Race gets spot on collegiate team

The CNMI’s Gabrielle Race, second left, stays close on defense against a Personal Finance Center Lady Crushers player during a training match early this year at the Guam Football Association National Training Center in Dededo. Race is now in California and will suit up for the Saddleback College. (Contributed Photo)

Gabrielle Race has earned a spot on the Saddleback College’s women’s soccer team in the California Community College Athletics Association.

“We are in the Orange Empire Conference. On this team, I have often been playing offensive center midfield, which is a new position for me,” said Race, who suited up for the CNMI Women’s National Team in the EAFF E-1 Football Championships 2017 Round 1 in Guam in June before getting ready for college and joining her new squad last month.

California Community College Athletics Association, according to its website, oversees 105 athletics programs for more than 26,000 student-athletes and is considered a breeding ground for student-athletes aiming to jump into NCAA and other bigger collegiate athletics associations.

Race’s team—the Gauchos—were ranked first going into the conference playoff last season. Saddleback College, which is located in Mission Viejo, had an overall 16-4-2 win-draw-loss record—the best mark since the program started in 2003—and conference slate of 12-2-2 last year. The Gauchos dueled NCAA Division CSU Dominguez Hills in a scrimmage recently and lost, 0-2.

“The team and coaching staff (headed by BJ McNicol) are all very good. I feel like I match up well with most of the team, but there are some players that I look up to and strive to be as good as,” Race added.

The daughter of CNMI Sports Hall of Famer Jeff Race is among the many rookies on the Gauchos’roster and loves the challenges she faces as one of the newest members of the team.

“I think it’s always great when you get to play on a new team. It builds experience and it’s almost always fun playing the sport you love. Every coach has his or her own style, so of course training here is different. One of the biggest changes is weightlifting. At Saddleback, we’ll sometimes have entire practices only in the weight room. There are also fitness standards the coach has set and if you don’t meet them, then you don’t play,” the Marianas High School graduate explained.

Race and the Gauchos won’t be starting their season until Sept. 2 when they play MiraCosta College from the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference, but they are scheduled to have their first official preseason match today versus Cuyamaca College, also of the PCAC.

Now that Race has joined the growing list of CNMI athletes getting opportunities to play in the collegiate ranks, she encouraged those who are still on the island to keep playing and introduce themselves to coaches/scouts.

“It’s not impossible to become a college athlete if you are from Saipan. There are many student-athletes that have the potential to play on a collegiate level, but they have to reach out to coaches. People don’t know about Saipan and the talent that is there, so you have to make yourself known. Also, only about 20% of colleges are Division I, so it’s important not to think it’s your only option. There is also Division II, Division III, NAIA, and junior colleges,” Race said.