Local track stars off to Australia

While the local workforce was making its way through the lanes during the afternoon rush hour, a team of 11 athletes and coaches were making their way through the security lines at the Saipan International Airport en route to the Oceania Open and Under 18 Area Championships at the Townsville Sports Reserve in Queensland, Australia.

At 4:30pm, Jack Kabriel, Ivan De Vero, Daryl Roligat, Anne Marie Satur, Lei Rangamar, Tony Ichiuo, Jeremy Winkfield, Marcan Aldan, Elias Rangamar, and Dolores Rangamar checked in their bags and bid a fond adieu to their loved ones before heading up the ramp to the passenger screening checkpoint. Teammate Bo Wang is a day ahead of the pack, as the long-distance runner began her journey yesterday.

This year’s team representing the Commonwealth is laden with a young crop of stars that made names for themselves during the qualifiers hosted by the Northern Marianas Track and Field Federation.

NMITFF president Kurt Barnes was present at the airport yesterday, and explained the benefit of fielding a team in the games.

“I think that the more exposure against competition goes to the betterment of our athletes. It can really wake you up to just how good the off-island talent is,” said Barnes.

Daryl “Young Gunner” Roligat said that he is a little nervous about competing in Australia because it is his first time to race alongside a field of international competitors. The president of the Rocball Association at Marianas High School said that he is intent on running the 100 meters in 11 seconds flat, and 24 in the 200m.

Marcan Aldan will be running the long distance races, as he specializes in the 1,500m, 5,000m, and long distance medley. His goal is to beat his personal best time of 4:44 in the 1,500 and 18:54 in the 5,000m with times below 4:30 and 18:00, respectively.

“It feels go, and I am proud. I am looking forward to the experience—meeting new friends, and learning from my mistakes. I worked so hard for this,” said Aldan.

Aldan will anchor the CNMI team in the medley relay by running the 1,600m portion, following Ichiuo in the 400m, Winkfield in the 800m, and Kabriel in the 1,200m.

Kabriel will also be running the 800m and 1,500m mid-distance races. He is the current CNMI record holder in the 800m with a time of 2:06 in the 1998 Games in Palau, but he is looking to get his name in the books by beating the CNMI record of 3:24 in the 1,500m as well.

“Right now my personal best is 4:57, but I really want to outdo that.”

Veteran Tony Ichiuo is returning to Townsville for the first time since he made the finals of the 400m in 1997, and this time out he is looking for an 11-second 100m and a 22-second 200m.

Ichiuo’s is not only going on the trip as an athlete, but as a mentor. He said that the first timers were a little nervous about the trip, but that he used his experiences to help keep the team headed in the right direction.

“I just told them to relax, and to focus on the run. Sometimes it can be intimidating when you see all of the finely tuned athletes, but you can’t get distracted by their muscles—you need to focus on the race,” he said.

Jeremy Winkfield doesn’t have a problem focusing on his prize.

“It’s my first time running in a real meet. It’s a lot different than basketball. It’s really exciting, and I’m going for broke and going to try for the CNMI record of 53 seconds in the 400 meters.”

So far, Winkfield said that his personal best is 54 seconds.

Anne Marie Satur started training for the discus and the shotput last year, and now she is looking to surpass her distances of 22 meters in the discus and 7.35 meters in the shotput with strong performances in the international games.

“It’s starting to hit us now that we’re going to Australia. I want to get about 22 to 24 meters in the discus and between seven to eight meters in the shotput,” she said.