Tinian wins first boys team champs

For the first time, Tinian Elementary School Colts capped the PSS-McDonald’s All Schools Track and Field 2023-2024 season with the boys team championship after the finals last Friday night and Saturday morning at the Oleai Sports Complex track and field.

The Colts sported the most points with 114 from 18 events scored. Second went to Kagman Elementary School with 92 points; last season’s champion Koblerville Elementary School was third with 81; San Vicente Elementary School had 78 points; Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School collected 50; Saipan International School came up with 44; Oleai Elementary School racked up 38; William S. Reyes Elementary School and Garapan Elementary School were at 19 each; Grace Christian Academy had 15; and Brilliant Star School was at 8 points.

Last Saturday, Vicente Cruz received gold in the 9U boys softball throw with a distance of 31.13m. Second went to SVES’ Raynold Saka at 29.98m, and third was GTC’s Oshean Garde with a distance of 29.42.

Joaquin Adriano gave TES another gold in the 12U boys softball throw with a distance of 47.53m. Second was teammate Manuel Cruz who threw a 41.67m distance, and third went to WSR’s Salman Kamal at 36.92m.

In the 9U 100m race, Vicente came in third with a time of 16.37 seconds. First place went to KagES’ Davirey Indalecio at 15.64 seconds, and second went to KobES’ Patrick Mansfield at 15.72 seconds.

Francisco Moses bagged bronze in the 1,500m 12U division with his time of 6:13.86. First was GCA’s Beau Bauer at 5:49.68, and second went to GTC’s Orion Garde at 5:50.79.

Then in the 4x100m relay, the Colts galloped into second place with a time of 1:01.98. First place went to KagES at 1:00.42, and third was KobES at 1:04.34.

Last Friday, the Colts’ 4x400m relay team sprinted to first place with a time of 5:20.49; second was KobES at 5:26.90, and third was SVES at 5:28.32.

Another gold finish for the Colts was in the 9U long jump by Joedric Torres with his jump of 3.53m. Second was OES’ D.J. Taisakan at 3.44m, and third was TES’ Xiang Huang at 3.18m.

In the 12U 800m, Adriano secured the second spot with a time of 2:46.44. First place was SVES’ Jeffrey Pangelinan at 2:42.35, and a close third place went to Orion at 2:46.93.

Moses took home silver with his finish of 31.37 seconds in the 12U 200m event. First went to Pangelinan at 30.41 seconds, and third place by a breath was KagES’ Ishmael Bhuiyan at 31.41 seconds.

Then, Moses hauled in another silver in the 12U long jump with a mark of 3.84m. First was KagES’ Benaiah Murphy at 3.99m, and third was SIS’ Jake Duenas with 3.66m.

In the boys 9U roster were Nathaniel Cruz, Noah Sablan, Damian Villagomez, Vicente Cruz, Zaire Villagomez, Xiang Huang, and Joedric Torres.

The 12U roster was made up of Joaquin Adriano, Francisco Moses, Miran Tamang, Manuel Cruz Jr., Trayvan Manglona, and Jade Almonte.

Moses, a 5th grader, said that the season was “very good and awesome.” He competed in six events and said his favorites were the 200m and 400m. He then thanked his coaches, grandma, and mom for the motivation.

Colts coaches Eptes and Chavelyn Epity said their team “worked very hard through rain or shine, and we’re very proud of them.”

Despite not having a track and field to train on, they still train three times a week on their school’s campus. Come competition days on Saipan, the coaches said that there’s a big difference, but that “these guys pulled through.”

On how it felt taking it all home this season, Moses said, “it feels good because last year, we didn’t place at all.”

This tournament concludes the elementary school 2023-2024 sports season.

This Friday and Saturday is the 18U/14U middle school/high school PSS/McDonald’s All Schools Athletics 2023-2024 championships round.