Abrams, Dillay follow lead

Runners Rachel Abrams and Douglas Dillay aimed to follow in the footsteps of known CNMI athletes and give honor to the Commonwealth when they compete in the 2011 Pacific Games in New Caledonia later this month.

Abrams looks up to CNMI sprinter Yvonne Bennett, who holds both the Commonwealth and Micronesia’s records in the 100m and 200m.

“Hopefully I do follow in her footsteps because she’s a great athlete, teammate, and friend,” said Abrams, who will race in sprint events in this year’s Pacific Games.

The Marianas High School student’s best time in the two sprints are 12.71 seconds (100m) and 28.44 seconds (200m). Yvonne’s CNMI and Micronesian marks stand at 12.52 seconds (100m) and 25.67 seconds (200m).

Abrams, who will also join the long jump event in New Caledonia, admitted she needs a lot of hard work to accomplish what Bennett did and she is thankful that Northern Marianas Athletics has given her the opportunity to compete in the Pacific Games and hone her skills.

“It feels really great that I will be representing the CNMI. This is the first time I will be going off island to compete for track and field, so I’m really excited and little bit nervous,” said Abrams, who also suited up for the CNMI U15 National Team in the 2010 Micronesian Basketball Tournament in Palau two months ago.

“Right now, I am doing a lot of weightlifting and building my body strength. On the track, I am mostly working on my sprinting techniques. I am thankful to my teammates and coaches because they all work hard to motivate me to become a better athlete,” the Commonwealth sprinter said.

While Abrams looks up to a teammate and friend, Dillay is drawing inspiration from his older brother, Dexter. The older Dillay represented the CNMI in field events in the 2006 Micronesian Games and 2007 Pacific Games and a couple of Oceania Athletics Association-sanctioned competitions. Dexter is now based in the mainland, serving in the military.

“Without my brother, I will not be a runner. I thanked him for his support and for making me love track,” Douglas Dillay said.

Dillay, who raced for the CNMI in the 400m and 800m events in the 2010 Micronesian Games, is expected to run in the two middle distances races and the 400m hurdles in New Caledonia this month.

“It feels great to be representing the CNMI once again and I hope it won’t be my last. The Pacific Games is more challenging than the Micro Games because there are more runners, so I will just keep my head up high and do my best in every race,” the younger Dillay said.

Joining Dillay and Abrams in New Caledonia is Trevor Ogumoro, who will be competing in long and triple jump events in the Pacific Games.

“Our goal in the Pacific Games is to make the finals of every event our athletes participate in. If we win a medal, it will be great but I have to be realistic with our chances. This is another young group that will get a huge boost of experience from competing at this level,” NMA head coach Elias Rangamar said.