2 CNMI runners complete Oceania race

Young runners Seiya Eda and Dylan Ackerman participated in the 2014 Oceania Cross Country Championships held last week in Guam.

Both Eda and Ackerman were entered in the junior division of the 5K race last Friday at the John F. Kennedy School grounds. Eda clocked in at 19:09.90 to finish 24th out of the 81 runners in his field. Ackerman was ranked 62nd after submitting 21:06.20.

Papua New Guinea’s Adel Siune topped the division with his 15:44.20, while two JFK runners rounded up the Top 3 with Andrew Robinson coming in at second with a time of 16:42 and Karl Almoite placing third with his 17:34. Students from various high schools on Guam dominated the field, while Palau had only one entry in the division with Basilio Shayo finishing ninth after posting 18:19:40.

The CNMI’s Dylan Ackerman, 332, catches his breath after completing the 5K race in the 2014 Oceania Cross Country Championships held last weekend in Guam. (Contributed Photo)

In the girls junior division, the Top 3 finishers were PNG’s Ongan Awa (19:11.50), JFK’s Allison Bowman (20:12.40), and Guam High School’s Taloani Atoigue (20:12.70).

The cross-country race in Guam was Eda and Ackerman’s second time to represent the CNMI in off-island races. In July this year, they also made it to the Commonwealth team that participated in the 2014 Micronesian Games in Pohnpei. Both runners competed in the 800m, 1,500m, and half marathon events in Pohnpei, while Eda also joined the 5K run in the quadrennial meet. He timed in at 20:34.67 in Pohnpei and before that race, he also joined a similar 5K event (PIC Hafa Adai Run) on Saipan and registered 18:02.

Eda and Ackerman earned the rights to represent the CNMI in two regional competitions after their notable performances in the McDonald’s/Northern Marianas Athletics All Schools Championships for the last two years and in other local races. Early this year, the two runners led the Manta Rays to the overall championship in the high school division of the All Schools meet. They also had outstanding showings in the Saipan Marathon and last year’s NMA cross country series.

Meanwhile, NMA secretary general Robin Sapong joined Eda and Ackerman in Guam as the former attended the Oceania Cross Country Seminar. Over 100 individuals joined the evening seminar, which was headed by Ann Lord, IAAF Cross Country Committee member and Oceania Athletics Association Cross Country chair, and 004 IAAF Cross Country champion and World Half Marathon bronze medalist Benita Willis.

“It was very informative with the special guests coming out at the seminar. The host, Guam, did an awesome job despite such short notice,” Sapong said.