Isaiah, Kaithlyn are Student-Athletes of the Year

Student-athletes Isaiah Aleksenko and Andrei Kaithlyn Chavez set the bar high for young athletes as they excelled in their individual sports disciplines in 2023—culminating in the 2023 Male Student-Athlete award for Aleksenko and the 2023 Female Student-Athlete of the Year award for Chavez.

The two were recogned for their achievements at the 2023 NMSA Sports Award Banquet last Wednesday night at the Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan.

Marianas High School senior Aleksenko is a swimmer, who, despite not having a regular sized pool to train in, swam to multiple podium finishes and broken records.

The 17-year-old 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 200m 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).

Aleksenko said after the banquet that he was not expecting it all. There were a lot of good nominees, he said, so it was really unexpected when he won. “I feel great. I feel honored for winning this award,” he said.

He thanked his coach Hiroki Kimura, his coach’s wife Yuko, his mom, and his teammates for helping him win the award, “without them this wouldn’t be possible,” said Aleksenko.

The year 2023 for him was “good,” he said. “A lot of memories were made and I just hope I can improve and do better. My favorite part was definitely the gold medal win in the Solomons.”

As for Chavez, a junior at Saipan International School, she was the NMSA Female Student Athlete of the Month for May.

She ruled the 400m, 800m, and 1,500m 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.

As a multi-sport athlete, not only did Chavez excel in athletics, she also excelled in soccer. She played for the NMI in the AFC U20 Asian Cup Qualifiers in Palestine, AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers in Thailand, Marianas Cup on 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.

Sixteen-year-old Chavez said after the banquet that she felt “happy and blessed” when emcee Nick Gross announced her name.

“With all my teammates cheering me on, it was a surreal feeling. This award represents the hard work I’ve put in, the early mornings, late nights, training in the middle of the day, and all the sweats and tears,” she said.

She said her favorite achievement of 2023 was beating the 800m record “because I’ve wanted to surpass it, and having a record under my name is not easily earned.”

She dedicated the award to her teammates, coaches, family, friends, and God. “For young athletes, keep working hard. There will be days when training doesn’t go your way, but always remember that no one is perfect, and you’re only human,” said Chavez.

The banquet was attended by Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang, House of Representatives Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez (Ind-Saipan), Northern Marianas Sports Association president Jerry Tan and board members, representatives of CNMI’s sports national federations, athletes, the awards banquet nominees, 2023 Pacific Games sponsors representatives, and athletes’ family members.

Results of the 2023 CNMI Sports Hall of Fame inductees; Coach of the Year; Administrator of the Year; and Team of the Year will be posted in the next issues of Saipan Tribune.