By Jay Leon Guerrero
Guam’s Ryan Matienzo and Papua New Guinea’s Ongan Awa finished first in the 2022 Oceania Cross Country Championships 10K race held at the George Washington High School Course in Mangilao. The victory qualifies both runners a spot in the 2023 World Cross Country Championships scheduled for next February in Australia.
The Guam Track and Field Association hosted the event early Saturday morning in an open event for local and regional runners.
Three different events were offered with the open division, or senior division, racing in a 10K event. U20 runners raced in a 6K race and U14 runners running a distance of 2K. The biggest prize was in the senior division with the 10K winners earning a spot to race at the World Championships.
Guam’s Matienzo crossed the finish line first with a time of 34:41, ahead of local talents Arthur Toves (35:08) and Derek Mandell (35:30). “It feels good to run a cross country event. I think my last cross country race was in high school,” said Matienzo.
“I’m glad I get the opportunity to go to this (Cross Country World Championships) because I actually missed the World Championships for cycling last month,” said Matienzo. “This time, I’m going to make sure I make this trip in February.”
Matienzo recently represented Guam at the Pacific Mini Games in Saipan in the Triathlon event. The all-around endurance athlete will now have three and a half months to prepare for the world’s best.
According to GTFA’s Desmond Mandell III, there will likely be additional spots to go to Australia for 10K finishers based on time trials. Guam may have additional spots but those will be announced later.
Awa wins female race
Ongan Awa from Papua New Guinea led from start to finish and was happy she came to Guam to stamp her ticket to Australia. Ongan finished with a time of 41:55 which was good enough to beat out Denise Meyers from Saipan who clocked in at 43:45. Guam’s Ayuri Sugahara finished in third with a time of 50:54.
Rain fell at the start of the race but that did not phase Awa. “In PNG, it’s the same seasons like Guam so I’m used to running in wet courses,” said Awa.
“This is actually my second time to Guam and lots of things have changed since my first visit. I’m probably going to do some (souvenir) shopping before I head back home,” said Awa.
Kent, Baden add to their trophy collection
The U20 race had some familiar faces finishing on top with JFK’s Hugh Kent winning the 6K race with a time of 20:20. Coming fresh off a second place finish at the Asia Pacific Invitational (API) and an ISA All-Island Championship, Kent was the clear winner in the 6K course.
It was a sprint to the finish for second and third place with Simon Samchez freshman Rynier Diramos beating out Alexander Clark by 2/10 of a second. Diramos clocked in at 21:07.10, Clark finished at 21:07.30.
Jordan Baden from St. John’s won the female division 6K race with a time of 24:05. Baden, a senior, is off to a hot start and is the girl to beat in the IIAAG league after winning the Oceania 6K race and the API. The IIAAG season has started and Baden will make her debut next week in the cross country league for private schools.
Patricia Miclat was second with a time of 28:06. In third place for the females 6K race was Bekah Tavarez with a time of 28:13.
Open Mixed 10,000 Meter Run
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Name Group Time
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Women
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1 Awa Ongan F , 41:55.59
2 Denise Meyers F , 43:45.49
3 Ayuri Sugahara F , 50:54.34
4 Lisa Tomada F , 58:58.86
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Men
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1 Ryan Matienzo M , 34:41.80
2 Arthur Toves M , 35:08.63
3 Derek Mandell M , 35:30.42
4 Christopher Rasmussen M , 39:43.29
5 Nathaniel San Nicolas M , 42:24.60
6 Teo Galvez M , 42:28.52
7 Sildrey Veloria M , 42:32.81
8 Peter Blas M , 46:43.09
9 Taro Goto M , 47:42.15
10 Jackson Soichy M , 49:46.61
11 Omar Fuentes M , 55:10.64
Under 20 Mixed 6000 Meter Run
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Name Group Time
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Girls
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1 Jordan Baden F , 24:05.00
2 Patricia Miclat F , 28:06.00
3 Bekah Tavarez F , 28:13.00
4 Annika Miclat F , 28:26.00
5 Gabrielle Gogue F , 29:09.00
6 Maeva Conroy F , 29:40.00
7 Ava Garcia F , 31:05.00
8 Ali’rha Munoz F , 31:07.00
9 Liliana Mendiola F , 35:51.00
10 Mya Echang F , 35:52.00
11 Angel Payumo F , 36:45.00
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Boys
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1 Hugh Kent M , 20:20.00
2 Rynier DiRamos M , 21:07.10
3 Alexander Clark M , 21:07.30
4 Elijah Dixon M , 22:49.00
5 Landon Cruz M , 23:00.00
6 Ivan Aguilar M , 23:03.00
7 Kyle Garcia M , 23:31.00
8 Aiden Uncangco M , 23:39.00
9 Kaito Sakaguchi M , 23:40.00
10 Isaac Valdez M , 23:43.00
11 Cameron Bordallo M , 23:46.00
12 Evan Tydingco M , 24:26.00
13 Stephen Medrano M , 24:36.00
14 Hunter Wood M , 25:23.00
15 Zaiden Paulino M , 25:25.00
16 Shawn Echang M , 25:26.00
17 James Esguerra M , 27:42.00
18 Jose Unsay M , 28:06.30
19 Ryan Marutani M , 28:55.00
20 Gilmor Paulo M , 29:19.00
21 Adrian Bernardo M , 36:28.00
Under 14 Mixed 2000 Meter Run
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Name Group Time
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Girls
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1 Hayden Wilson F , 8:00.00
2 Vivienne Roedema F , 8:02.00
3 Sujin Oh F , 8:19.00
4 Grayce Toohey F , 8:23.00
5 Addison White F , 8:31.00
6 Allyana Li F , 8:53.00
7 Ivy Wilson F , 9:23.00
8 Shay Scarola F , 9:29.00
9 Shayne Ceserani F , 10:09.00
10 Makayla Atkins F , 10:43.00
11 Macayla Penaflor F , 10:52.00
12 Angelica Chan F , 10:56.00
13 Lin’isa Munoz F , 11:30.00
14 Talia Eichi F , 11:31.00
15 Helory Echang F , 17:15.00
16 Valentina Rasmussen F , 20:32.00
17 Kesau Echi F , 22:18.00
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Boys
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1 Race Baden M , 7:01.00
2 Tyler Augustine M , 7:19.00
3 Alwyn Lin M , 7:22.00
4 Kyle Marutani M , 7:40.00
5 Brayden Butler M , 7:46.00
6 Gavin Paet M , 7:48.00
7 Reggie DR Guzman M , 7:55.00
8 Neil Toohey lll M , 7:57.00
9 Jay Wynkoop M , 7:58.00
10 Arbyroi Carpo M , 7:59.00
11 Timothy Dixon M , 8:21.00
12 Micah Tavarez M , 8:47.00
13 Micah Tomada M , 10:42.00
14 Isaiah Tavarez M , 11:18.00
15 Jerry Zhang M , 11:41.00
16 Shayen Echang M , 16:51.00
17 Gary Zhang M , 20:28.00
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