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Student athletes take NMSA spotlight
Athletics’ Donavin Ada, volleyball’s Knohlynn Gechig, and netters Luther Lizama and Carol Lee were voted as co-Male and Female Student Athletes of the Month in last week’s Northern Marianas Sports Association monthly meeting at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium conference room.
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- Ada
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- Gechig
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- Lee
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- Lizama
Student athletes were the only nominees as no sports association submitted an entry for the Male Athlete of the Month, while shuttler Vilma Reyes was the lone name for the female athlete category.
Ada, who is currently competing in the 2015 Oceania Athletics Association Area Championships in Cairns, Australia, topped all of his three events in the preliminaries of the 12th McDonald’s-Public School System All Schools Championships.
The 14-year-old Marianas High School freshman ruled the men’s long jump and discus and javelin throws.
Gechig is a member of the CNMI All-Stars team that will be competing in a tournament in Yap set from Jul 18 to 31. She’s a leader on and off the court where she earned 22 points awarded by the Northern Mariana Islands Volleyball Association.
NMIVA gives eligibility points to all players based on attending practices, participating in fundraising events, and playing in tournaments for them to remain active and part of the team.
Lizama is the top ranked CNMI boys’ Under-18 netter after winning the age division in last month’s CNMI Junior Championships, the Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Federation’s season-ending event that is worth 1.5 times the ranking points.
The 14-year-old is currently in Guam where he will try his luck in the qualifying draw of the of the 2015 Calvo’s SelectCare International Tennis Federation Junior Championships, which starts today.
He is also entered in the qualifying draw of the 2015 IT&E Northern Marianas Junior Championships, hosted by Saipan next week.
Lee, on the other hand, claimed her fourth U18 division crown when she defeated Mikayla Lopez in the finals of the CNMI Junior Championships to seal her status as the CNMI’s current No. 1 female player.
Quinn Amog (volleyball), Friendly Joy Pena (athletics), and badminton players Janelle Pangelinan and Mikiya Takahashi were the other student athlete nominees.
