NMSA announces 2023 ‘Of the Year’ nominees
The Northern Marianas Sports Association announced the 2023 ‘Of the Year’ nominees, with the winners to be awarded this Wednesday, Feb. 21 during the 2023 NMSA Annual Awards Banquet at the Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan.
The Coach of the Year, Administrator of the Year, and CNMI Sports Hall of Fame have no nominees and the winners will be announced at the banquet.
The Male Student Athlete of the Year nominees are Jaden Andrew of weightlifting; Si Woo Lee of tennis; Dean Aldan of athletics; Cody Shimizu of athletics; Theodore Rodgers of athletics; Aiden Gimed of weightlifting; Markus Attao-Toves of soccer; Kean Pajarillaga of swimming; Tyler Andrew of va’a; and Isaiah Aleksenko of swimming.
Jaden Andrew was the Male Student Athlete of the Month for February. He won second place in the Guam National Youth/Jr./Sr Championships. His best snatch was 62kg (136.69lbs), his clean & jerk best was 82 kg(180.79lbs) for a total of 144 kg.(317.47lbs).
Lee was the Male Student Athlete of the Month for March. He bagged both the boys U14 and U16 singles championship in the Bridge Capital Tennis Classic held in March. Lee also won the boys U16 singles crown in the 2023 NMI Crowne Plaza Junior Tennis Championship. The Mount Carmel School student was part of the NMI Junior National Team that competed in the 2023 North Pacific Regional Championships in Guam and the North Pacific Team that played in the 2023 Pacific Oceania Junior Championships in Fiji. He made it to the semis of the singles play in the POJC and finals in the U14 doubles.
Aldan was the NMSA Male Student Athlete of the Month for April. He topped the 100m and 400m sprints in the boys U9 division of the preliminary races in the PSS All Schools Athletics Championship. Aldan was later named MVP in his age group.
Shimizu was the NMSA Male Student Athlete of the Month for May. He claimed the U18 boys MVP award after earning 46 points. He got gold medals in the 400m and 800m races, silver in the 200M, was fifth in long jump, and helped MHS earn a gold medal in the 4X400 relay. Shimizu was also a member of the NMI U23 Men’s National Football Team that defeated Guam in the Marianas Cup in August and was part of the NMI Men’s National Football Team that competed in the 2023 Solomon Islands Pacific Games and beat American Samoa, 4-0.
Rodgers was the NMSA Male Student Athlete of the Month for June. He represented the NMI in the 2023 Oceania Cup and posted personal best times in the 100m (12.03) and 200m (24.88). He also anchored the NMI in the 4x100m and 4x400m mixed relay teams that set national records in the same event hosted on Saipan. Rodgers later in the year raced in the 100m and 200m events at the 2023 Solomon Islands Pacific Games. He clocked in at 24.15 seconds in the 200m race to reach the semis.
Gimed of weightlifting was the NMSA Male Student Athlete of the Month for July. He won gold in the Philippine National Weightlifting Championship held in Bacolod, Philippines in July. He competed in the 73 kg youth category and won with his snatch of 70 kg (154lbs) and a clean & jerk of 80 kg(191.4lbs) for a total of 157 kg (355.4lbs). Earlier in March, Gimed won gold in the Marianas Cup 2023 with a snatch of 66kg and clean & jerk of 77kg for a total weight of 143kg. Gimed also participated in the Guam Open National Championships 2023.
Toves was the NMSA Male Student Athlete of the Month for August. He was named the Men’s Most Valuable Player in the 2023 Marianas Football Cup held in August. He scored two goals in the NMI’s 3-1 win over Guam in Game 2 of their two-game series to give the host the victory following an aggregate goal score of 3-1. Toves also played for the NMI Men’s National Team in the 2023 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands and scored the NMI’s lone goal against Tuvalu.
