NMI to send 25 athletes, 7 officials to PNG

The CNMI will be sending a 32-member delegation composed of 25 athletes and seven officials to next month’s XV Pacific Games set from July 4 to 18 at the Sir John Guise Sports Complex in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

White

Northern Marianas Sports Association president Michael A. White, who will also be the CNMI’s chef de mission, said some of those who will be going to the two-week quadrennial event will be participating in more than one sport.

“A person may be listed twice or three times if he or she is going in more than one capacity. For example, as an athlete and coach in one or two different sports,” added White.

The CNMI will be competing in eight of the 28 sports offered in the Pacific Games, namely, athletics, beach volleyball, bodybuilding, golf, sailing, swimming, triathlon, and va’a (outrigger canoe).

Team CNMI is composed of Beouch Ngirchongor and Orrin Pharmin (athletics); Andrew Johnson and Clay McCullough-Stearns (beach volleyball); Donivan Mendiola and Aaron Tomokane (bodybuilding); and Peter Prestley and Dr. Tony Stearns (triathlon).

The four-member golf team of Joseph Camacho, Harry Nakamura, Franco Santos, and Luis Tilipao (golf); and the swimming trio of Victoria Chentsova, Angel De Jesus, and Takumi Sugie.

Stearns is also entered in sailing where he’ll join his wife Dr. Janet McCullough-Stearns, and their daughter Emma Rose McCullough-Stearns.

The CNMI’s eight-member va’a team is composed of Joe Ayuyu, Carter Calma, Jack Kabiriel, James Lee, Dino Manning, Ben Olopai, Joe Quan, and Jason.

Northern Marianas Athletics secretary general Robin Sapong and triathlon’s Brad Ruszala are the team managers for their respective sports, while Manning will also act as assistant team manager for va’a.

Northern Mariana Islands Volleyball Association youth development head of indoor programs Darcy Wylie (beach volleyball), Commonwealth Bodybuilding Federation president John Davis Jr., and Jacoby Winkfield and Elna De Jesus (swimming) are either head or assistant coaches.

Stearns and his wife, Janet, will also be the sailing coaches, while Tarkong will also have the capacity of coach for va’a.

White said that he also expects a few more non-athletes to be added on the list in the future.

American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Guam, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Norfolk Island, Samoa, Palau, the Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tonga, Tuvalu, Tokelau, and Wallis and Futuna are the other competing countries aside from the CNMI and host Papua New Guinea.

This will also be the first time that the Pacific Games Council decided to allow Australia and New Zealand to join on a trial basis in only four sports: rugby sevens, sailing, taekwondo, and weightlifting.