All Schools track meet kicks off today

Two Northern Marianas International School students compete in the boys U9’s 60m qualifying race for the 2018 Public School System/McDonald’s All Schools Track and Field Championships last month at the Oleai Sports Complex oval.(Jon Perez)

The four-day 2018 Public School System/McDonald’s All Schools Track and Field Championships will start today at the Oleai Sports Complex oval with four events lined up in the opener.

Organizer Northern Marianas Athletics will start the competition that will run until Saturday with the 1,500m run for the boys and girls U7, U9, U11, U13, U15, and U18 age groups. Races will begin at 4:30pm, the same time NMA will also kick off the softball throw event for elementary division only (U7, U9, and U11 age category). Only those who joined and made the grade in the qualifying events last month will compete in the championships. The Top 6 qualifiers from Saipan in the 1,500m run will race in today’s event and will go up against the representatives of Tinian and Rota, which had their separate trials in April.

Once the 1,500m run and softball throw are completed, NMA will proceed with the 60m run for all age groups in both the boys and girls divisions. Races will begin at 5:30pm and again only the Top 6 from Saipan and one each from Rota and Tinian are allowed to compete in the finale.

Brilliant Star School’s Fiona Regan will lead the finalists in the girls U7’s 60m run today, as she posted the fastest qualifying time (10.68 seconds), while Koblerville Elementary School’s Jephda Hong ruled the boys U7 qualifier with his 10.73.

In the U9 age group—eyes will be focused on William S. Reyes’ Iris Rasa and Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School’s Javen Camacho, who were the top qualifiers in their division after completing the sprint under the 10-second mark. Camacho registered 9.84 seconds, while Rasa was faster at 9.56.

For the U11 division, Jedidah Hong is favored for her best qualifying time of 10.01 seconds, while her fellow Koblerville student Shorey Ramerson recorded the fastest time in the elementary trials after tallying 8.66 seconds last month.

In the U13 division, Hopwood Middle School runners will lead the qualifiers in the 60m run and will be challenged by several students from Agape Christian School. Agape, Saipan International School and Marianas High School are the team to watch in the U15 and U18 divisions, which will also feature runners from Kagman High School and Saipan Southern High School.

For the final event in Day 1 of the All Schools meet, students in the U13, U15, and U18 age groups will compete in the javelin throw, starting at 6pm.