Defending champs lead X-country winners

Three repeat winners were among the top finishers in the 2008 NMA All Schools Cross Country Championship held Saturday at the Airport Field.

Marianas High School’s Jacque Wonenberg cruised to her third straight victory in the girls’ 18-and-under division, finishing the 5,000m race in 14 minutes, 26 seconds.

Wonenberg outraced teammates Lia Rangamar (17:15) and Lina Manalili (17:35).

The Lady Dolphins took the first place trophy in the girls’ 18-and-under team competition. MHS had a 1-2 finish in the boys’ 18-and-under with Matt Mancao topping the race in 12:10. Champ Untalan came in second with his 12:20. Mancao broke his 13:01 record last year, when he placed second to teammate Nate Mateo.

Untalan, who finished third last year, also shattered his 2007 mark of 13:08.

Saipan Southern High School’s Lawrence Echon was ranked third this year with his time of 12:54.

Other repeat winners were Saipan International Schools’ Angelo Jones and Whispering Palms’ Gabriel Race.

Jones completed the 1,500m race in 6:32, beating teammate Lucas Nutting (6:51), and Whispering Palms’ Clay McCullough-Stearns (6:56) in the boys’ 12-and-under race.

Tammy Ackerman of Saipan Community School prevailed in the girls’ 12-and-under with her time of 7:36. Han Min Oh (8:06) and Lyndin Johnson (8:24) finished second and third, respectively.

Race ruled the girls’ 10-and-under for the fourth straight time, clocking in at 6:59 in last Saturday’s race and breaking her record of 8:15 last year. Race finished ahead of Neghar Rastguiy (7:36) and Emily Jones (9:31).

Whispering Palms’ Kenyon Schultz downed brothers Danny and John Auther in the boys’ 10-and-under race. Schultz timed in at 6:56, while Danny and John had a down-to-the-wire finish with 7:05 and 7:06, respectively.

First timer A.J. Hudkins of SIS topped the boys’ 8-and-under completing the 1,500m race in 9:06. Saipan Community’s Haruya Eda (9:07) and Ken Song (10:17) placed second and third.

In the girls’ 8-and-under, Liza Atalig finished first with a time of 9:15 beating Julia Isikawa (9:32).

In the boys’ 14-and-under division, Hopwood Junior High School had a 1-2 finish with Tony Pai reaching the finish line first with a time of 13:51. Teammate Peter Mendiola came in second with a time of 14:15, followed by Saipan Community School’s Justin Poon (14:29).

Hopwood also ruled the girls’ 14-and-under with Geralyn Castillo (16:58) and Christian Asuncion (23:57) finishing first and second, respectively.