FATHER and daughter Stanley and Filomenaleonisa Iakopo returned to the athletic sports scene by topping their respective divisions in the 100m event of the Northern Marianas Athletics Open Track & Field second meet on Saturday at the Oleai Sports Complex.
Stanley Iakopo, the former NMI record holder for the men’s 100m, showed the young athletes that he still has a lot of fuel left in him as he finished first in the open category with a time of 12.26.
Orrin Pharmin took second place (12.88) followed by Beouch Ngirchongo (13.17) and Simon Necisito (14.79).
Stanley Iakopo’s NMI record was 10.06 which was set on Guam.
“I was just a regular kid growing up in American Samoa, competing with the other village kids for fun on who was the fastest,” he said.
As a high school student in American Samoa, he participated in such events as the 100m, 200m, long jump, and hurdles.
“On Saipan back then, I trained on poorly made dirt track. We didn’t have the state-of-the-art track we have now. It was all coral and grass and very rough track.”
He said he could have joined the masters’ category on Saturday, but he entered the open division because “I wanted to test myself and the kids to see what they got.”
Stanley Iakopo is also a body builder and a former mixed martial arts fighter.
Biggest strength
His 15-year-old daughter, Filomenaleonisa, claimed the U18 category on Saturday with a finish time of 13.31.
In second place was Leani Acosta who clocked 14.31 while Maria Quitugua settled for third (15.09) and Elly Aguon finished fourth (16.31).
A Kagman High School sophomore, Filomenaleonisa Iakopo said: “My first athletics competition was in 2019, pre-Covid. I was 13 years old and in seventh grade.”
She added, “My biggest strength in athletics is definitely the 100m and 200m. Those are the only events I train for and participate in, other than the 4×100 relay. But I’d like to explore other events in the future, such as long jump and javelin throw.”
Javelin throw
In the masters category javelin throw, Nick Gross was the man to beat after throwing a distance of 45.75m.
In the open division, DJ Ngirchongor took first place after recording a distance of 44.54m beating Orrin Pharmin (33.35m), Lyle Anfrew (27.99m), Richard Ogumoro (23.35m) and Simon Necisito( 12.15m).
In the U18 division, Akira Ota was the leader after throwing a distance of 23.46m and was followed by Theo Rodgers (23.33m).
In the masters 60 to 64 age category, Chas Algaier recorded a distance of 12.9.
Gabrielle Race was the only female athlete to join the open category, but she still gave it her all to cover a distance of 22.75m.
In the U18 division, Leani Acosta took first place (24.99m) while Maria Rasa finished second (20.02m), followed by Elly Aguon (18.19m), and Madison Rasa (22.75m).
Discuss throw
Nick Gross likewise excelled in discuss throw by throwing a distance of 29.85 in the masters 40 age category.
Richard Ogumoro, for his part, recorded a distance of 27.15m to top the open division, beating Lyle Andrew (18.58m), Orrin Pharmin (18.03m) and Simon Necesito (16.12m) while Chas Algaier placed first in the masters 60 to 64 category with 14.55m.
In the women’s division, Maria Rasa topped the U18 category with a distance of 21.25m followed by Elly Aguon (12.1m) and Madison Rasa (10.65m).
Stanley Iakopo leads the 100m race of the Northern Marianas Athletics Open Track & Field second meet on Saturday at the Oleai Sports Complex.
Filomenaleonisa Iakopo breaks away from rest of the 100m participants during the Northern Marianas Athletics Open Track & Field second meet on Saturday at the Oleai Sports Complex.
Chas Algaier winds up for the discuss throw during the Northern Marianas Athletics Open Track & Field second meet on Saturday at the Oleai Sports Complex.
