Smith steals show in Island Relay

A total of 50 runners closed 2005 with a bang as they conquered the 24th Annual Christmas Island Relay Saturday morning.

All turned in solid performances, but none was able to match veteran Stuart Smith, who ran as a soloist and completed the 13.7-mile challenge ahead of everyone.

Smith’s incredible journey was simply amazing as he kept a fast pace from the Pacific Islands Club south parking lot and was first to reach the finish line at the Last Command Post in Marpi with a time of 1:32.18.

“Runs are always hard, but its fun to go with the teams because [the lead] will go back and forth,” Smith said. “Teams have strong runners and will go ahead of me, and I will catch up and go ahead when the not so fast runners take their turn.”

Joining Smith in conquering the entire course as soloists were Yoshi Suzuki, Noriko Jim, Fred Camacho, Louie Tenorio, and Monica Yamaguchi.

Suzuki and Jim kept pace with each other throughout the entire race and finished just a second apart, with Suzuki turning in a time of 1:56.38 and Jim crossing the line in 1:56.39.

Camacho was next to reach the rest zone as he clocked in at 2:07.23, while Tenorio finished in 2:08.09. Yamaguchi was just a minute behind and had a smile on her face as she finished in 2:09.31.

All six have their eyes set on competing in the inaugural Saipan Marathon on Jan. 21.

Meanwhile, Laffy Taffy took top honors in the actual relay event as 2005 Palau South Pacific Mini Games medalist Jack Kabiriel joined forces with youth standouts Champ Untalan, Nate Mateo, Jacque Wonenberg, and Reylynn Sapong to finish strong with a time of 1:33.17.

Following the group were Paul Jaymar, Richard Haugh, Melissa Coleman, and Reginald Lizama of Saipan Southern High School I as the team completed the course in just 1:41.32, while the Newsmakers worked their way up and broke into the top three with a time of 1:54.18. Members of the team include Brad Ruszala, Shan Seman, Kana Aikawa, Ferdie Dela Torre, and Kimiko Hasegawa.

Also earning prizes were the Pinoy Big Brothers, who placed first in the team event after tackling the mission in just 1:32.44, however, they were disqualified as the team comprised of just four runners. Host Northern Marianas Athletics, however, lauded the team for its effort and presented each member special prizes. Members of the team include Butch Sublemente, Ceasar Danao, Ivan Devero, and Ernie Apostol.

Andrea Ozawa, George David, Patrick Maanao, Bluemel Ada, and Vincent Babauta of Rule 5 (2:05.29) also had a good showing, while family teams Shazam, Team Johnson, and L’angson showed their spirit and ran strong to finish the race.

Team Johnson (2:05.52) comprised of Michael, Betty, Katy, Sarah, and Andrew Johnson while the Schultz family—Rob, Brenda, Madison, Crosby, and Kenyon—pushed hard to put Shazam past the finish line in 2:06.03.

Meanwhile, L’angson was also presented special prizes after the team from Guam took time to take part in the event. Former CNMI track and field coach Thomas Gipson, Mindy C. Gipson, Garret Gipson, and Mindy Gipson, joined forces with young distance runner Liane Riley to finish in 2:14.50.