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Rangamar is Coach of the Year
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Posted on Feb 19 2009
The indefatigable Elias Rangamar took the 2008 NMASA Coach of the Year award, getting recognition for his efforts in basketball and athletics.
Rangamar was part of Northern Marianas Athletics pool of coaches, who prepared CNMI tracksters for the biggest meet the Commonwealth hosted last season—the 2008 Oceania Area Championships.
He helped turn Jacque Wonenberg from a sprinter to an all-around trackster for the Oceania championships held from June 23 to 28.
Wonenberg later won the heptathlon competition in the area tournament, giving the CNMI its lone gold medal in the meet.
Besides Wonenberg’s gold, the CNMI also took six silver and eight bronze medals in last year’s major athletics event.
Right after the Oceania championships, Rangamar, who also works full time with the Division of Sports and Recreation, turned his attention to basketball.
He was in charge of preparing the CNMI Women’s Junior Nationals for the 2008 Oceania Youth Tournament, which took place in Guam in October.
Rangamar teamed up with Jose Tumaquip in helping the CNMI cagebelles shape up for the Oceania caging, which featured teams from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Guam, New Caledonia, Palau, and Tahiti.
Tied up with his work commitments, Rangamar failed to show up in the Women’s Junior Nationals’ first game against Tahiti, but eventually joined the team in the remaining days of the tournament. The CNMI cagebelles placed seventh in the Oceania caging, winning over Palau.
