Saipan runners impress in 10K

Keith Longuski was back on top, while six other Saipan runners made it to the Top 6 overall of the 10K event in last Saturday’s 2019 Saipan Marathon.

Longuski, who won the same race in 2017, but missed a back-to-back last year after placing only second to South Korea’s Sungchan Park, reclaimed the top honors in his division after beating South Korea’s Jeyoung Yu in a sprint to the finish line at the American Memorial Park.

The two runners were engaged in a neck-and-neck race when they entered the AMP compound before Yu gave up in the last 10 meters, while Longuski continued to push himself until he cut the tape to complete the event in 37:58. Yu timed in at 38:04. China’s Zheng Chonghao (38:48), South Korea’s Jinwon Park (39:02), and Saipan’s Joseph Toth (40:05) and Kosuke Sato (40:25) rounded out the Top 6 in the men’s field.

In the women’s division, 2018 NMSA/Tan Siu Lin Foundation Student Athlete of the Year Tania Tan was the fastest Saipan runner in the 10K after checking in at 46:38. She was second overall in their division behind South Korean pro Sonmi Yoon (42:50). Two other Saipan runners finished in the Top 6 overall with Ayano Braxton timing in at 47:36 (third in the division) and 11-year-old Andrei Kaithlyn Chavez posting 50:51 (sixth place). South Korea’s Yoonyoung Kang (48:10) and Suki Choi (49:21) were the other Top 6 placers in the race that brought runners to as far as Beach Road across the former Saipan Mayor’s Office before they headed back to AMP.

In other results, majority of 10K and half marathon top finishers in various age groups were from Saipan.

Below is the complete list of Top 6 overall and age group top finishers and their times in the 10K, half marathon, and full marathon races.

10K Top 6 Winners: (Men’s) Keith Longuski (37:58), Jeyoung Yu (38:04), Zheng Chonghao (38:48), Jinwon Pak (39:02), Joseph Toth (40:05), and Kosuke Sato (40:25); (Women’s) Sonmi Yoon (42:50), Tania Tan (46:38), Ayano Braxton (47:36), Yoonyoung Kang (48:10), Suji Choi (49:21), and Andrei Chavez (50:51)

10K Age Group Winners: 15U’s Jie Qi (50:34) and Meihji Ou (1:09:36); 15 to 19’s Tyler Santos (43:34) and Mia Carreon (1:06:13); 20 to 29’s Yongsoo Kim (42:12) and Meghan West (51:33); 30 to 39’s Younkwen Sung (42:23) and Megan Schuette (52:31); 40 to 49’s Jack Kabiriel (47:25) and Xinmei Tang (55:26); 50 to 59’s Sangcheol Kang (43:17) and Eunkyong Oh (55:40); and over 60’s Kanghee Kim (56:45) and Elizaberth Kohnen (57:22)

Half Marathon Top 6: (Men’s) You Ji Jie (1:16:34), Genta Saito (1:16:38), Yunfeng Huang (1:17:47), Akinori Tachibana (1:19:17), Masashi Saito (1:10:16), and Xiaoyu Sun (1:24:13); (Women’s) Jia Yang (1:25:40), Wu Yang Fei (1:33:06), Sunok Hwang (1:33:21), Zhang Yongbo (1:39:28), Noriko Jim (1:45:01), and Mieko Carey (1:47:03).

Half Marathon Age Group Winners: 15U’s Steve Qui (1:59:13) and Kristy Wang (2:33:46);16 to 19’s Carl Obstonal (2:18:57) and Anika Snyder (2:07:376); 20 to 29’s Changho Ha (1:29:40) and Somin Park (2:00:46); 30 to 39’s Garett Overmars (1:38:31) and Kathy Ruszala (2:09:15); men’s 40 to 49’s Ronald Villafria (1:37:11) and Akiko Hagiwara (1:48:56); 50 to 59’s Haksik Go (1:33:19) and Lydia Tan (2:00:58); and over 60’s Kok Hung Ng (1:51:03).

Marathon Top 6 Winners: (Men’s) Yoshiyuki Ono (2:38:32), Taku Fujiwara (2:39:39), Meisong Ji (2:44:13), Ryan Matienzo (2:44:47), Seiji Shiroki (2:59:43), and Satoshi Endo (3:00:14); (Women’s) Natsuko Muramatsu (3:38:265), Kaylee Heath (3:32:39), Heather Taylor (3:41:39), Dianne Marie Sapida (3:43:17), Sakiko Eda (3:48:20), and Risa Yoshida (3:53:17).

Marathon Age Group Winners: 16 to 19’s Chenxuan Yang (4:47:34) and Irish He Zhang (7:05:12); 20 to 29’s Naiko Sakamoto (3:12:48) and Haeran Hwon (4:22:39)l 30 to 39’s Tiantian Wang (3:21:11) and Xinli Zhang (4:54:31); 40 to 49’s Seiji Adachi (3:03:49) and Kimberly King-Hinds (4:09:15); and 50 to 59’s Jongboum Choi (3:21:25) and Yaling Zhu (4:22:31).