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Sendin leads non-pro XTERRA Saipan finishers
Charlie Sendin runs out of the water to start the second lap of the 1.5-kilometer swim leg of last Saturday’s XTERRA Saipan Championship. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)
Late bloomer Charlie Sendin made it four in a row after emerging as the top Saipan finisher in last Saturday’s 2017 XTERRA Saipan Championship.
Sendin, who just started joining triathlon races when he came to Saipan, completed the 1.5-kilometer swim, 30K bike, and 12K trail run in 3:42:22 to beat six other finishers based on island. He was Saipan’s top placer in 2014 after clocking in at 3:21:18—his fastest—while he timed in at 3:27:50 and 3:28:12 in 2015 and 2016, respectively, to lead the island’s finishers anew.
The 33-year-old was also the first non-pro finisher in XTERRA’s Crown Jewel this year and topped the men’s 35 to 39 age group, prevailing against three others. Sendin, who had split times of 30:00 (swim), 1:58:14 (bike), and 1:14:08 (run) won over Arizona’s Michael Orin (3:58:05), Japan’s Keisuke Hirano (3:59:05), and Joel Phair (4:12:19).
Also making the under four-hour cut and gaining the No. 2 spot among Saipan finishers was youth athlete Taiga Sato. The Saipan Swim Club member was the fastest non-pro in the swim leg after rounding out the two-lap race in 25:00. He then submitted 2:15:11 in the bike leg and 1:15:59 in the trail run for an overall time of 3:56:10 and a win in the boys 15 to 19 age group. Sato defeated Adrian Von Libayan and Caleb Wang, who clocked in at 4:09:15 and 4:35:54, respectively.
In the 50 to 54 age group, Hong Kong’s Nestor Glenn Gonzales bested five other triathletes, including three from Saipan. Gonzales debuted in XTERRA Saipan with the second fastest time in the non-pro category after checking in at 3:42:47. Guam and perennial participant Rick Leone came in at second with his 3:48:38 and was followed by Saipan’s Tyce Mister (4:02:46), Japan’s Tetsuya Sugimori (4:10:410) and Saipan’s Mark Isip (4:24:75) and Noel Altamirano (4:32:36).
In the 45 to 49 division, Guam’s Roger James Sardea won his one-one-one showdown over Japanese Yoshiki Hiraku as the former recorded 4:17:50 against the latter’s 6:19:13.
Rounding out the finishers in the full XTERRA Saipan course were 65 to 69’s Alan Moore (5:01:45), 70 and over’s G.I. Brown (6:35:32), 30 to 34’s Motoka Kamo (5:23:44) and 35 to 39’s Leilani Sablan (6:03:03).
