{"id":42973,"date":"2014-07-22T04:01:57","date_gmt":"2014-07-21T18:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=42973"},"modified":"2014-07-22T04:01:57","modified_gmt":"2014-07-21T18:01:57","slug":"abrams-rangamar-hand-cnmi-3-golds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/abrams-rangamar-hand-cnmi-3-golds\/","title":{"rendered":"Abrams, Rangamar hand CNMI 3 golds"},"content":{"rendered":"

The CNMI grabbed three gold medals in the opening day of the athletics competition of the 8th Micronesian Games in Pohnpei.<\/p>\n

Rachel Abrams delivered two golds for the CNMI yesterday, while Lia Rangamar contributed one.
\nAbrams earned her first gold medal with a record-run in the 200m race. She clocked in at 26.29 seconds to beat five other finalists and eclipse the CNMI and Micronesian Games marks (26.41 seconds) fellow Commonwealth sprinter Yvonne Bennett logged during the 2010 Micro Games in Palau.<\/p>\n

The 19-year-old Abrams defeated Nauru\u2019s Fritz Lanja (26.75 seconds), Marshall Islands\u2019 Marian Cress (26.99), Kosrae\u2019s Lihen Jonas (27.67 seconds), fellow CNMI athlete Zarinae Sapong (28.55), and Palau\u2019s Ruby Joy Gabriel (28.57 seconds).<\/p>\n

\"Members<\/a>
Members and coaches of the CNMI Athletics Team pose for a photo last Saturday before leaving for Pohnpei for the 8th Micronesian Games. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Abrams also posted the fastest qualifying time in the 200m run with her 26.55 seconds on Heat 1. Sapong topped her heat (2), too with her 28.50 seconds to join Abrams in the finals. Friendly Joy Pena was the third CNMI sprinter entered in the 200m run and finished 12th out of 21 in the qualifying heat after submitting 28.97 seconds.<\/p>\n

In the women\u2019s 100m hurdles, Abrams registered 17.50 seconds to finish ahead of three other finalists. She defeated Pohnpei\u2019s Ashley Apiner (17.84 seconds) and Aleina Thomsin (20.79) and Palau\u2019s Eliana Koshiba-Panuelo (23.33 seconds).<\/p>\n

Several minutes after Abrams gave the CNMI its second gold, Rangamar hauled the third one as she ruled the javelin throw. Rangamar, who holds the Commonwealth\u2019s national mark in the event (35.31m\/2012 Oceania Area Championships), posted 34.63m to win the gold medal. She prevailed over four Pohnpei bets\u2014Apiner (32.13m), Tracy Ardos (29.06m), Deborah Steven (27.74m), and Sandonia Likor (24.62m).<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the CNMI qualified in both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s 400m runs. Sapong tallied 1:10.06 in the qualifying heat to finish fifth and earned one of the six finals berth in the race. Pohnpei\u2019s Anitra Logirio had the best qualifying time at 1:06.31, while the CNMI\u2019s Pena fell just one notch short of advancing into the finals, as she placed seventh in the qualifier with a time of 1:11.43.<\/p>\n

In the men\u2019s 400, Beo Ngirchongor was ranked fifth after the qualifier, logging 53.61 seconds. Chuuk\u2019s Smith Tarrell ruled the qualifier with his 52.32 seconds, while the CNMI\u2019s Michael Mancao missed the six-man cut after recording 58.23 seconds.<\/p>\n

Ngirchongor also competed in the qualifying heat of the 200m run, but failed to make the grade, placing 10th (out of 23 runners) with his 10th-best 23.58 seconds. Two other CNMI runners faltered in their respective qualifying heats with Brandon Philip recording 23.88 seconds and Tony Ichiou submitting 25.37 seconds.<\/p>\n

In other results, Pena missed the medal podium in the women\u2019s long jump by just two notches, while the CNMI\u2019s bets in the 10,000m run and men\u2019s discus throw also fell short on their bid. Pena finished fifth in the long jump after registering 4.05m. Pohnpei\u2019s Mihter Wendolin won the gold (4.62m). In the 10,000m run, Jessie James placed sixth with a time of 45:17, while in the discus. Sylvan Rangamar was the best finisher for the CNMI with the field\u2019s seventh-best (29.47m). Ronald Olopai had a 28.56m heave, while Daniel Joab recorded 23.43m.<\/p>\n

Pohnpei\u2019s Magdano Marquez (39:33) and Reloliza Saiman triumphed in the 10,000m races and were the first two gold medalists in the Games<\/p>\n

Manny Sablan is flag bearer<\/strong><\/p>\n

CNMI baseball team catcher Manny Sablan was the Commonwealth\u2019s flag bearer during the opening ceremony for the Micro Games last Sunday, according to CNMI chef de mission Michael White.<\/p>\n

Sablan, his baseball teammates, the CNMI swimmers, some basketball players, and several members of the Commonwealth\u2019s athletics team joined more than 1,000 athletes and officials from Pohnpei, Chuuk, Yap, Kosrae, Marshall Islands, Guam, Palau, and Nauru in the parade of delegations. White and fellow Northern Marianas Sports Association officials Rose Igitol and Kurt Barnes were with the Commonwealth\u2019s athletes and coaches during the parade.<\/p>\n

White, after the opening ceremony, encouraged the CNMI delegates to give their best performance in the Pohnpei.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlay hard. Play fair. Do your best. Bring honor to the CNMI, your teammates, your families, and yourselves. Go CNMI!,\u201d the chef de mission said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, results of the swimming and basketball competitions in Day 1 were unavailable at press time. Preliminary swimming races were scheduled in the morning, while the finals were set in the afternoon. In basketball, the CNMI was set to meet Palau at 2pm (1pm Saipan time) in the men\u2019s division, while the Commonwealth\u2019s women\u2019s squad was slated to duel Pohnpei at 6pm.<\/p>\n

In baseball, the CNMI plays its first game today against defending champion Palau. Palau goes for win No. 2 after it downed Pohnpei, 5-3, in the opening game yesterday. Guam also won its first assignment, outclassing Kosrae, 7-4.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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