Pajarillaga was named the NMSA Male Student Athlete of the Month for September. He set a CNMI national record in the 200m backstroke during the Junior World Championship in Israel. His time of 2:16.69 beat the nine-year NMI record time (2:18.04) that Kensuke Kimura logged in 2014. Pajarillaga was also part of the NMI relay team that won two bronze medals in the 2023 Pacific Games in Solomon Islands.
Tyler Andrew was the NMSA Male Student Athlete of the Month for October. He represented Saipan Paddling Club in the 2023 Micronesian Cup in Guam and helped SPC sweep the V6 Junior Division races. He also joined SPC’s men’s open team that won the gold medal in the 1,000m and bronze in the 10-mile race. Andrew later represented the NMI at the 2023 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands.
Aleksenko was the NMSA Male Student Athlete of the Month for November. He was Team NMI’s flag bearer in the opening ceremony for the 2023 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands. In the swimming competition of the Pacific Games, he won a gold medal in the 200 butterfly event and bronze in the 100m butterfly, 4x200m freestyle relay, and 4x100m individual medley relay. In July, he also represented the NMI to the FINA World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan where he set both age group (17 to 18) and national records in the 50m backstroke (26.94 seconds), 100m backstroke (58.58 seconds), and 100m butterfly (54.46 seconds).
The Female Student Athlete of the Year nominees are Anniegail Manuel of weightlifting; Lina Tsukagoshi of badminton; Andrei Kaithlyn Chavez of athletics; Casey Cruz of athletics; Maria Batallones of swimming; Summer Manahane of soccer; and Jinie Thompson of swimming.
Manuel was the NMSA Female Student Athlete of the Month for March. She won a gold medal in the 71kg class in the 2023 Marianas Cup held on Saipan in March after recording 65kg in snatch, 80kg in clean & jerk, and 145kg in total weight. Early in February, she also took home a gold medal in the junior female 71kg category in the Guam Olympic Weightlifting Championships with a lift of 60kg in the snatch and a lift of 77kg in the clean & jerk for a total weight of 137kg.
Tsukagoshi was the NMSA Female Student Athlete of the Month for April. She clinched five titles in the Tan Holdings 50th Anniversary Badminton Tournament held in April. She won the girls U15 singles, U15 doubles (with Danielle Snaer), girls U19 singles and doubles (with Snaer anew), and women’s open doubles (with Janelle Pangilinan). Tsukagoshi also competed in the NMI National Badminton Championships 2023 and topped the U17 mixed doubles (with Marlon Bautista) and women’s open doubles (with Pangilinan). Tsukagoshi was part of the NMI Junior National Team that competed in the Inaugural Pacific Under 15 Invitation Team Challenge in New Zealand and also represented the NMI Junior Tennis Team in the 2023 North Pacific Regional Championships in Guam and in the Pacific Oceania Junior Championships in Fiji.
Chavez was the NMSA Female Student Athlete of the Month for May. She ruled the 400m, 800m, and 1500m races in the girls U18 division of the PSS McDonald’s All Schools Championship and was named MVP of the competition held in May. Chavez also competed for the NMI in the Oceania Cup in June and broke the NMI’s 24-year record in the 800m after timing in at 2:29.24. In soccer, Chavez played for the NMI in the AFC U20 Asian Cup Qualifiers in Palestine, AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers in Thailand, Marianas Cup in Saipan, and EAFF Women’s Preliminary Competition in China. She scored in each of four competitions—the only player on the national team to do so. Chavez was also named NMSA Female Student Athlete of the Month for October for earning All Island Top Honors in the 5K race in the Asia Pacific Cross Country Championships held in Guam.
Cruz was the NMSA Female Student Athlete of the Month for June. She competed for the NMI in the Oceania Cup and set personal best times in the 100m (13.28 seconds) and 200m (27.54 seconds) sprints. Cruz also raced in the 2023 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands and reset her PBs with times of 13.07 seconds (100m) and 27.48 seconds (200m).
