Tracksters, swimmer are May’s top athletes

Sprinters Tyrone Omar and Jacque Wonenberg, thrower Lei Rangamar, and swimmer Kensuke Kimura now have one thing in common—they each were recognized as athletes of the month for May.

This as each recorded impressive performances over the month and were lauded for their accomplishments during yesterday’s monthly Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association meeting.

Omar, Wonenberg, and Rangamar received their plums courtesy of their performances in the recent 2006 McDonald’s All Schools Track and Field Championships, while Kimura earned his award after breezing through the pool in the Guam Swim Federation ABC Championships on Guam.

In the McDonald’s meet, Omar set new national and junior records in the 200m sprint, while striking gold with a time of 23.21 seconds. It was the same event in which Omar claimed gold in December during the Micronesia Athletics Championships.

Omar also lived up to expectations by winning gold in the 100m sprint, clocking in at 11.32 seconds, and closed his day by anchoring the Marianas High School Dolphins to a gold medal finish in the 4X100m relay.

Omar wounded up finishing the meet with four medals as he also won silver in the high jump with a height of 1.70 meters to win the most outstanding athlete award and earned the male athlete of the month award.

For her part, Rangamar won the female athlete of the month award after grabbing three medals in the throwing events while also competing and surprising many with her running ability.

Also a student at Marianas High School, Rangamar threw for gold in the discus and javelin throws. She won the discus when her best throw landed 25.83 meters across the field, then picked up another first place finish after throwing the spear 19.66 meters in the javelin event.

She also bagged silver in the shot put, throwing for a distance of 7.53 meters.

Rangamar then shocked many as the thrower suited up for her team’s 4X100m relay team and helped the team win gold.

Kimura was equally impressive as he represented the Saipan Swim Club in 10 events during his stint on Guam. What made the meet memorable for Kimura, though, is that out of the 10 events, he was able to set personal best times in eight, while also winning the third place high point trophy.

Even better is that Kimura, who turned 10 years old just a month ago, set a new record in the 9-10 years old age group as he torpedoed through the water in the 400m race to finish in a time of 5:40.89, or more than four seconds better than the old mark.

He also missed Jon Sakovich’s 25-year-old record in the 200m freestyle by less than a second as he completed the challenge in just 2:41.69.

With his performance, Kimura was able to secure a slot in the CNMI swim team that will compete in the upcoming 6th Micronesian Games.

Wonenberg, meanwhile, competed in a level of her own in the McDonald’s meet, dominating the girls’ 13-and-under division to win four gold medals.

The medals weren’t what made headlines, though, as the Sadog Tasi resident managed to break three national and junior records as well.

She raised the bar while placing first in the 100m as she clocked in at 13.63 seconds, followed up with the same result with a record-breaking time of 27.87 seconds in the 200m, then closed out her individual effort by stamping her name in the record book by winning the 400m race in just 59.32 seconds.

Far from done, Wonenberg anchored her Hopwood Junior High School team to a gold medal finish in the 4X100m relay.

Like Omar, Wonenberg also won the most outstanding athlete award for the meet.

Going home with honorary mention is Jonathan Welson, who won three gold medals and a silver in the McDonald’s meet for Cha Cha Ocean View Junior High School.

No other athletes were nominated during the meeting held at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium conference room.