Brilliant Star sweeps ES division

Brilliant Star Montessori School cross-country runners put their best feet forward and swept the elementary school divisions of the first PSS/NMA All Schools Cross-Country 2024-2025 qualifier at the CPA Airport Field last Saturday.

Their legs—although little—took them as fast as they could through the one-mile course around the field on a blisteringly hot early morning.

They took first place in the boys division with a score of 31 points, while second was Agape Christian School Torchbearers at 50. Third was Grace Christian Academy Eagles with 53 points.

In the girls division, BSS won with a score of 34 points. Saipan International School Geckos’ score of 38 landed them in second, while Mount Carmel School was at third place with 47 points.

In the individual standings, Top 3 in the boys division were GCA’s Beau Bauer who rushed into first with a time of 6:52. Second was SIS’ Gabriel Walsh at 7:30, and third was Kagman Elementary School’s Brayden Brennfleck who clocked in at 7:43.

Top 3 in the girls division was BSS’ Lovel Spaeth with the second fastest overall time of 7:17. Second was SIS’ Olivia Walsh with a time of 8:60, while third went to SIS’ Kaylen Taflinger at just a second behind with 8:07.

In an interview after the race, Spaeth said that it was kind of hard, but that she felt good when she felt the breeze blow a little bit at one part of the course.

On how she felt coming in first place, the 10-year-old said, “It feels good… I’m a little bit competitive and I know the boy who came in first—we race a lot, so he kind of pushed me to go faster.”

The next qualifier is Saturday, Sept. 14, hosted by Run Saipan at the American Memorial Park; the SIS Gecko 5000 at Banzai Cliff is on Sept. 28; the ISA Invitational with the location to be determined is on Oct. 5; and the championship is set for Oct. 12 at the Saipan Country Club at Saipan Vegas.