Macaranas, Ebert-Santos, Carey, Low T are week’s best

Three athletes and one team were worth mentioning in last week’s headlines for making the CNMI proud with their impressive performance in off-island tournaments.

Let’s start with the youngest—10-year-old golf wiz R.J. Macaranas, who recorded a milestone in the Long Beach Junior Golf in California.

Macaranas earned a slot to the “Elite 10” Club of LBJC after lowering his handicap from 12 to 10 at the end of his summer training.

The club is reserved for teenagers, thus making it to the list was a big accomplishment in the young career of Macaranas.

R.J.’s parents, Richard and Becky, hail from Saipan and their son had represented the CNMI in a world championship event in the mainland.

Anicia Santos was born on Saipan, but left the island when she was about to turn 10-years-old.

The 19-year-old daughter of Roque and Christine Ebert-Santos thought she would never leave the island she loves so much. But when she did, she never expected to be where she is right now—playing for the volleyball team of the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis, Obispo and aiming to join the U.S. National Team.

The Mustangs are part of the NCAA Division I and is ranked No. 14 this season.

Before playing for the Mustangs, Anicia joined the U.S. National Youth Team in its southeastern Europe tour, battling spikers from Slovenia and Serbia. She was a starter for the youth team when they played the national youth squads of Croatia and Slovenia. The U.S. volleybelles won both matches.

Once her playing years in college is over, Santos is hoping to join the AVP Tour and play in the Olympics if she makes it to the U.S. National Team.

Saipan-based triathlete Mieko Carey finished XTERRA Japan in “Cinderella-liked” fashion, only this time she lost both shoes.

Carey had to complete the remaining bike and the entire run legs without her broken shoes, and under a cold weather and muddy course in Marunuma, which has an altitude of 1,500m

Low T, which was composed of Saipan players who are now based from various states in the U.S., prevailed in the 4th Annual Goodwill CNMI Labor Day Softball Tournament last month. Low T defeated Chamlu from Washington State in the finals.

In local action, two teams topped separate tournaments with Captain Morgan’s ruling the 2008 NMIFA Fall Co-Ed League and Northern Marianas College claiming the pennant in the Inaugural PTI Inter-Government/Business Basketball League.

Captain Morgan’s defeated Greg and Mel’s Friends, 2-1, in the winner-take-all finale of the annual league.

NMC took the pennant without a sweat, winning its last two matches via forfeiture. The Rufino Aguon-coached squad finished the regular season with a 10-1 record tying PTI, but NMC won the tiebreak having beaten the host in the elimination round 87-82.

Southern Sonics hotshot Manuel Ajoste Jr. also left for Texas to join the U.S. Air Force. Ajoste was the Sonics top scorer in their first two games in the Rotary caging.

Janice Bungalos, who was part of a handful of players who started badminton in the CNMI, left the island, too, to join her son in the Philippines.