Agape fires through HS division of Gecko 5000

The Agape Christian School Torchbearers fired through the high school division course as they swept the third qualifier of the PSS/NMA All Schools Cross Country 2024-2025 at the Banzai Cliff last Saturday morning.

Dubbed the Gecko 5000, an open/fun run was also concurrently held—with results of that to be posted in the next issues of Saipan Tribune.

In the high school division, the Torchbearers burned through the 3-mile course hotter than the morning sun that tried its best to peak out over the clouds.

The boys racked up 19 points for first place, while second was Marianas High School Dolphins at 29. Third went to Saipan International School Geckos with 32 points.

In the girls division, the girls collected 21 points for first place. Second were the Lady Geckos at 25 points, with the Lady Dolphins in third at 43 points. Fourth was Saipan Southern High School with 56 points.

Repeat winner in the boys division, SIS’ Nash Santos laid waste to everyone once again as he ran into first place for the third straight time.

He clocked in at 18:49. Second place was ACS’ Raffy Cai at 19:08, and third was MHS’ Takeru Jim with 19:15.

In the girls’ individual standings, Addalee Taflinger was the fastest on the course for the second straight qualifier with a time of 23:34.

ACS’ Sablina Shen was second at 24:32 and third was teammate Lucy Hong at 26 minutes flat.

ACS administrator Kok H. Pang said of the team’s performance in the season so far, “I’m thrilled to see our runners continuously pushing themselves to new heights, even after qualifying for the championship and securing their spots on the NMI XC team for the Asia Pacific Invitational (API) in Chiba, Tokyo, Japan, from Oct. 19 to 24, 2024.”

He added, “I’m also aware that runners from other schools are managing injuries and focusing on recovery. The final race on Oct. 12 for this year’s All-Schools XC remains the one to watch, as all the top runners will be competing to win in their respective age groups and teams in this highly anticipated event.”

The last qualifier is the ISA Invitational with the location to be determined on Oct. 5, and the championship is set for Oct. 12 at the Saipan Country Club at Saipan Vegas.

Results of the middle school/elementary school divisions and the open men’s and women’s Gecko 5000 Fun Run will be published in the next issues of Saipan Tribune.