Sapong, Wang and Rangamar show off their talents at trials

Many of the names remained the same this past Saturday, as the fastest men and women in the CNMI gathered at the Oleai Sports Complex to compete in another round of time trials for the 2004 Oceania Open and 18-and-under Championships set for December in Australia.

Many familiar names laced up their PF Flyers for sprints, long distance races, relays, and the field events to include Sapong, Wang and Rangamar.

For the women, 10-year-old Lia’mwar Rangamar was the longest long jumper with a 2.95-meter run and leap. Rangamar competed unopposed, but the females quickly joined in the field events, beginning with the discus.

Ann Marie Satur (15) led all females in the 18-and-under with a distance of 22.36m. She was followed by another Rangamar, 14-year-old Lei, who came in second with a respectable 20.84m.

The duo of discus returned to compete in the shotput, and once again it was Satur who came out on top. Satur got the most output from her shot put at 6.69m, while Rangamar fell just .14m behind with 6.55m.

The swiftest ladies took to the track in the sprints, and it was the speedy Reylynn Sapong, and Lia’mwar Rangamar who came in one, two in the 100m with 15.7 and 16.9, respectively

The pair returned for the 200m, but 12-year-old Jackie Wonenberg finished in just 31.7 to best them. Sapong finished second with 33.8, while Rangamar took third with 35.1.

All three of the girls took a breather before returning for the 400m, and much like the prior race, a newcomer entered to take the tape. The perennial princess of distance Bo Wang finished first with a time of 1:13.4, ahead of second place Wonenberg (1:15.1), third place Sapong (1:17.7), and fourth place Rangamar (1:27.2).

As per the norm, Sapong was the iron woman of the day, participating in five events, and that had no effect on her stamina in the 800m. Sapong handily beat Wang Chang (3:09.4) with a time of 2:58.2 to take the tape in the two-lapper. The mystery was why Bo Wang didn’t compete in an event in which she is a favorite.

“Princess Bo” returned for the 1500m, and her majesty was graced with a win, as the roughly four-lap race took her a mere 5:52 flat. Chang Wang was more than a half-minute off the pace in second (6:29.1), while 14-year-old Gersil Mendiola finished third (7:09.4).

In the only lady’s team event, Lia Rangamar, Azumi Ishida, Sapong, and Wonenberg of Track Team edged out Lei Rangamar Hanna Joo, Mendiola, and Bo Wang of MHS in the Medley Relay.

Track Team finished the 4X100, 100, 200, and 400m in 2:24.0, while Marianas High School was right behind at 2:25.6.

The trials was hosted by the Northern Marianas Track and Field Federation.