From a complete list of monthly top athletes in 2009, the Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association during its meeting last week picked gold medal winners to be the male, female, and student athletes of the year.
17-year-old Heo of Marianas High School brought home a gold medal from Pacific Oceania Junior Championships held in Fiji last year to strengthen his rank as the best junior tennis player in the Pacific Oceania.
He also made it to the final round in two men’s event in New Caledonia adding up under his belt an ITF Junior World ranking.
His earlier feats in 2009 include a stunning victory in the Men’s Open Pacific Island Club-Gatorade Tennis Tournament when he beat a former NCAA tennis player in March and Men’s Open Singles and Doubles in the Duty Free Shop Micronesian Tennis Championships in May.
The NMASA board and officers also unanimously agreed that Yvonne Bennett deserves to be the female athlete of the year.
She was among the young athletes who assured NMI of the medals in the Micronesian Area Championships in Australia last year.
Yvonne won gold medals in the 400-meter, 4×100-m relay, and 4×400-meter relay. She got two silver medals in the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints.
Yvonne also topped the sprint events in the CNMI National Track Meet and the 19th Annual All Schools Track and Field Championships. She won both the 100-meter and 200-meter in the Nationals, and took five gold medals in the All Schools Championship and was selected as the most outstanding female athlete for the 18U girls.
The student athlete annual title for male went to Matthew Mancao who has participated in many off-island events.
Mancao topped the Annual Silver Streak road race in the 18U boys division mid last year and won first place in the over all race in the 10-kilometer 2009 Winter Festival of Runs.
Jacque Wonenberg who brought NMI the most gold medals in athletics last year, was selected the female student athlete of the year.
She won six gold medals at the Micronesian Area Championships in Australia.
She dominated the long jump, triple jump, led in the 100-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles, 4×100-meter relay, and 4×400-meter relay.
Having won more medals than any athlete in the Pacific Islands, coach Elias Rangamar noted that Wonenberg was the main reason the CNMI reaped the most gold and overall medals in the Micronesian region.
Coach Rangamar himself was selected the coach of the year. He devoted his time to train NMI’s young athletes for the off-island events. His dedication to NMI’s athletic community has earned the islands the best young athletes today.
