Trevor Ogumoro completed the men’s 100-meter dash – his first of two events – but did not qualify for yesterday’s semifinals. He ranked fifth in heat one with 12.33 seconds, beating Wallis and Futuna’s Pétélo Masei (12.54).
Papua New Guinea’s Kupun Wisil, who reached the semis, topped the group with 11.3 seconds.
The CNMI’s lone female runner – 16-year-old Rachel Abrams – ranked fourth in heat one of the women’s 100m event with 13.4 seconds.
Only the top two runners from the event’s three heats qualified for yesterday’s finals round. Paulini Korowaqa of Fiji topped Abrams’ heat at 12.63 seconds. Nauru’s Lovelite Detenamo followed the Fijian sprinter with 12.68 seconds while Vanuatu’s Daphne Nalawas (13.08) placed third.
Meanwhile, Kagman High School graduate Douglas Dillay completed both his 400m and 800m events.
Dillay finished heat two of the men’s 800m event on Monday, ranking sixth among 13 runners with two minutes and 15.59 seconds. New Caledonia’s very own Adrien Kela reached the finish line first in less than two minutes, timing in at 1:54.12. Fiji’s Varasiko Tomeru (1:59.51) and Tahiti’s Rick Mou (2:03.89) placed second and third, respectively.
Dillay entered heat three of the men’s 400m event yesterday and placed seventh with 54.87 seconds. Fiji’s Ratutira Narara, who competed in the 2011 Summer University Games at China last month, advanced to today’s 400m finals with Papua New Guinea’s Wala Gime.
Meanwhile, Abrams has yet to compete in the women’s 200m event. Ogumoro is scheduled for the men’s long jump today.
Abrams, Ogumoro and Dillay were selected to represent the CNMI last June, according to Northern Marianas Athletics coach Elias Rangamar.
“All three got the nod to represent us to the games so they’ve basically had three months of specific training for their individual events,” Rangamar told Variety.
“These are not our seasoned athletes but they will be competitive enough to beat athletes from the other island nations.”
He said it takes four to five years to develop young athletes for international-level competitions.
“Our next big goal is the 2014 Micronesian games and I’ve got three more years to work with a new group. This (Pacific Games) is going to be one of the many competitions they have to compete to become seasoned athletes,” Rangamar added.
CNMI beats Fiji in baseball
In baseball, the CNMI scored their second straight win after beating Fiji, 2-1 in eight innings yesterday. The CNMI drew first blood with one run after a stolen base from Jesus Iguel in the bottom of the third.
An inning later, Fiji tied the scores on an RBI single from Emosi Gotegote.
Joshua Jones eventually saved the day with his winning run when Jerome Delos Santos hit a single to left field.
The CNMI posted four hits overall with two from Delos Santos and one each from Juan Maratita and Eric Tenorio.
Last Saturday, the NMI defeated American Samoa, 9-4, breaking a brief losing streak versus Guam (5-6) and New Caledonia (2-3).
In a ranking match yesterday, Fiji defeated Samoa, 8-7. Guam handed Palau a shutout 4-0 loss in the semifinals.
