X-Country tune ups in the books

The last of the three tune-ups for the 2006 All Schools Cross Country is in the books after a bunch of runners abused their shoes Saturday afternoon at the Commonwealth Ports Authority field.

Leading the way was standout Nate Mateo of Marianas High School, who won the boys’ 15-18 division with a time of 13:00. Teammate and training partner Champ Untalan was a close second in 13:13, while David Bautista of Saipan Southern High School took third place in 13:36. Saipan Southern’s Gary Camacho (14:07) and Irwin Taitano (14:17) followed, and Matt Manacao (14:26) and Vince Teregeyo (15:05) finished shortly after.

Other runners in the division were Saipan Southern’s Carson Tarkong (15:35), Andrew Roberto (15:40), and Ray Santos (15:53), J.J. Ayuyu of Mount Carmel School, and Kel Babauta and Bill Babauta of Saipan Southern.

Topping the girls’ 15-18 division was Hoating Romolor of Saipan Southern as she completed the challenge in 17:47, while teammates Kelun Babauta and Gydia Taisacan placed second and third in 18:11 and 19:19. Taking fourth place was Bontalyn Babauta, who finished in 19:22.

Meanwhile, Jireh Huang was the lone competitor in the boys’ 13-14 division and thus won first place in 18:08.

Winning the girls’ division was Jacque Wonenberg, who crossed the finish line in 16:09, while Lina Manalili of Hopwood Junior High School and Shalane Beltau of Saipan Southern placed second and third in 19:46 and 23:45.

Each runner in the 13-14 and 15-18 age groups were tasked with tackling a 2.1-mile course.

The event also featured competition in the younger age groups with runners required to challenge a 1.1-mile course.

J.J. Geter and Nicko Sablan placed one-two in the boys’ 11-12 division with times of 7:45 and 7:48, while Reylynn Sapong and Sarah Aldan did the same in the girls’ corner with times of 8:01 and 8:01.5. All four represent Hopwood Junior High School.

Andrew Johnson of Saipan International School won the boys’ 9-10 division with a time of 10:22, Ednathan Wong of Saipan Community School and Reniel Relucid of Garapan Elementary School topped the boys’ 6-8 division in 10:39 and 14:12, and Gabrielle Race of Whispering Palms School won the girls’ 6-8 division in 8:25.

The 2006 All Schools Cross Country Series, which is organized by Northern Marianas Athletics, concludes next month with the All Schools Cross Country Championships. The race is tentatively set for Nov. 18 at the Laolao Bay Golf Resort. Details will be released in the coming days.

For more information, contact NMA coaches director Elias Rangamar at 664-2502, or Robin Eugenio at sapong@pticom.com.