Commonwealth entered in 14 events in Oceania tourney

  The seven-man CNMI Team will be competing in 14 events in the Oceania Regional Championships 2012 that starts today at the Barlow Park in Cairns, Australia.

Lia Rangamar will open the CNMI’s campaign in the three-day championship, as she competes in the women’s javelin throw at 11:30am against the representatives of New Zealand, Australa, and Cook Islands.

Also scheduled for 11:30am is the 400m sprint with the CNMI having two entries in Beo Ngirchongor and Michael Mancao. The two Commonwealth runners are in the U20 age group and will be racing against sprinters from Fiji, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Guam, Tahiti, and the Solomon Islands. Eighteen runners are joining the qualifying heats in the 400m race.

Next up for the CNMI is Rachel Abrams, who will participate in the qualifying heats in the 100m sprint. Races will start at 12:30pm with Abrams facing runners from Fiji, Australia, Nauru, Guam, Fiji, and PNG.

Abrams’ second event in Day1 is the long jump set for 1pm and she will compete against 10 other athletes, including the favored Cristina Smundin of Australia.

Orrin Pharmin will debut in the Oceania championship via the 200m qualifying race at 2:15 and will be up against 19 other runners.

Yvonne Bennett will then close out the CNMI’s Day 1 campaign, as she races in the open 200m run at 4:20pm. Yvonne will be running against eight others.

In Day 2, Reylynn Sapong will compete in the U20 400m race at 2:30pm, while Bennett will join the same event in the open division at 2:50pm. Sapong and Bennett will then team up with Abrams and Rangamar in the women’s 4x100m relay at 3:45pm.

For the final day of the championship, Abrams will run in the U20 200m qualifying heats at 12:05pm, while Ngirchongor will have his turn in the same event at 12:15pm. Mancao and Sapong will also compete in the final day via the U20 800m run, while Pharmin will race in the open 100m event at 1:30pm. Bennett is also entered in the women’s open 100m race set for 3:30pm. The CNMI’s last event will be the open 4x400m relay race where Bennett and company will compete against FSM, PNG, New Zealand, and Australia.

The championships will feature 20 regular member-countries of the Oceania Athletics Association and two associate members and relay guest teams from Japan. Over 400 athletes are competing in the event that serves as tune-up for the World Championship in Barcelona, Spain and the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

By Roselyn Monroyo
Reporter