the 200m after logging 24.60 seconds and had a better run in the championship race with his 24.45 seconds. Ichihara submitted 11.96 seconds in the 100m qualifying heat, but did not make it to the fnals.

Sylvan Rangamar was the fourth CNMI athlete to compete in Apia, but failed to win a medal when he placed only fifth in the discuss throw (31.15m).

Rangamar, Kenty, and Ichihara returned on Saipan last Sunday, while Bennett went back to the mainland after a successful campaign in Samoa.