Ada bags bronze in Oceania Champs

Donavin Ada, standing right, and the rest of the CNMI athletics delegation enjoy a light moment in a shop in Cairns, Australia, before the Oceania Area Championships. Others in photo are, standing from left, Beo Ngirchongor, Evan Miller, Gerald Castillo, Rachel Abrams (sitting), and Zarinae Sapong. (NMA FACEBOOK PAGE)

Team CNMI won’t be going home empty-handed as Donavin Ada clinched a bronze in the boys’ javelin throw event in the 2015 Oceania Athletics Association Area Championships in Cairns, Australia.

The Marianas High School freshman, who competed in his first international athletics event, threw a distance of 41.02 meters in the finals to secure the bronze in the three-day competition set from May 8 to 10 at Barlow Park.

Teuraiterai Tupala won the gold for French Polynesia with a throw of 59.93m, while teammate Mahio Patu settled for the silver with 54.79m.

The 14-year-old Ada also finished seventh in the boys’ discus throw and shot put with 34.73m and 10.67m distances, respectively.

Rachel Abrams matched her 200m run record, while Gerald Castillo and Evan Miller had personal best times in both of their events.

Abrams, who bagged three gold medals in last year’s Micronesian Games in Pohnpei, equaled her record-breaking time in the women’s 200m run when she clocked 26.29 seconds in the preliminaries.

Her 26.29 time in this year’s OAA was good only for 12th place, while she also finished 12th in the qualifying round of the women’s 100m sprint with 12.71 seconds.

Abrams clocked 26.29 seconds to break the record of former Team CNMI sprinter Yvonne Bennet (26.41, 2010 in Palau) in the 200m run event last year.

Castillo and Miller also failed to advance in the boys’ 100m and 200m youth runs, but recorded personal best times.

Castillo came in at 13th both in the 100m and 200m runs clocking 11.97 and 24.48, respectively. He also competed in the boys’ long jump where he placed fifth (5.26m). Miller finished 16th (12.73) and 17th 25.74) in the 100m and 200m runs.

Beouch Ngirchongor, who won the 400m run and 400m hurdles gold in the Pohnpei Micro Games, managed to qualify in the men’s 400m hurdles finals after submitting a time of 62.05 in the preliminaries.

Ngirchongor finished eighth in the finals with a time of 62.72, but then failed to qualify in the 400m run finals after landing at 10th (54.55).

Zarinae Sapong, meanwhile, had 13th place finishes in both the girls’ 100m and 200m with times of 13.91 and 28.97, respectively.

The seven-member Team CNMI, with Ron Olopai as coach, are expected to arrive at 7am tomorrow.