Batallones was the NMSA Female Student Athlete of the Month for July. She participated in the World Championships in Japan in July and set age group record (girls 15 to 16) and NMI national record in the 50m breaststroke (35.96 seconds). Then in November at the 2023 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands, she reset the records in the same event after submitting 35.09 seconds in the 50m breaststroke. Batallones also raced in the 100m and 200m breaststroke and the 4x50m and 4x100m medley and 4x100m and 4mx200m freestyle relays.
Manahane was the NMSA Female Student Athlete of the Month for August. She was named the Women’s Most Valuable Player for the 2023 Marianas Football Cup held in August. She scored in both games against Guam, lifting the NMI to a convincing 5-1 win in Game 1 and 2-0 victory in Game 2. The 17-year-old Manahane is a student at Saipan Southern High School and in addition to her regular training under the NMI Women’s National Team program, she plays in the youth and women’s leagues under club teams, and even in the men’s league with the women’s national developmental team. Manahane was also among the 14 elite high school runners who participated in the Asia Pacific Cross Country Championships held in Guam in October.
Thompson was the Female Student Athlete of the Month for September. She set a CNMI age group record (17 to 18) in the 50 breaststroke event (40.10 seconds) at the Junior World Championship in Israel in September. Thompson topped the 1,500m event in the Tan Holding 50th Anniversary Swim Meet held in February.
The Male Athlete of the Year nominees are Leo Apelo Jr. of weightlifting; Colin Ramsey of tennis; Joel Buco of cycling; Douglas Schmidt of basketball; Leowell Cristobal of weightlifting; Nokki Saralu of baseball; Joey Colisao of weightlifting; and Raymond Santos of weightlifting.
Apelo was named Male Athlete of the Month for February. He won gold in the 81kg class in the 2023 Guam Weightlifting Federation Youth\Junior\Senior Championships held in February. He prevailed against competitors from Guam and Palau after his snatch lift of 105 kg, clean and jerk of 140 kg, for a total of 265 kg. This is particularly impressive considering he was competing in two weight classes below his normal. Apelo also competed in the Marianas Cup 2023 held at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium last March and earned first place with a 120kg snatch, 160 clean & jerk, and an overall 280kg weight lifted.
Ramsey was the Male Athlete of the Month for March. He won the men’s singles open in the Bridge Capital Tennis Classic held in March. It was Ramsey’s third straight men’s open singles titles for 2023. He also topped the NMI rankings in the men’s open for he 2022-2023 season, having won the TanHoldings Tennis Classic, SIS Student Council Tennis Tournament, and the White Coconut Classic Tennis Tournament. He represented the NMI in the North Pacific Regional Championships in Guam and Pacific Oceania Junior Championships as a coach and also participated in the 2023 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands as a player and coach.
Buco was the Male Athlete of the Month for April. He ruled the 7th Saipan Unity Lions Club Bike Race held in April. He also triumphed in the 2023 Hell of the Marianas that took place in August.
Schmidt was the Male Athlete of the Month for May. He played for Martech-Ol’Aces in the 2023 Michelob Ultra Cup Men’s Island-wide Basketball League. Douglas played a big role in their win during the championship game against Team Marianas on May 30, as he put up 22 points despite playing with a head injury. Schmidt was also a member of the Team Nesian Built, which ruled the NMIBF Marianas Arsenal 3×3 Basketball Series 2k23 for the second straight leg.
Cristobal was the Male Athlete of the Month for June. He won a pair of gold medals in the 67kg weight class in the USA Weightlifting Under 25 National Championships held in Colorado in June. The Air Force Academy graduate competed in three regional\national championships since January 2023 and won a gold medal in the Miami Classic last January and another gold and the best lifter award in the Crestview Bar Slam 2023 last March. Cristobal represented the NMI in the 2023 Solomon Islands Pacific Games and won a bronze medal in the clean & jerk.
