Triathletes, netter are best in November

Triathletes Rob Carruth, Sue Knecht, and Caleb Gabbie, as well as netter Audrey Motto were recognized by the Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association as top athletes for November.

Carruth won the Male Athlete of the Month courtesy of strong performances in the 12th Annual Rota Blue Triathlon last Nov. 19, 21st Annual Turkey Trot Fun Run, and a recent 4.5-mile swim from Pau Pau Beach to Managaha Island.

Carruth was the first from Saipan to complete the 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike, and 10-kilometer run, and was the second finisher of the men’s division and fourth overall, crossing the finish line in a sterling 2:37:29 after posting top five times in the in the swim and bike courses with a 26:34 (3) and 1:15:37 (5) respectively, before finishing off with a 55:18 (14) in the run.

Less than a week later, Carruth joined 109 runners in the Turkey Trot Thanksgiving morning and hammered the grueling 4.2-mile course from the Department of Public Works Beach in Lowerbase to the peak of Mount Tapochao in just 40:30, which was good for third overall and first place in the 40-49 age group.

He then swam 7,000 meters in the Pau Pau Beach to Managaha Island Endurance Swim on Nov. 26.

For her part, Knecht was lauded as Female Athlete of the Month after also punching in an impressive performance on Rota.

Knecht, who has played key roles for the Northern Mariana Islands Triathlon Federation in its push to promote triathlon in the CNMI, was the first female from the CNMI to finish the Olympic-distance course.

Knecht was sixth in the women’s division and 39th overall after posting a time of 3:19:09.

One big reason why Knecht had a memorable performance was that she cruised through the swim to post the 28th best time (33:58), before completing the bike course in 1:34:51 (36th) and the run in 1:10:20.

Knecht continued to showcase the warrior in her as she also completed the Pau Pau to Managaha swim in a little over two hours.

Meanwhile, 16-year-old Gabbie continues to make a name for himself and his performances on Rota, the Turkey Trot, and the Managaha swim earned him the Male Student Athlete of the Month plum.

Gabbie finished sixth overall with top 10 times in the swim and bike before muscling out a top 20 time on the run.

Gabbie was the sixth person who emerged from the 1.5-kilometer ocean swim with a time of 28:55, and was third only to professional triathlete Taro Shirato and future pro Airi Sawada of Japan on the bike with a speedy 1:15:37 around the 40-km course. He then punched in a time of 59:18 run for an overall time of 2:41:26.

Gabbie then won the 17-and-under division at the Turkey trot, reaching the finish line in 45:33, and also completed the Managaha swim.

Motto earned her recognition after topping the girls’ 14-and-under division of the Calvo’s Insurance 2005 Fall Junior Tennis Classic.

Motto went undefeated in the round-robin singles competition to emerge as champion after defeating fellow topnotch netters Vivian Lee, Lila Mailman, and Shane Jones.

She also teamed up with Lee to place runner-up in the 15-and-under doubles, and is training hard in hopes of making the CNMI National Tennis Team to next year’s Micronesian Games.

Motto also competed in the All-Schools Swim Meet, and played a key role for Whispering Palms School in their second place finish.

Other notables for November were wrestling’s Frank Camacho, tennis’ Ralph Buenaventura, and athletics’ Bo Wang, Nate Mateo, and Noriko Jim.