Chavez, Miller earn All-Island Athlete honors

Andrei Kaithlyn Chavez and Michael Miller tore up the 5K cross country course in their respective divisions of the Asia Pacific International Cross Country Championships in Guam last Friday and Saturday.

For their speed and control along the tough course at Ypao Beach—which was full of hairpin turns and switchbacks—Chavez claimed the No. 4 spot in the girls division overall, which landed her on the list of All-Island Athlete during the championships.

Miller came in eighth place overall among the boys and was the second All-Island Athlete for Team CNMI—which is the first time ever the Commonwealth had two All-Island Athletes in one year.

The Top 15 men and Top 15 women are selected as All-Island Athletes. Chavez and Miller ran against cross country runners from Guam, Japan, South Korea, Palau, and their teammates from the CNMI.

Chavez maintained a 7:00.2 1,600m pace and finished with a time of 21:53.1, which was only a few seconds off finishing in the Top 3, as third place finisher Lydia Ro of Yongsan International School, South Korea finished with a time of 21:47.50.

Second place was Yuki Konomi with a time of 21:46.60 and first place was Sofia Soto at 20:44, both from International School of the Sacred Heart, Tokyo Japan.

In the boys division, Miller leapt and bounded into eighth place overall with a time of 18:37. The Top 3 were William Beardsley from St. Mary’s International School at 15:24.50, followed by John F. Kennedy High School’s Hugh Kent with a time of 16:24.90, and Nathaniel Carlson who clocked in at 17:09.60.

CNMI coach and Saipan International School headmaster Dr. Ron Snyder, who accompanied the team in Guam, said of Miller and Chavez’ accomplishments, “API is a highly competitive field and to have two athletes in the Top 15, and even more so, in the Top 10, is a great accomplishment. Kaithlyn finished No. 4. That is the best result that we have ever seen in the history of our participation. Michael finished No. 8 and is only a freshman.”

Chavez, a junior at SIS, said she’s been wanting to compete in the championships since last year but couldn’t because it conflicted with her volleyball games. This time around when she finally competed, she said, “I would say the competition is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, being able to run against schools from Japan, Korea, Palau, and Guam was a great opportunity and you can’t do that on a daily basis. I was able to push myself mentally and physically and I would for sure say I definitely learned a lot as a runner.”

On how she felt about getting fourth place in a division with 98 other runners, she said “I’m very humbled and blessed that I got fourth place but there’s definitely more room to improve and become a better, faster runner.”

She added, “Sadly there were no broken PRs but I’m glad of how I ran because I know I gave my all and pushed myself. I would like to say thank you to Dr. Ron and Ms. Angela Taflinger for chaperoning us during the trip and for pushing me and my teammates to the best of our abilities.”

Miller, a freshman at Marianas High School, said the competition was good overall. “It’s a very competitive environment so I’m happy that I was able to get in the top ten spot…It was a good experience to see the level that other countries are at and it’s exciting to compete against them,” said Miller who ran in a division with 130 other runners.

He then thanked his teammates for “supporting me and the coaching staff too. I would also like to thank my parents for allowing me to go off- island and compete against other countries.”

Results of the overall team and relay scores will be posted in the next edition of Saipan Tribune.