LEANI Acosta finished first in the U18 women’s division of the 200m race of the Northern Marianas Athletics Open Track and Field second meet on Saturday at the Oleai Sports Complex.
Acosta clocked 29.42, beating Tiana Cabrera who finished second with a time of 32.36, and Maria Quitugua who settled for third place at 33.1.
In an interview, Acosta said, “I’ve been training for a few weeks but I still pushed myself.”
An upcoming senior at Marianas High School, Acosta was disappointed that the high jump, her favorite event, was not included in the second meet.
Aside from the 200m race, Acosta also placed first in javelin throw.
In the U18 men’s division, Theo Rodgers was triumphant with a finish time of 26.54 while Charles McDonald came in second at 26.78 followed by Leon Dela Cruz (27.66), Jiahang Wu (28.98) and Michael Rodgers (30.17).
In the open division, Gabrielle Race was the only female athlete in the event, but she still gave it her all, finishing with a time of 33.42.
Ken Song was the top finisher with a time of 26.47 while Orrin Pharmin took second place at 27.19 and Beouch Ngirchongor was third with a time of 28.98.
In the masters 50-54 age group, Kosuke Sato, the lone runner, crossed the finish line with a time of 28.02.
In the U18 division 800m event, Tiana Cabrera was first among females with a time of 02:45.59 while Sildrey Veloria topped the men’s category at 02:33.44 beating Theo Rodgers who clocked 02:35.14.
In the open division, Race and Song were the top female and male runners finishing at 02:41.66 and 02:19.10 respectively.
Anika Snyder took second place in the women’s category with a time of 03:02.57 while Edward Dela Cruz placed second in the men’s by clocking 02:29.96. Third and fourth were Jalen Lucido (02:38.69) and Simon Necessito (03:32.86).
In the masters division, Ron Snyder topped the men’s 55-59 age group with a time of 03:18.17 while Kosuke Sato claimed the men’s 50 title with a time of 02:22.37.
The women’s 200m division runners take off during the Northern Marianas Athletics Open Track and Field second meet on Saturday at the Oleai Sports Complex.
