Athletes, teams show supremacy

Dominance was the theme of last week’s individual and team competitions.

In the 2008 All Schools Swimming Championships organized by the Saipan Swim Club, Whispering Palms and Saipan International School continued their winning traditions in the annual event.

Whispering Palms ruled the elementary division of the All Schools swim meet for the fifth straight time, while SIS topped the high school and junior high school divisions for three years in a row.

Frequent swim races winners Kai Staal, Rezne Wong, and Kensuke Kimura were in their usual dominant form in the 2008 edition of the All Schools.

Staal had record-breaking swims in the boys’ 13 to 14 age groups’ 50m (part of the 200m freestyle medley) and 100m freestyle races. Wong set a new CNMI record and boys’ 18-and-under mark in the 100m breaststroke, while Kimura shattered the 400m freestyle record in the boys’ 11 to 12 age group.

In bowling, Raphael Zapanta prevailed in the November roll-off to claim his eighth Bing Prince of the Lanes Tenpin Bowling Tournament title.

Besides the November tournament, Zapanta also won in February, March, May, June, July, August, and October editions of the monthly event.

Emi Williams ruled the Queen of the Lanes in October and made it back-to-back when she topped the November roll-off. Jon Eparwa claimed the King of the Lanes title.

In two races that both finished at Mt. Tapochao, Eli Torgeson reached the peak first on both occasions.

First was during the 3rd Annual Tough Love Mountain Bike Race on Nov. 23 with Torgeson finishing the race in record-breaking fashion. He clocked 29 minutes, 18 seconds, breaking the 32:03 mark set by Steve Smith in the inaugural race in 2006.

XTERRA World veteran Mieko Carey was the first female to finish the race, successfully defending the title she won last year.

Six days after conquering Mt. Tapochao in an MTB race, Torgeson returned to the highest peak on the island—this time with only his shoes and strong legs helping him survived the hilly course.

Torgeson topped the 2008 Annual Turkey Trot Fun Run in a blistering 34 minutes, 20 seconds passing Stuart Smith’s time of 36:46 in 2006.

Mamiko Oshima-Berger, who was runnerup to Carey in the MTB race, was the top finisher in the women’s division of the Turkey Trot, clocking in at 44:09.

In softball, defending champion Department of Community and Cultural Affairs continued its dominance in the men’s division of the Budweiser 2008 Inter-Government/Business Softball League with its perfect 5-0 record.

Northern Marianas College is also undefeated in three games in the women’s division.

In badminton, after two days of tournament, the Green All-Stars are leading the 2nd Traders Insurance Badminton Team Tournament with a 9-3 record.

In basketball, Daniel is still on top of the team standings in the 2008 CIM-FCC Inter-Color Basketball League-3rd Genesis Cup with its 5-1 slate.

Deviating from the week’s theme were the PTI Voyagers, who won their first title in the Agingan Division of the Saipan Billiards Association’s Budweiser Open 8-Ball League ending SaipanCell Hustlers’ two-year reign.