‘Great experience’ for NMI cross country team

Sildrey Veloria and Denise Myers pose with the CNMI flag during the 2022 Oceania Cross Country Championship in Guam last Saturday. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

The cross country team who represented NMI in the 2022 Oceania Cross Country Championship held last Saturday at George Washington High School in Mangilao, Guam said it was a great experience for them.

The three-person team consisted of runners Denise Myers, Sildrey Veloria and team manager Edward Dela Cruz Jr.

“It was [a] great experience for the team. It’s not every day you get to compete with Olympians and these guys have now done it twice this year,” said Dela Cruz.

Myers and Veloria both competed in the seniors 10K race, with Myers winning silver in the women’s division.

She came in with a time of 43:45.49, right behind gold medalist Awa Ongan of Papua New Guinea who clocked in at 41:55.59; Ayuri Sugahara of Guam took bronze with a time of 50:54.34. Guam’s Lisa Tomada came in fourth with a time of 58:58.86.

The assistant professor at Northern Marianas College shared that in this race, she reached her time goal of under 44 minutes, “so I was stoked to reach my goal.”

Also, that “it was an honor to run against Ongan from Papua New Guinea…she is a talented runner. I hope with continued training I can give her some better competition the next time we get to compete against one another. I am pleased with how the race went, but want to keep getting better,” said the silver medalist in the 2022 Pacific Mini Games held earlier this year on Saipan. 

Veloria placed seventh in the men’s division with a time of 42:32.81. Guam’s Ryan Matienzo won gold with a time of 34:41.80, Arthur Toves won silver with a time of 35:08.63, and Derek Mandell won bronze with a time of 35:30.42.

About the race, Myers said that “the race was an early start, it was a rainy 6am race start time. The race course was a 2km loop. It was a dual start which included the 10km open Oceania championship alongside with the 6Km Guam high school championships. The dual start was nice because it added more runners to compete against and since the high schoolers were running fewer laps the paces worked out.” 

She then gave thanks and said, “I am thankful to all those who made it possible Northern Mariana Athletics, Oceania Athletics, Run Guam, as well as my friends and family for all of their support.”

When asked how the representatives were chosen, Dela Cruz said, “athletes need to be consistent and committed to even have the chance.” About the duo’s training, he said “it’s offseason right now; they trained on their own to stay active. Sildrey and Denise have not let up on the gas with training.” 

“It was wonderful to be selected by NMA to represent the NMI at the Oceania Cross country championship,” Myers added.