Eli, Maimi, Caleb are July’s best for NMASA

Eli Torgeson and Maimi Shimizu of triathlon and Caleb Arriola of soccer were named Athlete of the Month awardees for July by the Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association during its meeting Thursday.

Torgeson got the July Male Athlete of the Month plum after topping the 6th Annual OREXTERRA off-road race held last July 27.

According to the Northern Mariana Islands Triathlon Association, Torgeson started the grueling race by tackling the 750-meter swim then survived the treacher
ous 15-km mountain bike course, before successfully negotiating the rugged three-km trail run.

“Eli topped several strong endurance athletes to claim his first OREXTERRA championship,” a portion of the nomination read.
NMITF said the Commonwealth Health Center anesthesiologist has been dominating all matters of races—on two feet or on two wheels—since arriving on Saipan.

Shimizu, for her part, took home the July Female Athlete of the Month award after completing the 28th Kaike Triathlon staging held last July 20 in Tottori Prefecture, Yonago City in Kaike, Japan.

Along with Tinian transplant Ken Halliday, Shimizu made history when they became the first participants from the CNMI to complete 3-kilometer swim, 145-km bike, and 42.195-km run triathlon.

Shimizu crossed the finish line in 10:42:32, which was 103rd overall and seventh among women participants.

The veteran triathlete, who finished second to Renata Bucher in the 2008 Tagaman Triathlon, finished the exhausting swim in 54:18, negotiated the challenging bike course in 5:17:13, and then battled the marathon in 4:31:01.

Arriola, meanwhile, won the Male Student Athlete of the Month for July after the CNMI goalie in the 2008 East Asian Football Federation Under-14 Youth Football Festival in Guam impressed opposing players and their coaches.

According to the nomination from the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association, Arriola was applauded by other officials of the tournament and other teams’ coaches when he came off the field against teams of Chinese-Taipei, Guam, Hong Kong, North Korea, and Macao.

“He improved every game and proved to be the most respected individuals on and off the field representing the CNMI U14 National Team,” part of the nomination read.

Bowling (Raphael Zapanta) and swimming (Rezne Wong, Kensuke Kimura, and Grace Kimball) also nominated their respective athletes for the monthly awards.