Castro gets another win in XTERRA relay

From left, biker Erico Castro, swimmer Angel Marie Tan, and runner Cesar Danao pose with their first place medals during the awards ceremony for the 2014 XTERRA Saipan Championship at the Pacific Islands Club last Saturday night. (ROSELYN B. MONROYO)

Castro, swimmer Angel Marie Tan, and runner Cesar Danao finished the 1.5-kilometer swim, 30K bike, and 12K run race in 3:33:00, the best time among the eight relay squads that joined the championship course. Besides being the fastest team in the relay, the trio also clinched first place in the mixed division. The victory was Castro’s second in a row, as last year he, swimmer Kento Akimaru, and runner Goshi Sato won over four other squads.

Tan gave the mixed team top finisher a good start when she completed the two-lap swim course in the waters off Micro Beach in 24:02. She was the first woman out of the water and 10th overall out of 62 swimmers, beating pros Jacqui Slack, Mieko Carey, Renata Bucher, and Carina Wasle.

Castro kept the pace, as his 1:58:58 was also the fastest in the relay and 29th overall. The Marianas High School student was the lone biker in the relay to finish the bike course under two hours and his about eight-minute lead over Mario Galang gave the eventual champion more than nine minutes cushion, going into the run leg of the race.

Danao posted 1:08:59 in the run leg and although it was just the third best in the division, the time was good enough to hand their team the first place overall in the relay.

Galang and Sato, who completed the trio with swimmer Victoria Chentsova, settled for a second place finish both in the mixed relay and overall after submitting 3:38:40. Chentsova timed in at 24:34 in the swim leg, the third best in the division, while Sato was the fastest in the run with his 1:06:20.

Paul Anthony had the third best time in the run in the relay with his 1:08:22 and he also did the swim leg before Cesar Fortaleza took over in the bike portion. The duo was the top finisher in the men’s division and third overall after combining for 3:53:12 with Anthony recording 30:36 in the swim race and Fortaleza clocking in at 2:13:07 in the bike.

The two-man team defeated the trio of Akimaru, Samson Tan, and Manny Aaron, who tallied 3:57:41. Akimaru led all the swimmers in the relay with his 22:36, but his eight-minute lead was wiped out when Fortaleza beat Samson Tan in the bike race, as the latter posted 2:21:07. Akimaru’s team went on to drop to second place in the men’s division, as Aaron timed in at 1:12:58, more than three minutes behind Anthony.

Completing the finishers list in the men’s division were the teams of Rommel Tiosejo, Larry Malig, and Will Schroeder (4:08:20) and Joshua Berger, Irineo Isip, and Tamio Nishikido (4:21:04).

In the women’s division, the combo of Angel De Jesus, Glorybel Tan, and Maricris Galy made it to the finish line at the 4:33:09 mark to prevail against the trio of Shawna Brennfleck, Amy Slettem, and Lorie Hutchinson, who combined for 5:13:33.