Host CNMI’s paddling clubs left their mark in their home turf as Saipan Paddling Club’s junior paddlers and Marianas Outrigger Club represented their home well with first place wins in their respective divisions on the first day of races in the 24th Micronesia Cup Canoe Race last Friday at the Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan.

It was another day of unpredictable weather in the Marianas, with rain drenching the venue in the morning, followed by sunshine breaking through the clouds—and then at times, it was raining while the sun was out. The waters were rough early on but calmed down later in the afternoon.

In the junior men’s V1 500m finals, it was dominated by SPC paddlers. SPC’s up-and-coming paddler Tyler Andrew came from behind and won gold with a time of 2:45.18. Silver was teammate Phillip Aldan at 2:46.52. Bronze went to Yu Ling Chai at 2:46:55.

The 18-year-old Andrew said of his win, “I knew that myself and everyone else falls apart at the 250m mark because that’s the last stretch. The water gets heavy and it gets hard to pull. So I just found a way to stay with the crowd in the start and not waste too much energy.” As for how the water conditions were at that time, he said, “there’s some little swells. They were going the opposite direction of the wind so that was a bit challenging trying to keep it straight because my boat would always go right.”

The SPC junior women also bagged a gold medal with a win in the V12 500m sprints with a time of 2:52.19. Silver was Guam’s Taotao Galaide at 2:59.25.

In the junior men’s V12, SPC took home gold with a time of 2:25 flat over Guam’s Taotao Galaide at 2:25.95.

As for MOC, their mixed open V12 team dominated the 500m sprints with a time of 2:27.30. Silver was Guam’s TTG 2 Maksum at 2:27.57. Bronze was SPC at 2:30.99.

MOC’s women’s V12 team snagged the gold medal after Marianas Pacific Paddlers was disqualified for impeding in lane 2. MOC finished at 2:42.91, while silver went to Guam’s Taotao Galaide at 2:47.07

The MOC men’s V12 team bagged another gold for their club as they came in first with a time of 2:23.08. Silver was Taotao Galaide at 2:26.12, and bronze went to PFM/LMS at 2:28.22.

MOC coach Jason Tarkong said after the women’s finals that they actually didn’t have time to practice the V12 races until that morning. “MPP came in a split second ahead of our girls but unfortunately, the officials said they were disqualified because they got in the wrong lane,” he said. “But I’m proud of our girls. They worked hard and trained hard. We wish we had more time in the V12, but we’ll take the win. My heart goes out to MPP and all the other teams that worked hard, but it was very close and it was an excellent competition. We’re very grateful and appreciative of the officials and their call.”

Results of the other races that day are as follows:

In the open women’s V1 500m race, Nahokuheleiakeahuolu Keala of Guam’s Maneran Galaide won gold with a time of 3:03.06. Silver was Kia Quichocho from Guam’s Napu at 2:59.00. Bronze went to SPC’s Jenisha Dubrall at 3:18.22.

In the open men’s V1 500m finals, Kaihe Chong of Maneran Galaide sprinted into gold at 2:26.05. Silver was teammate Aiden Artero at 2:36.05. Bronze went to MOC’s Maverick Itibus at 2:37.90.

As for the junior women’s V1 500m finals, Dina Soriano of Guam’s Puti’on Tasi bagged gold at 3:06.70. Silver went to teammate Kayla River at 3:12.81, while bronze was SPC’s Emma Chong at 3:15.21.

In the masters V1 men 500m race, Guam’s Jason Park of Taotao Galaide won gold with a time of 2:48.40. Silver was MOC’s Richard Sikkel at 2:57.14, and bronze went to SPC’s Joseph Weaver at 2:27.54.

The masters V1 women’s 500m race was dominated by Guam’s Masako Sablan of Taotao Galaide who smoked everyone with a time of 3:23 flat. Silver was Napu’s Lori Wong at 3:41.50, while bronze was MPP’s Maria Ornes at 3:51.06.

Results of Day 2 last Saturday and Day 3 last Sunday will be posted in the next issues of Saipan Tribune.

The CNMI teams were Marianas Outrigger Club, Saipan Paddling Club, and Marianas Pacific Paddlers.

The teams from Guam include Animun Tasi, Bihun Tasi, Haggan Jrs., Maneran Galaide, Napu, PFM, Poksai Canoe Club, Puti’on Tasi, and Taotao Galaide.

The lone team from RMI that made the long trip to Saipan is the Majol Canoe Paddling Club.

NMNPSF would like to thank the following sponsors: Tan Holdings, Tan Siu Lin Foundation, Crowne Plaza, IT&E, MARPAC, Marianas Visitors Authority, Turnkey Solutions, The Athlete’s Foot, Paradise Realty Saipan, Marianas Pacific Paddlers, Micronesia Brokers, H.K. Pangelinan & Associates, LLC, Coca Cola, UR Tents, Northern Marianas College’s media team, Hafa Adai Rent A Car, and Herman’s Bakery.

Special thanks to the Saipan Mayor’s Office, Department of Fire and Emergency Management Services, Division of Parks & Recreations, Rep. John Paul Sablan (Ind-Saipan), Vince Castro, Next Level Media CNMI, Christopher Toto, Angie Yarormad, CNMI Designs, KKMP, Pacific Development, Inc., Chamolinian Cultural Village Inc., Wiski Services, 500 Sails, Pualani Crown, Mariana Islands Nature Alliance, I Napu Dance Group, Da Kine, Tipiyew Bwiibwis, and Asia Hilario.