Saralu was the Male Athlete of the Month for August. He played for the Cardinals that eventually ruled the 2023 Tan Holdings-Saipan Baseball League after going undefeated in the regular season and in the playoffs. He posted the highest batting average in the SBL in July with his .625 from 10 hits out of 16 at-bats.
Colisao was the Male Athlete of the Month for October. In only his second international competition, Joey Colisao earned the gold medal in the +109 weight category at the Oceania Under 23 Weightlifting Championships held at the Samoa High-Performance Center in Apia, Samoa on October 7, 2023. He won with a snatch lift of 130kg (286lbs) and a clean and jerk of 160kg (352lbs) for a total of 290kg (638lbs). Colisao also competed in the 2023 Solomon Islands Pacific Games.
Santos was the Male Athlete of the Month for November. He won the first gold medal for Team Marianas in the 2023 Pacific Games. He topped the snatch category in the men’s 55-kg class in the weightlifting competition. His third lift of 96kg gave him the gold in the snatch category and he later added a bronze (112 kg in clean & jerk) and silver (208kg total weight lift) after completing his events. The NMI weightlifter went on to bag four medals in Honiara, as he was also awarded the silver medal in 2023 Oceania Championships, which was held simultaneously with the 2023 Pacific Games.
The Female Athlete of the Year are Tania Tan of athletics; Antonette Labausa of weightlifting; Janelle Pangilinan of badminton; Erin Frink of athletics; Pipit Ball of va’a; and Christina Tudela of bodybuilding.
Tan was named Female Athlete of the Month for February and November. She represented the CNMI at the World Athletics Cross Country Championship in Bathurst Australia in February, joining the 10K race and timing in at 44:41. Earlier in January, she reset the NMI record in the indoor 3K race after clocking in at 10:57.58 in the Ramapo Season Opener Indoor Track Meet in New York. Less than a week after the race in New York, she joined the 5K event in the River Hawk Invitational in Boston and reset the CNMI mark with her 18:03.22. Later in 2023 during the 2023 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands, Tan became the first NMI female athlete to have won two gold medals in the regional event after ruling the 5K and 10K races in Honiara. She also set a new Pacific Games record in the 5K after submitting 18:08.69.
Labausa was named Female Athlete of the Month for March. She competed in the 81-kg weight class in the Marianas Weightlifting Cup and won the gold after setting a new personal best of 100 kg in the clean & jerk. Her best snatch was 75 kg for a total weight of 175 kg. Labausa also participated in the 2023 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands, nearly making it to the medal podium, as she finished fourth in her weight class.
Pangilinan was named the Female Athlete of the Month for April. She won two gold medals in the 50th Tan Holdings Badminton Tournament in April. She teamed up with Lina Tsukagoshi to win the women’s doubles open, and then partnered with Leonard Manuel in the open mixed doubles to beat Guam’s Rui Wang and Jenny Yui in the finals. Pangilinan also participated in three high-level competitions—the Yonex Oceania Championships in New Zealand and the Crowne Plaza Northern Marianas Open and TakeCare Saipan International that Saipan hosted and were part of a series of qualifying tournaments for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. She also represented the NMI in the Badminton World Federation Coach Mentorship Program in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Frink was named Female Athlete of the Month for June. She represented the NMI in the Oceania Cup and raced in two individual events and two relays. She set a personal best in the 200m (27.60 seconds) and 400m (1:10.45) and was part of both the 4x100m, 4x400m mixed relay teams that made CNMI records. Frink made this accomplishment despite being a newcomer in the athletics program.
Ball was the Female Athlete of the Month for October. In the Micronesian Cup in Guam in October, Ball represented Marianas Outrigger Canoe and won two gold medals and two silvers. She was the stroker on MOC women’s team that topped the 500 meter and 1000-meter sprints finale. In the V1 500m race, she won a silver and added another one when she helped MOC to a second place finish in the V6 long distance event. From May 2023 to October 2023, Ball was a force for MOC, leading the group to overall first place finishes in the V6 long distance, V6 500m sprints, V6 1,000m sprints, and V12 500m sprints.
