Ocampo, McCullough, Quan are January’s best

An unassuming wrestler, a veteran sailor, and an up-and-coming tennis player were named Athletes of the Month for January by the Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association during its general membership meeting Thursday.

Joe Ocampo of wrestling was named Male Athlete of the Month, yachting’s Janet McCullough was Female Athlete of the Month, and Tim Quan of tennis was Male Student Athlete of the Month after the trio distinguished themselves in January.

Ocampo won the distinction after bagging a silver medal in the 97-kilogram class of the South Pacific Open Tournament held last Jan. 8 in Guam.

The 2002 Micronesian Games veteran and 2005 Palau South Pacific Mini Games hopeful competed in a higher weight class against not only wrestlers from Guam but also grapplers from Korea and Japan as well.

In his first two matches, Ocampo out-pointed two competitors from Guam, but in the finals against a South Korean, he met his match and had to settle for second place after losing in points.

It was nonetheless an awe-inspiring performance by Ocampo, who came into the South Pacific Open Tournament not expecting to win anything but only gain a little experience for his and teammate Slade Adelbai’s upcoming stint in the Mini Games this July and August.

McCullough, meanwhile, was recognized for her sterling performance in two yachting events in the Philippines, while pairing with long-time sailing-mate and husband Tony Stearns.

In the two-day Hobie National Championships held near Cebu in the central Philippines, McCullough and Stearns finished first in the masters race. They competed in four events in the Cebu tiff and finished first in one race, third or tied for third in two, and one in fourth place.

McCullough and Stearns also competed in the 6th Philippine Hobie Challenge, the premiere Hobie sailing event in the Asia-Pacific. The racing event encompassed island-to-island sailing that when added up covers more than 230 nautical miles.

Ranged against the world’s best in the seven-day competition, McCullough and Stearns wound up tied for third place overall against a field of 30 topnotch teams from the Philippines, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, the United States, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, England, and Denmark.

In all, they won one out of five races, finished third twice, and fifth and seventh once in the Challenge. Incidentally, McCullough was the highest placing female finisher in all of the events contested in the Challenge.

Quan, for his part, put the CNMI on the map after winning an age group tournament in Australia last month.

The Hawaii Preparatory Academy student won the Wodonga Classic on Jan. 15 in Melborne, Australia, while part of the International Tennis Federation-Pacific Oceania 18 & Under touring team that had a two-week training stint in the Land Down Under,

Quan didn’t drop a set en route to topping the boys’ 18-and-under championship of the tournament.

He opened his campaign with a difficult 6-5 (6-4), 6-2 win in the first round. He followed that up with another squeaker, advancing to the finals with a 6-4, 6-2 triumph in the semifinal round. In the finals, Quan finally found his stride and won the championship in shutout fashion, 6-0, 6-0.

Following his extraordinary performance, Tim has been offered a full scholarship at a college in the mainland. Quan is the grandson of Joeten. His father is the late Sidney Quan and his mother is Priscila Tenorio. Joseph Guzman serves as a dotting stepfather.

Three other athletes were nominated for Male Athlete of the Month for January: Tony Stearns of Sailing; Elias Rangamar of basketball; and Mark “The Shark” Halstead of bowling.

Stearns was nominated for his exploits with fellow Hobie racer McCullough, Rangamar was given consideration after being named MVP of the regular season of the 2004 Government Basketball League, while Halstead was given acclaim for topping the season-ending 2004 Pepsi King of the Lanes Tenpin Bowling Tournament.