{"id":410555,"date":"2024-06-25T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-25T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=410555"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T14:00:00","slug":"Team-Marianas-exceeds-expectations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/Team-Marianas-exceeds-expectations\/","title":{"rendered":"Team Marianas exceeds expectations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Team Marianas conquered the 2024 Micronesian Games after finishing with a 70-23-29 gold-silver-bronze medal tally yesterday.<\/p>\n

This is the first time since 2002 that Team Marianas ranked No.1 in the final medal standings. In 2002, the NMI had 24-26-17 gold-silver-medal tally to rule the 2002 Micronesian Games held in Pohnpei. This year, the 120 total medals that NMI athletes and officials won are the islands\u2019 highest, breaking the 92 (44-23-25) Team Marianas previously recorded in the 2010 Micronesian Games held in Palau.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did not expect our team to win these many medals. However, this goes to show how much hard work everyone on Team Marianas put in, in the past several months to be able to perform at their best and represent our islands well in the 2024 Micronesian. We are very proud of our Team Marianas,\u201d NMI chef de mission Valerie Hofschneider said.<\/p>\n

In the unofficial final medal standings, Team Marianas\u2019 70 medal led the 68 of Nauru, which had a neck-and-neck battle with the NMI in the top rankings after making a killing in weightlifting, winning 45 gold medals<\/p>\n

Team Marianas, on the other hand, dominated the swimming competition (pool and open water swims, getting 49 golds, 15 silvers, and 14 bronzes). The NMI National Tennis Team earned the second most gold medals for Team Marianas with its seven medals and the Jeff Race-coached squad also got two bronzes. Athletics contributed five golds, two silvers, and six bronzes, while weightlifting chipped in three golds, five silvers, and four bronzes. Basketball added one silver (women\u2019s division), while women\u2019s fast-pitch won a bronze, and beach volleyball delivered a pair of bronze medals.<\/p>\n

Icing on the cake<\/p>\n

Wrestlers James Attao-Greene Jr. and Ryan Babauta sealed Team Marianas\u2019 reign in the 2024 Micro Games after winning the NMI delegation\u2019s last two gold medals. The two wrestlers topped their respective beach wrestling competitions and contributed a total of six gold medals, as they also prevailed in the freestyle and Greco-Roman events over the weekend.<\/p>\n

Attao-Greene Jr., Babauta, and coaches Jason Tarkong and Rick Bauer joined the NMI Men\u2019s and Women\u2019s Basketball Teams and the NMI Women\u2019s Fast-Pitch Softball Team in the closing ceremony last night in Majuro. Babauta and women\u2019s basketball player and athletics representative Lia Rangamar were named flag bearers at the closing ceremony.<\/p>\n

Big thank you<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Team Marianas and the Northern Marianas Sports Association Board thanked all the individuals and organizations that supported the NMI athletes and officials\u2019 participation in the Micro Games, and the entire NMI community for rallying behind Team Marianas since Day 1 of the competitions in the Marshall Islands.<\/p>\n

Team Marianas is sponsored by: Joeten Daidai Foundation, Mariana Express Lines Pte. Ltd, Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation, Skechers, Triple J Enterprise, E-Land Group, D&Q, TakeCare Insurance, IT&E, Bank of Guam, Black Construction Corp., Dial-Rent-To-Own, RNV Construction, GPPC\/Apex Builders, Matson, Chinese Association of Saipan, Y.K. Corp., LaoLao Bay Golf & Resort, Jose & Ruri Ayuyu Foundation\/McDonald\u2019s, P&A Corp., Artman Corp., Zoom Caf\u00e9, and I Love Saipan. (PR)<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

From left, Jason Tarkong, James Attao-Greene Jr., Ryan Babauta, and Rick Bauer are all smiles following the team\u2019s triumph in beach wrestling competition in the 2024 Micronesian Games in the Marshall Islands Monday morning.<\/p>\n

-CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
<\/figcaption><\/figure>

<\/p>\n

Basketball and athletics\u2019 Lia Rangamar is one of the two flag bearers for Team Marianas at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Micronesian Games Monday in the Marshall Islands.<\/p>\n

-CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
<\/figcaption><\/figure>

<\/p>\n

Team Marianas\u2019 women\u2019s fast-pitch crew in action during their semis game against Pohnpei. Team Marianas won the bronze medal in the event.<\/p>\n

-CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Team Marianas conquered the 2024 Micronesian Games after finishing with a 70-23-29 gold-silver-bronze medal tally…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-410555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410555\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}