Tudela was a co-winner (with Tania Tan) of the Female Athlete of the Month award for November. She won a gold medal for the NMI in the 2023 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands after topping the women’s model physique category. She got the judges’ nod in the preliminaries in the morning session of the competition in Honiara and in the evening finale, beating five other competitors.
Team of the Year nominees are the Marianas High School girls outrigger canoe team; Saipan International School elementary track and field girls team; Marianas Outrigger Canoe women’s team; CNMI National Swimming relay team; and the NMI U23 National Football Team.
After losing to Kagman High School in 2022 and seeing their three-season winning streak broken, MHS’ girls outrigger canoe team came back strong and took the 2023 championship. The Lady Dolphins roster include Asaka Litulumar, Cassandra Roque, Chareena Layugan, Cloe Lagmay, Eden Mendiola, Elialyn Castro, Emma Chong, Eva Weaver, Irene Wang, Kalista Klaver, Leilani Attao, Margarette Dolotina, Mary Grace Caras, Monique Mendiola, Tyana Cepeda, Vaniqa Torres, and Ylliana Poquiz. MHS was named Team of the Month for March.
The SIS Elementary Girls Team won the division title in the McDonald’s All Schools Athletics Championship after collecting 121 points and beating Oleai Elementary School (90 points) and Tinian and Garapan elementary schools (with 72 points each). Members of the SIS ES team include Leilani Ruszala, Isla Grant, Windsor Gross, Neveah Arriola, and Scarlett Burrell. SIS Girls ES Team was named Team of the Month for April.
The Marianas Outrigger Club (MOC) Women’s Team ruled the Northern Marianas National Paddling Sports Federation Va’a Slalom Race V6/V1 series after collecting 120 points in the three-leg competition, way ahead of the second place team (75 points). The MOC Women’s team members are Ayessa Tereyama, Bonny Grow, Sharleen Sablan, Annrita Benavente, Elaine Sablan, Loriann Rabe, Ashley Pangelinan, Jenn Itibus, Olivia Tenorio, Vicky Takai, Momoko, Pipit Ball, Taan Demapan, and Sakura Halstead. The Marianas Outrigger Club (MOC) Women’s was named Team of the Month for June and September. In September, the Northern Marianas National Paddling Sports Federation held a similar series of races with MOC Women’s still showing its dominant form in the waters of Kilili Beach.
The CNMI National Swimming Relay Team is made up of Isaiah Aleksenko, Maria Batallones, Jakey Deleon Guerrero, and Shoko Litulumar. The team participated in the 20th FINA World Championships held in Fukuoka, Japan from July 23-29, 2023. Aleksenko, Batallones, Deleon Guerrero, and Litulumar competed in the 100×4 freestyle relay and set new record of 4:05.62. The quartet beat the record of 4:12.95 that was set by Batallones and her teammates back in 2022 in a competition in Budapest, Hungary. The CNMI National Swimming Relay Team was named Team of the Month for July.
The NMI U23 National Football Team is made up of men’s and women’s players that swept the Marianas Cup for the first time after beating Guam in August. In the women’s division, the NMI Team dominated Guam in Game 1, 5-0, and completed the sweep with a 2-0 triumph in Game 2. In the men’s, Guam won Game 1, 1-0, but NMI stole the series win with a convincing 3-0 victory in Game 2. The NMI Men’s have never won against Guam in the Marianas Cup since its inception in 2007, while the NMI Women’s defeated Guam for the third straight time. The core of the national team that played in the Marianas Cup also represented the NMI in the 2023 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands and the Women’s EAFF E-1 Football Championships Preliminary Competition in Macau. The NMI U23 National Football Team was named Team of the Month for August.