Host CNMI’s paddling clubs left their mark in their home turf as Saipan Paddling Club’s junior paddlers and Marianas Outrigger Club represented their home well with first place wins in their respective divisions on the first day of races in the 24th Micronesia Cup Canoe Race last Friday at the Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan.

It was another day of unpredictable weather in the Marianas, with rain drenching the venue in the morning, followed by sunshine breaking through the clouds—and then at times, it was raining while the sun was out. The waters were rough early on but calmed down later in the afternoon.

In the junior men’s V1 500m finals, it was dominated by SPC paddlers. SPC’s up-and-coming paddler, Tyler Andrew came from behind and won gold with a time of 2:45.18. Silver was fellow SPC teammate Phillip Aldan at 2:46.52. Bronze went to Yu Ling Chai at 2:46:55.

The 18-year-old Andrew said of his win, “I knew that myself and everyone else falls apart at the 250m mark because that’s the last stretch. The water gets heavy and it gets hard to pull. So I just found a way to stay with the crowd in the start and not waste too much energy.” As for how the water conditions were at that time, he said, “there’s some little swells. They were going the opposite direction of the wind so that was a bit challenging trying to keep it straight because my boat would always go right.”

The SPC junior women also bagged a gold medal with a win in the V12 500m sprints with a time of 2:52.19. Silver was Guam’s Taotao Galaide at 2:59.25.

In the junior men’s V12, SPC took home gold with a time of 2:25 flat over Guam’s Taotao Galaide at 2:25.95.

As for MOC, their mixed open V12 team dominated the 500m sprints with a time of 2:27.30. Silver was Guam’s TTG 2 Maksum at 2:27.57. Bronze was SPC at 2:30.99.

MOC’s women’s V12 team snagged the gold medal after Marianas Pacific Paddlers was disqualified for impeding in lane 2. MOC finished at 2:42.91, while silver went to Guam’s Taotao Galaide at 2:47.07

The MOC men’s V12 team bagged another gold for their club as they came in first with a time of 2:23.08. Silver was Taotao Galaide at 2:26.12, and bronze went to PFM/LMS at 2:28.22.

MOC’s coach Jason Tarkong said after the women’s finals that they actually didn’t have time to practice the V12 races until that morning. “MPP came in a split second ahead of our girls but unfortunately, the officials said they were disqualified because they got in the wrong lane,” he said. “But, I’m proud of our girls. They worked hard and trained hard. We wish we had more time in the V12, but we’ll take the win. My heart goes out to MPP and all the other teams that worked hard, but it was very close and it was an excellent competition. We’re very grateful and appreciative of the officials and their call.”

Results of the other races that day are as follows:

In the open women’s V1 500m race, Nahokuheleiakeahuolu Keala of Guam’s Maneran Galaide won gold with a time of 2:59.00. Silver was Kia Quichocho from Guam’s Napu at 3:03.06. Bronze went to SPC’s Jenisha Dubrall at 3:18.22.

In the open men’s V1 500m finals, Kaihe Chong of Maneran Galaide sprinted into gold at 2:26.05. Silver was teammate Aiden Artero at 2:36.05. Bronze went to MOC’s Maverick Itibus at 2:37.90.

As for the junior women’s V1 500m finals, Dina Soriano of Guam’s Puti’on Tasi bagged gold at 3:06.70. Silver went to teammate Kayla River at 3:12.81, while bronze was SPC’s Emma Chong at 3:15.21.

In the masters V1 men 500m race, Guam’s Jason Park of Taotao Galaide won gold with a time of 2:48.40. Silver was MOC’s Richard Sikkel at 2:57.14, and bronze went to SPC’s Joseph Weaver at 2:57.54.

The masters V1 women’s 500m race was dominated by Guam’s Masako Sablan of Taotao Galaide who smoked everyone with a time of 3:23 flat. Silver was Napu’s Lori Wong at 3:41.50, while bronze was MPP’s Maria Ornes at 3:51.06.

Results of Day 2 last Saturday and Day 3 last Sunday will be posted in the next issues of Saipan Tribune.

The CNMI teams were Marianas Outrigger Club, Saipan Paddling Club, and Marianas Pacific Paddlers.

The teams from Guam include Animun Tasi, Bihun Tasi, Haggan Jrs., Maneran Galaide, Napu, PFM, Poksai Canoe Club, Puti’on Tasi, and Taotao Galaide.

The lone team from RMI that made the long trip to Saipan is the Majol Canoe Paddling Club.

NMNPSF would like to thank the following sponsors: Tan Holdings, Tan Siu Lin Foundation, Crowne Plaza, IT&E, MARPAC, Marianas Visitors Authority, Turnkey Solutions, The Athlete’s Foot, Paradise Realty Saipan, Marianas Pacific Paddlers, Micronesia Brokers, H.K. Pangelinan & Associates, LLC, Coca Cola, UR Tents, Northern Marianas College’s media team, Hafa Adai Rent A Car, and Herman’s Bakery.

Special thanks to the Saipan Mayor’s Office, Department of Fire and Emergency Management Services, Division of Parks & Recreations, Rep. John Paul Sablan (Ind-Saipan), Vince Castro, Next Level Media CNMI, Christopher Toto, Angie Yarormad, CNMI Designs, KKMP, Pacific Development, Inc., Chamolinian Cultural Village Inc., Wiski Services, 500 Sails, Pualani Crown, Mariana Islands Nature Alliance, I Napu Dance Group, Da Kine, Tipiyew Bwiibwis, and Asia Hilario.