3 ACS students top half marathon

Agape Christian School’s Samuel Zhu crosses the finish line of the Run Saipan Holiday Half Marathon near Banzai Cliff last Saturday. (LEIGH GASES.)

High school students from Agape Christian School are the Top 3 finishers in the inaugural and grueling Run Saipan Holiday Half Marathon 21K course that snaked from Sugar Dock in Chalan Kanoa and ended at Banzai Cliff in Marpi last Saturday.

Racing past 68 other half marathon runners, Samuel Zhu, a 16-year-old sophomore; Stephen Chen, an 18-year old junior; and Jireh Wang, a 16-year-old sophomore, were the Top 3 finishers after all three crossed the finish line under two hours.

Zhu won gold with his time of 1:51:07, followed by silver for Chen who clocked in at 1:51:46, and right at his heels a few seconds later, Wang came in for bronze with a time of 1:51:54.

The women’s overall winner is Savannah Grant who clocked in at 2:05:56, while silver went to Rosemarie Chisato at 2:10:32, and Emma Pang came in third with a time of 2:12:59.

In the women’s 18-and-under category as the lone participant, Summer Angel Manahane came in with a time of 2:17:51.

Agape Christian School students are the Top 3 runners in the Run Saipan Holiday Half Marathon. Middle, gold medalist Samuel Zhu, silver medalist Stephen Chen, left of Zhu, and bronze medalist Jireh Wang, right of Zhu, pose for a photo with Run Saipan president Edward Dela Cruz Jr. and Atkins Kroll president Alex Yap in the awarding ceremony at the Banzai Cliff in Marpi. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

In the women’s open, Roxanne Soriano placed first with a time of 2:27:52, second was Marlene Lumabi with a time of 2:35:13, and third was Jeane Bracken with a time of 3:09:31.

In the women’s 35-39 age group, Laarni Zapanta claimed first place with a time of 3:01:34.

In the women’s 40-44 age group, Kathleen Tolentino came in first with a time of 2:29:00, second was Shiela Isla with a time of 2:34:14, and Pamela Walsh was third with a time of 2:39:42.

The women’s 45-49 age group was dominated by An Bang with a time of 2:13:56 and Analyn De Luna with a time of 3:09:05.

The women’s 55-59 age group was topped by Jessica Ortizo with a time of 2:15:44, followed by Marilou Carlos with a time of 2:33:21.

Kim Church came in first in the 55-59 age group with a time of 3:08:45.

A pair of Daniels topped the boys 18-and-under category, with Daniel Li coming in first with a time of 1:57:05; Daniel Song came second with a time of 1:58:03; and Steve Yang came in third with a time of 2:12:33. 

In the men’s open, Sildrey Veloria came in first with a time of 1:52:33, second was Andrei Ferrer with a time of 1:54:21, and Javin Okawa was third with a time of 2:06:22.

In the men’s 35-39 age group, Chad Taflinger came in first with a time of 2:07:35, Adam Walsh came in second with a time of 2:16:17, and Bruce Wayne came in third with a time of 2:58:14.

Travis Spaeth came in first with a time of 2:05:19 in the men’s 40-44 age group, Joshua Castro came in second with a time of 2:53:07, and Marlon Cabrera came in third with a time of 4:43:10.

Paul Manglona topped the men’s 45-49 age group with a time of 2:23:02; Rommel Bartolo and Leo Wania both came after with an identical time of 2:30:14.

In the men’s 50-54 age group, Matthew Furan came in first with a time of 2:02:23, Raymund Tolentino came in second with a time of 2:09:57, and Rolando Advincula came in third with a time of 2:56:01.

Stephen Dame came in first in the men’s 55-59 age group with a time of 2:34:46. Ben Babauta came in second with a time of 3:29:08, while Marco Garcia came in third with a time of 4:08:39.

In the 60-and-up age group, Chongnam Lee came in first with a time of 1:57:17, Boboy Aguilar came in second with a time of 2:18:04, and Paul Kang came in third with a time of 2:28:59.

The Run Saipan club members’ Top 3 men’s finishers went to Sildrey Veloria, Matthew Furan, and Travis Spaeth. The Top 3 women’s members went to Rosemarie Chisato, An Bang, and Jessica Ortizo.

Zhu said that the course was “very nice, very hard, [and] very challenging,” and that he led the pack the whole way.

Peer pressure—the good kind—was the cause for Zhu to join the half marathon, saying he didn’t want to join it at first, but was encouraged by his friend.

When asked what was the toughest part of the race, he said it was that he didn’t know when the race would end and that he was just hoping to get to the finish line, “trying to keep in mind to not stop [running].”

Proud coach and pastor of ACS, Kok H. Pang said that the students joined because they wanted “to take the challenge, especially when they are still young.”

Grant, a registered nurse who came to Saipan a year ago, said about the course, “it was better than I thought. I haven’t ran a half [marathon] in a while so the flat part was really nice. It wasn’t as windy… it was just the little part at the end that got my legs.”

Results of the 5.5K community fun run winners will be published in tomorrow’s edition of Saipan Tribune.