Dolphins make splash in Mau Fatu’ul Classic
By SHAN SEMAN
Staff Reporter
The Marianas High School Dolphins entered the cool waters off the Civic Center Beach in a different fashion last Saturday.
Instead of swimming, they paddled their way to victory after winning in all races in the junior boys division of the 3rd Annual Mau Fatu’ul Classic.
The Dolphins looked sharp in the 150m race. They faced team Fatu’ul, and had total control of the race as they finished first in a time of 42.25 seconds. Fatu’ul put in a good effort as they finished in 48.07 seconds.
In the 2-turn event, the Dolphins and Fatu’ul went at each other again. It was a really close throughout the duration of the race, but following the second turn, the Dolphins seemed to have more juice left in them as they pulled ahead and crossed the finish line in 3 minutes and 11.70 seconds. Fatu’ul finished the race in 3 minutes and 26.88 seconds.
The confident Dolphins squad was determined to sweep the division, and did so as they won the 4-turn event in 5 minutes and 29.50 seconds. Fatu’ul came in second with a time of 5 minutes and 51.38 seconds.
Not to be outdone by their open division teammates, the Napu junior girls swept their division with victories in the 150m, 2-turn, and 4-turn events.
Their 150m race featured the closest finish of the day as they edged the Lady Dolphins by just 1.18 seconds. From the start, it was pretty obvious that the race would be close. Team Napu eventually took a slim lead with about 20m left, and crossed the finish line in 51.10 seconds. MHS was close behind as they finished in 52.28 seconds.
The 2-turn race was identical to the 150m race as both Napu and MHS went neck-and-neck against each other. Napu would however execute the turns perfectly and crossed the finish line first in a time of 3 minutes and 29.80 seconds. The Lady Dolphins fought hard and finished with a respectable 3 minutes and 32.14 seconds time.
Napu went on to claim the 4-turn event with another solid performance. They completed the course in 6 minutes and 20.29 seconds. MHS finished in 6 minutes and 32.38 seconds.
In the elementary division, the Tanapag Elementary School Tataga squads claimed victory in both the boys and girls divisions.
The Tataga boys edged the Binadu paddlers as they finished their 150m race in 55.10 seconds. The Binadu Boys of GTC Elementary School finished the race in a minute and 01.26 seconds.
The Tataga girls finished their 150m race just 4 seconds ahead of the Binadu Girls as the crossed the finish line in a minute and 00.96 seconds. The Binadu Girls put in a great effort and finished in a minute and 04.97 seconds.
