NMASA to pick top athletes tonight

Selection for the top athletes of 2008 will be made tonight when the Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association holds its monthly meeting at the conference room of the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

NMASA members will pick the 2008 Male and Female Athletes of the Year and the Male and Female Student Athletes of the Year.

NMASA president Michael A. White said the association’s members will be choosing the top performers of 2008 based on the candidates accomplishments.

“There are no written criteria for selection of athletes of the year. NMASA members will look at the accomplishments of the nominees and decide who most deserves the award,” White said.

Seven athletes will be slugging it out for the 2008 Male Athlete of the Year Award.

They are swimming’s Rezne Wong, tennis’ Ji Hoon Heo, triathlon’s Eli Torgeson and Tyce Mister, athletics’ Jack Kabiriel, baseball’s Nicky San Nicolas, and basketball’s Jericho Cruz.

Wong won the monthly title five times getting Male Athlete of the Month citation in February, April, May, October, and November. Torgeson won twice, taking the monthly plum in March and July.

Heo prevailed in February tying Wong, Kabiriel won in June, San Nicolas in August, Mister in October, and Cruz in December.

The 2008 Female Athlete of the Year, meanwhile, will be a clash among eight athletes.

Swimming and triathlon have the most nominees with three apiece, while football and athletics have one apiece.

Nominees from swimming are Sarah Johnson, Marystar Welch, and Grace Kimball. Triathlon has Mieko Carey, Maimi Shimizu, and Maimi Oshima-Berger. Completing the list are Yvonne Bennett of athletics and Becca Newman of soccer.

There are nine nominees—the most for the year—for the 2008 Male Student Athlete of the Year.

The list includes Heo, Rafael Jones, Kai Staal, Christian Miller, Trevor Ogumoro, Kensuke Kimura, Caleb Arriola, Raphael Zapanta, and Jericho Cruz.

Among the nine, only Staal of swimming got multiple monthly titles having won the award three times.

The race for the 2008 Female Student Athlete of Year, for its part, will be among teammates.

Saipan Swim Club bets Abigail Martinsen and Grace Kimball are nominated for the prestigious award, along with tracksters Jackie Wonenberg and Lia Rangamar, and Tsunami Swimming Center Saipan’s Marystar Welch and Angel Marie Tan.

Rounding off the list are tennis’ Thea Minor and basketball’s Roxanne Duenas.

Of the eight, Rangamar was the only multiple winner in different sports. She won the monthly award in April for athletics leading Marianas High School to a title in the women’s division of the NMA All Schools meet. In October, she earned the same award after anchoring the CNMI Women’s Junior Nationals fight in the Oceania Youth Tournament in Guam.

Athletes who will be selected for the top awards will be recognized at the NMASA Sports Banquet scheduled later this month. Also to be feted during the awards ceremony are the 2008 Coach of the Year and the 2008 inductee for the Sports Hall of Fame.

Venue for the banquet will be announced later.