Andrew Johnson, left, and Logan Mister takes a breather after beating Palau in the opening set of their beach volleyball match in the 2023 Pacific Games Tuesday in Honiara, the Solomon Islands.
NMI team manager Joseph Weaver, right, assists paddler Jenisha Dubrall in bringing the V1 out of the water following the 500m race Monday at the DC Park in Honiara, the Solomon Islands.
HONIARA, Solomon Islands (Northern Marianas Sports Association) — The NMI’s Logan Mister and Andrew Johnson opened their bid in the beach volleyball competition in the 2023 Pacific Games with an emphatic win over Palau Tuesday in Honiara, the Solomon Islands.
The NMI duo, who won the silver medal in last year’s Pacific Mini Games held on Saipan, swept Palau’s Greg Blelas and Texxon Taro, 21-13, 21-9, for a strong start in the 17-team field. Mister and Johnson are in Pool C along with Vanuatu, Tonga, and Palau. They will go for win No. 2 today, Wednesday, against Tonga at 11 a.m. (Saipan time) and later at 6 p.m. will square off against Vanuatu’s James Chilia and Stivano Banga in the early rematch of last year’s Pacific Mini Games finale. The Vanuatu pair outclassed the NMI bets in a three-set gold medal match, 19-21, 21-10, 15-13.
In other results Tuesday, the NMI paddlers missed advancing to the finals after placing fourth in the men’s and women’s V6 500m races. In the V1 women’s 500m sprints last Monday, Jenisha Dubrall came in at fifth, while Tyler Andrew was also ranked No. 5 in his heat in the men’s division.
For their part, the NMI’s representatives in the athletics competition will return to the National Stadium today, Wednesday, for Day 3 of the track and field events.
Tania Tan, who is coming from a record-breaking and gold medal winning run in the 5,000m race, is entered in the 10,000m run and will be battling almost the same runners she defeated in Monday’s opening races. Tan will be on Lane 1 for the 5:15 p.m. (Saipan time) race and will be up against Solomon Islands’ Scholastica Herman and Diana Matekali, Tahiti’s Pauline Moreau, Sophie Bouchonnet, and Clemence Dede, Papua New Guinea’s Christina Moiyang and Mary Tenge, Vanuatu’s Marie Harry and Melody Sam, Palau’s Christina Wicker, and New Caledonia’s Hortense Happey and Deborah Kaboer.
Also returning to the track are Alexander Camacho and Theodore Rodgers, who will race in the qualifying heats for the 200m run, starting at 3:45pm. Camacho is on Heat 1 with seven other runners, while Rodgers will compete on Heat 5. Pony Tang will have his first event in the 2023 Pacific Games, as he participates in the men’s 5,000m run and face 15 other runners.
Triathlete Leo Wania will also make his debut in Honiara when he competes in the men’s sprints (400m swim, 10K bike, and 2.5K run). He will be going up against 18 other triathletes, who are divided into three heats with the Top 2 advancing to the finals.
Pending the results of Tuesday’s events, Team Marianas’ medal haul remains at 11 (4 golds, 1 silver, and 6 bronzes).
Team Marianas’ participation in this year’s Pacific Games is supported by the Joeten Daidai Foundation, Triple J, Crowne Plaza Resort, IT&E, IP&E, Tan Siu Lin Foundation, Mobil, Tan Holdings, and McDonald’s.
