3 secure December awards

Three more athletes earned invitations to next month’s NMASA Awards Banquet after winning the last monthly awards for the 2011 season.

The list includes tennis’ Negahr Rastguiy, athletics’ Beo Ngirchongor, and basketball’s Pete Iguel, who were named top athletes for December during the Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association meeting last week at the conference room of the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Rastguiy took the Female Student Athlete of the Month for her notable performance in three tournaments in New Zealand, while Beo Ngirchongor was given the same award for U18 male athletes after ruling the 2011 NMA All Schools Cross Country Championship. Iguel secured the Male Athlete of the Month for winning the Finals MVP award and leading DFS Galleria to a title victory against PSS/McGraw-Hill in the Shirley’s caging.

Rastguiy first played in the 2011 Waikato Christmas Junior Open in Hamilton and made it to the semifinals of the girls U12 singles and quarterfinals of the doubles events. Then from Hamilton, the Whispering Palms student traveled to Gisborne for the 2010 Poverty Bay East Coast Junior Open where she competed in the girls U14 singles finals. Rastguiy’s last tournament in New Zealand was the Tennis Auckland 2011 Christmas Junior Tournaments where she also played in the girls U12 finals.

Ngirchongor faltered in the first two series of the boys U18 race, but saved his best for last to top the championship event. He defeated rival and fellow Marianas High School runner Michael Mancao in a sprint to the finish line at the American Memorial Park to rule the age group and give the Dolphins another win in the annual competition.

Iguel was one of the top scorers in the regular season of the Shirley’s caging, averaging close to 30 points per game. After the round-robin regular season, the CNMI National Team member gave DFS a 7-2 record for second place in the 10-team field. Then in the finals, Iguel sizzled for 28 big points, powering DFS to a 91-63 win over PSS.

The three December winners will be receiving their awards on Feb. 16 during the 2011 NMASA Awards Banquet at the Saipan Grand Hotel, joining other awardees from January to November. From the monthly winners, NMASA selected the recipients of the Male and Female Athletes of the Year and the Tan Siu Lin Foundation/NMASA Male and Female Student Athletes of the Year. NMASA will also hand out awards to the Coach of the Year, Administrator of the Year, and Team of the Year.