Veloria, Miller first in 10K of Saipan Marathon

NMI runners nearly swept the Top 3 in both the men and women’s division of the 10K/6.2 miles in the Skechers Saipan Marathon 2024 last Saturday, with Sildrey Veloria and Akiko Miller first to finish the course from the starting line at the Hyatt Regency Saipan parking lot to just before Tanapag and back last Saturday.

With a 6am start time, 145 10K runners ran alongside the full course and half marathon runners, with Veloria coming in first overall at 39:03.

Second place went to Kosuke Sato at 41:19, and third place was student-athlete Anthony Bergancia with a time of 42:20.

In the women’s division, Miller was the fastest on the course with a time of 43:33. Second went to student multi-sport athlete Andrei Kaithlyn Chavez at 45:32, and third place was Japan’s Deguchi Maki at 48:33.

In the men’s age division rankings, Agape Christian School’s Reyviel Escarlan was first in the 12U at 1:25:25; Rex Pixley was first in the 18U at 1:13:05; Jaeyun Ahn topped the men’s open at 1:12:59; Hyocheol Yu finished first in the 35-39 with a time of 1:17:03; the 40-44 was won by Inkook Ko at 1:15:49; Shinobu Chida came in first in the 45-49 at 1:21:41; Daniel Dilse was first in the 50-54 at 1:22:28; James Munnis topped the 55-59 at 1:13:02; and the 60+ was won by Paul Khang at 1:27:09.

In the women’s age division rankings, ACS’ Phoebe Muyang Wang was first in the 14U with a time of 1:42:37; Aubrey Castro claimed first in the 18U with 1:30:02; Kelsey McClelan was first in the women’s open at 1:20:15; Heather Brook topped the 35-39 at 1:18:56; Jennifer Tan Su was first in the 40-44 at 1:43:10; Mi Seon Lee clocked in first in the 45-49 at 1:26:28; Krista Hawley finished first in the 50-54 at 1:24:30; Lydia Tan claimed first in the 55-59 at 1:24:48; and Lynnette Tenorio was first in the 60+ at 1:48:31.

Veloria, whose first-place finish always seemed to elude him, finally claimed first place this time around. He said of his win, “It felt great, almost surreal, to come in first.” During the race, he said he led the entire time.

As for the course, he said, “It was an incredible course. Perfect racing conditions prevailed. I had a wonderful experience during the race.”

He added, “Not knowing who would be competing with me going into this race, I noticed a lot of fresh faces in the audience. I will most probably do it again next year, assuming everything goes as planned.”

For Miller, she said the weather was nice and although she was worried about it being windy, it didn’t turn out to be a windy day. She said the new course was perfectly organized, along with the aid stations. “Volunteer staff kept me motivated and the runners supported each other. I was very impressed with that,” she said.

She said she was behind the men’s fourth or fifth place runner for most of the course and was able to conserve energy. She first joined the event in 1998 and had since ran in the 10K, half marathon, and full marathon. As for if she will join again next year, she said, “I will try next year! I will keep practicing and stay healthy.”

Results of the 5K race will be posted in the next issues of Saipan Tribune.