Mantas, Lady Dolphins lead outrigger race

The Saipan Southern High School Manta Rays race to first place in the 500m finals of the boys division in the co-ed high school Public School System Interscholastic Outrigger Canoe Race 2022-2023 last Saturday at the Kilili Beach. (LEIGH GASES)

The Saipan Southern High School boys and the Marianas High School Lady Dolphins thrashed full force through the waters of Kilili Beach to first place in their respective divisions of the co-ed high school Public School System Interscholastic Outrigger Canoe Race 2022-2023 last Saturday.

The Manta Rays lead the boys division as they paddled like there’s no tomorrow in both the 500m and the 1,000m races, sweeping both the preliminaries and the finals for a perfect 20 points, while in the girls division, the Lady Dolphins showed their superiority and teamwork with the paddles in the 1,000m as they garnered 18 points overall.

In the boys 500m finals, the Mantas left the Kagman High School Ayuyus and the Dolphins in the dust as they reached the finish flag in under 3 minutes at an impressive time of 02:55.660. The Dolphins came in second with 03:15.210, then the Ayuyus came in last with 03 31:880.

The Marianas High School Lady Dolphins paddle their canoe to second place in the 500m finals of the girls division in the co-ed high school Public School System Interscholastic Outrigger Canoe Race 2022-2023 last Saturday at the Kilili Beach. (LEIGH GASES)

In the 1,000m finals, the Mantas clocked in first yet again with a time of 06:15.540; the Dolphins came in second with 06:33.210; and the Ayuyus came in last with 07:09.400.

The Dolphins were second in the boys division with 12 points, while the Ayuyus were third with 4 points.

Over in the girls 1,000m finals, the Lady Dolphins sped through the finish flag first with a time of 07:08.250, garnering 5 points. In the preliminary round before that, they also placed first with a time of 06:52.810, handing themselves 5 points as well.

A couple of seconds right behind the Lady Dolphins were Saipan Southern High School Lady Mantas with a time of 07:10.970, for a total of 3 points. Kagman High School Lady Ayuyus came in last and clocked in at 08:21.850 for 1 point.

In the 500m event prior to this, the Lady Dolphins dominated the prelims, but fell to second place in the finals with a time of 03:34.280 behind the Lady Mantas’ time of 03:23.060. The Lady Ayuyus came in at 03:36.540.

The Lady Mantas were right behind the Lady Dolphins in the standings with 14 points after a 6-point grab in the 1,000m race and an 8 point total in the 500m race.

The Lady Ayuyus trail the two teams with 4 points after getting 2 points in both the 500m and 1,000m race.

In the mixed 500m finals, both SSHS boys and girls powered through to first place with a time of 03:18.400. MHS beat KHS for second place with a close time of 03:20.170 and 03:30.480 respectively. 

In the last race of the day in the 1,000m mixed finals, the Mantas won first again, followed by the Ayuyus, then the Dolphins.
After the races, the Mantas lead the mixed division with a perfect 20 points, with the Dolphins and Ayuyus tied with 8 points each.