Lady Turtle power in All Schools

Oleai Elementary School’s Alina Esakova, left, and Reannie Sablan take part in the 400m race of the qualifiers for the 2021 Public School System All Schools Track and Field Championship Tuesday at the Oleai Track and Field. (Mark Rabago)

The Lady Turtles of Oleai Elementary School won four of six events as the qualifiers for the 2021 Public School System All Schools Track and Field Championship continued Tuesday at the Oleai Track and Field.

Proudly donning their olive-colored shirts, the OES girls showed they were no greenhorns on the track and the field as they won the girls 9U 100m, 12U 100m and 400m, and the softball throw.

In the 100m, Alina Esakova won the sprint race in 17.95, followed by teammate Elena Teigita (19:31) and William S. Reyes Elementary School’s Memzie Elieisar (19:59).

Esakova also was first in the 400m as she crossed the round-tripper on the track in 01:33:80. Saipan Community School’s Allie Brasuell and Elieisar came in second and third with times of 01:36:63 and 01:42:42, respectively.

In the 12U 400m, Reannie Sablan outdueled fellow Lady Turtle, Sandra Chargualaf, 01:54:90-02:07:74.

OES’ Teigita ran away with the 9U softball throw by chucking the softball 18.15m. She was followed by teammates Esakova (16.85m) and Jayla Ayuyu (12:35m).

Brasuell and WSR’s Aires Jo Magofna were the only non-Lady Turtles to win Tuesday. Brasuell was the lone runner in the 9U 1,500m and she completed the course in 08:12, while Magofna won the 12U 400m with a time of 18:92, followed by OES’ Sablan (19:20) and Chargualaf (19:63).

OES track and field coach Puspa Arriola was proud of her athletes’ performance in the qualifier, considering they have little to no training. “We decided to join last minute. [Despite that] our students did pretty well. We didn’t have much time to practice,” she said.

Arriola said she and assistant coach Mildred Kintol just conducted a quick preliminary training at their campus and chose their representatives to the All Schools then and there. She also had nice words to say about Esakova.“Alina did pretty well. She’s actually a very active and outgoing kid.”

Kintol, for her part, said all the track and field participants coming from Oleai are all raw talent, which only made it more surprising that the Lady Turtles were able to win four of six events. “They’ve no training and they were just getting their feet wet at the All Schools.”

The Public School System All Schools Track and Field Championship, which is being held in coordination with Northern Marianas Athletics, continued yesterday with qualifiers in the middle school and high school divisions.