Gabbie, Wang shine in Turkey Trot

(Final of two parts)

Multi-sport phenom Caleb Gabbie continues to make a name for himself, while female sensation Bo Wang was again dominating in the middle distance as the two were the top youth finishers in Thursday’s 21st Annual Turkey Trot Fun Run.

Fresh from a stint in the 12th Annual Rota Blue Triathlon, Gabbie showcased his power and endurance by tackling the 4.2-mile challenge from the Department of Public Works beach to the peak of Mount Tapochao in just 45:33 to place 14th overall and first in the boys’ 17-and-under division.

A little after a minute later came Saipan Southern High School rubber burner Herman Duenas, who followed up a respectable performance at the recent All-Schools Cross Country Championships with a second-place finish in the age category and breaking into the top 20 by placing 18th overall with a time of 46:47. Fellow Manta Ray Lawrence Echon took third place in the age group after reaching the peak at 53:04.

For her part, Wang was like a 4X4 truck as she made the tough challenge look easy and reached the finish line in just 49:20. With her performance, the Marianas High School student won the girls’ 17-and-under category and placed 23rd overall. She also posted the third-best female time of the day.

Taking second place was multi-sport standout Melissa Coleman, who ran like the wind and finished the race in 1:01:07, while fellow Saipan Southern High teammate Haoting Romolor took third place with a time of 1:05:33.

Meanwhile, Liane Riley showed her toughness as the up-and-coming star broke the one-hour mark to win the girls’ 13-and-under competition. The athlete, who also had a good showing in the Cross Country event, clocked in at a respectable 57:52, while Dominique Austin took second place with a time of 1:14:43. Olivia Austin was next to cross the finish as she reached the peak just seven seconds later.

The Schultz family dominated the boys’ 13-and-under division, with Crosby taking top honors and Kenyan placing second. Crosby worked hard for his turkey treat and took the top spot courtesy of a time of 1:00:18 while Kenyan finished in 1:01:03.

All first place winners were presented with gold medals and turkey certificates. Second and third place winners were also recognized as they were presented silver and bronze medals.

In all, a total of 110 early birds spent Thanksgiving morning tackling the challenge, which was hosted by Northern Marianas Athletics.