MHS, THS are best in 18-and-under

Last of three parts

Marianas High School and its sister school across the channel, Tinian High School, put up the best team efforts in the 18-and-under competition of Saturday’s 2005 All-Schools Cross Country Championships at the CPA Airport Field.

Tinian ruled the boys division after their top five finishers combined for 43 points, while Saipan Southern High School and MHS took second and third with 46 and 64 points.

For their part, the Lady Dolphins of MHS posted four of the top five times to win first place in the girls’ competition, while SSHS took home second place.

Meanwhile, Nate Mateo of MHS managed to take home the gold medal in the two-mile individual competition as he barely edged close friend Champ Untalan of Mt. Carmel School in a down-the-wire finish.

The two were neck and neck in the final sprint to the finish, with Mateo earning the gold by crossing the line in 12:34.20 and Untalan taking silver in 12:34.42. Tinian’s Mark Lero went home with the bronze after clocking in at 12:39, while Saipan Southern High School’s Jaymar Paul and Rezne Wong of MHS won the fourth and fifth place ribbons with times of 13:05 and 13:14.

Rounding up the top 10 finishers were Herman Duenas (13:15) of Saipan Southern, Angelo Cruz (13:26) of Tinian, Darrel Roligat (14:15) of MHS, Adrian Quijano (14:26) of Tinian, and Gigo Tomokane (14:27) of Saipan Southern.

For her part, Bo Wang of MHS came out on top as expected as she dominated the girls competition again to take gold in 13:20. Melody Ludwig of MHS grabbed silver in 15:54 while multi-sport athlete Melissa Coleman of Saipan Southern prevented an MHS sweep by brining home the bronze in 16:06. Lacsina Lyza and Gresil Mendiola of MHS won the fourth and fifth place ribbons with times of 16:23 and 17:23.

Rounding up the competition were Hoating Romolor (19:48), Kelun Babauta (19:37), and Gydia Taisakan (20:12) of Saipan Southern, and Jendria Mangsat (20:29) of MHS.

The All-Schools Cross Country Championships is an annual event hosted and organized by Northern Marianas Athletics. A total of 72 youth athletes took part in the event, which also featured competition in the 10-and-under, 12-and-under, and 14-and-under age groups.

For more information, contact NMA coaches director Elias Rangamar at 664-2502, president Kurt Barnes at 235-5853, or treasurer Robin Sapong at 235-6500.