Local bets cruise to Tagaman win

Four Saipan triathletes capitalized on their familiarity with the course in last Saturday’s 20th Tagaman Triathlon en route to ruling their respective age groups.

Leading the list was Quincy Johnson, who ruled the men’s 24-and-under division, defeating four other participants.

Johnson, who had to borrow a bike to finish the XTERRA Saipan Championship, had no problems this time, as he cruised the familiar route to complete the road race in four hours, two minutes, 13 seconds.

He timed in at 32:22 in the 1.5-kilometer swim leg, 2:09:07 in the 60-km bike part, and 1:20:44 in the 15-km run portion to duplicate his feat in XTERRA Saipan. Johnson tallied 4:23:37 in the local XTERRA to finish on top of the 20 to 24 age group.

Matt Mancao finished second with a total time of 4:14:16, followed by Federico Fernandez (4:21:56), Tinian’s Joshua Manglona (4:27:23), and Japan’s Akio Matsuura (4:30:25).

Three other Saipan triathletes dominated their respective age groups, outracing off-island participants.

Manny Sitchon topped the men’s 50 to 54 age group after submitting 4:24:28. He posted 41:10 in the swim race, 2:05:36 in the bike portion, and 1:36:42 in the run leg to down Japan’s Terukazu Shibata (5:16:32).

The Top 3 spots in the 55 to 59 age group all went to Saipan triathletes with Florian Braig leading the way. Braig logged 4:02:49 following his 39:18, 1:54:32, and 1:29:09 times in the swim-bike-run legs. Joshua Berger finished second, tallying 4:20:43, while Fred Camacho checked in at third, recording 4:32:15. Japan’s Haruyuki Tsuji came in fourth, posting 5:23:26.

Ronald Villafria won the all-Saipan race in the 30 to 34 age group, outclassing Brad Ruszala. Villafria completed the event in 4:08:22 against Ruszala’s 4:36:30.

In the 35 to 39 age group, Spain’s Albert Anton defeated three Saipan triathletes. Anton clocked in at 3:43:56 to beat Lewie Tenorio (3:49:16), Nate Hawley (3:59:41), and Kevin Carey (4:02:03). Japan’s Shigemasa Uda finished fourth with a time of 4:26:57).

Japan-based Ben Distel stunned Saipan bet Tyce Mister in a close race in the men’s 40 to 44 age group. Distel crossed the finish line at the 3:42:28 mark, about three minutes ahead of Mister (3:45:50). Kayaki Yokoyama and Shogo Ando timed in at 4:24:01 and 4:26:12 to place third and fourth, respectively.

In the women’s division, the age group winners were Masami Okada (25 to 29/4:05:43), Melanie Daly (40 to 44/5:01:39), Julia Lendvai (45 to 49/4:35:44), and Hiroshi Kishibe (50 to 54/3:59:46).