Four hailed as athletes of the month

The Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association hailed basketball’s Paul Magcalas and Chariss Ruluked, triathlon’s Maxi Braig and swimming’s Jellian Majors as athletes of the month for October.

Magcalas got the nod for NMASA Male Athlete of the Month after leading his underdog Makos team to an upset of pennant champion Sixers I in the 2004 Saipan Rotary Club Summer Youth Basketball League championship held last Oct. 22.

Along the way, Magcalas picked up both the regular season and finals most valuable player awards. He also averaged a fifth-best 19.1 points, a fifth-best 2 assists, and a third-best 5 steals per game for the season.

“Paul was clearly the most skilled and talented player in the Rotary league this year and is sure to be a top prospect for the upcoming Micronesian 22-and-under Tournament that would be hosted by the CNMI next year,” said a media release from the Basketball Association Northern Mariana Islands.

For her part, Ruluked was selected as NMASA Female Athlete of the Month after leading the CNMI Junior Women’s National Team to a decent showing in the Rotary league.

Ruluked finished tied at third place in the assists department after norming 2.5 assists per game. The point guard also went on to average 2 steals per game (10th best) and 9.1 points per contest.

“Clearly overmatched by the height and speed of male counterparts, Chariss was able to keep pace and displayed uncanny leadership while playing for an all-girls team in a supposedly all-boys tournament,” said BANMI.

Braig, for his part, won the NMASA Male Student Athlete of the Month after making a big splash in his first-ever triathlon last Oct. 23 in Marpi.

Braig finished on top in the boys 6-7-year-old division in the Kids TRYathlon after negotiating the 100-meter swim, 3-kilometer bike, and 1-km course in 21:45. The six-year-old clocked in at 2:37 in the swim, rode the bike in 12:54, and trotted for 6:14.

Majors, on the other hand, got the vote for NMASA Female Student Athlete of the Month following her strong showing in the Virtual Meet, which results came out last month.

The prodigious nine-year-old won three of four events and took home first place in the points race with 53. In the process, Majors also helped the Saipan Swim Club bag the overall team trophy in the meet conducted by the Northern Territory Swimming Association and participated in by swim clubs in Australia.

Her three victories came in the 50m freestyle (39.81), 200m freestyle (3:17.93), and 200m Individual Medley (3:32.64).

Other athletes nominated for the monthly plum were swimming’s R.J. Knecht, track and field’s Bo Wang and Marcan Aldan, and triathlon’s Opal Northern.