Today, April 18, 2009, at 6:15 in the morning, several well-wishers and supporters of the six high schools participating in this year's annual secondary schools championships in Chuuk State, FSM flooded to Andersen Field on Weno Island to witness the first event of the championship this year, the newest addition to this annual competition. The one mile relay is one event very much loved by Chuukese. This year, the Interscholastic Sports Commission, the group responsible for high schools sport competition in Chuuk, has decided to include such event as part of the track and field competition program.
As the six female starters lined up to begin the race, the crowd had very little clue of which school would prevail. Weno High School's first two legs of the ten members relay (5 boys 5 girls) out classed everyone with steady and quick strides from senior TJ Sappa until Southern Namo neas High School and Berea Christian School gained the lead over WHS from 4th leg onward.
The course for the relay was from Andersen Field to Kurassa Store, with girls running away from the field and boys returing from Kurass Store.
From 5th runner onward, it was pretty apparent that Southern High in orange and Berea in yellow were the only contenders for the first title of the innagural competition for this particular event with both girls and boys displaying outstanding running stamina from both school. Southern High was forever in the lead since then. Berea remained close until the anchor runner but could not come closer than thirty meters behind Southern.
Saramen Chuuk Academy had to catch up from last place from the very start when starter lady Lima Soram, freshmen, found herself out of gas too early in the race, trying to keep pace with the much faster and stronger Weno High starter. Micky Michael, a junior, quickly pushed up Saram's placing by one notch when he outran the Xavier High runner the last 200 meters to the exchange line. Harusan Aritos, senior, cut the cap further behind Chuuk High enabling Yumi Jack, junior, to clinched fourth place on the way toward Skocho Minimart in Iras to keep Saram in that role until Shawn Mori concluded Saram's bid this year in the same order.
In the end, the animated Berea supporters near the airport parking lot had to accept second place behind Southern Namoneas, the only team that had to travel by sea to come to this competition. Xavier High and Chuuk High, the leaders of last years over all points, claimed the last two slots. The rest of the events will follow with marasong on Mondya morning and everything else on Thursday and Friday.
Final standing:
First Place -- Southern Namoneas High School, Fefen Campus
Second Place -- Berea Christian School
Third Place -- Weno High School
Fourth Place -- Saramen Chuuk Academy
Fifth Place -- Chuuk High School
Sixth Place -- Xavier High School
SCA boys marathoners (from left to right): Theodore Tommy - freshmen, Shawn Mori -senior, Joyful Noket -sophomore, Micky Michael -junior
Saramen Chuuk Academy girls marathoners: (from left to right) Rowena Robert, Torina Otoko, and Darleen Ham. All are freshmen 
Dorina Otoko, running the final part among five SCA chicks. A freshmen with previous experience in this kind of raceduring her elementary school days, Dorina was, however, undable to elevate the status of her team above 4th place as a result of a sour start from team mate Lima Soram, also a freshmen. Dorina an Lima will have a chance to redeem themselves next year, if and only if, they would remain with SCA. Until then, finishing fourth is not such a terrible thing, considering the actually superb performance by the rest of the team members who collectively improved from last place (6th) at the start to 4th place when Shawn Mori (not pictured), the anchor, crossed the finished line....
Joe Nedelec on his way to Andersen Field, Chuuk High runner in green behind him.
At lunch break today, these four seniors tried to rally the rest of the school before the mile relay competition tomorrow by singing some "oeng" songs from the third floor next to the senior classrooms. Kendal Dobich, Jollet Suda, Brandson Refilong, and Arene Setik entertained the student body and Nepukos neighborhood with harmonious songs and a lot of episipis.
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