Triathletes, sprinter take April top honors

The Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association recognized three triathletes and a sprinter for their impressive achievements for the month of April.

Making the elite cast are triathletes Stephan Samoyloff, Dawn Hammermeister-Douglas, and R.J. Knecht, and track and field’s Liamwar Rangamar.

Samoyloff bagged the NMASA Male Athlete of the Month award after becoming the first Saipan representative to cross the finish line in the 2005 XTERRA Saipan Championship last April 9.

The Commonwealth Health Center physician finished 12th overall among a cast of professionals and athletes from around the globe.

The South Pacific Mini Games-bound Samoyloff, who won a bronze medal in the 2003 Suva SPG, completed the rigorous course in 3:14:42, shaving more than two minutes off his time last year.

He first conquered the 1.5-kilometer swim of the choppy waters off Micro Beach in 27:39 then tackled the 30-km bike challenge in 1:39:34 before capping his day by clocking in at 1:07:29 in the 12-km run. He also won the men’s 35-39 age group for a second straight year.

Samoyloff also competed in the 16th Tagaman Triathlon and posted the second best amateur time in the PIC Double—combined times of XTERRA and Tagaman—and sixth overall.

For her part, Hammermeister-Douglas was the top Saipan athlete in the PIC Double and earned recognition as the NMASA Female Athlete of the Month. She was the first amateur female to complete the XTERRA, winning her age group category for the third straight year when she crossed the finish line in 3:52:04. Her charge—almost 12 minutes ahead of her time last year—featured a swim of 31:55, a bike of 1:59:35, and a run of 1:20:34.

She was the second fastest among Saipan athletes in the Tagaman, and her combined time for the PIC Double was best among Saipan female participants.

Knecht, meanwhile, repeated as champion of the 6-9 age group category in the 2005 TagaKids Triathlon and was crowned NMASA Male Student Athlete of the Month after dominating each of the three legs in a remarkable 24:05.

He was the first to emerge from the water in 2:21, then rode on high gear in the 3.10-km bike for a 16:39 before going all out in the .62 run, which he finished in 5:05.

Knecht also placed first out of 11 competitors in his age group in the XTETTA Sunset Fun Run, crossing the finish line in 23:17, which was also good for 17th overall out of 74 participants.

Ten-year-old Rangamar continues to shine on the track and added more accomplishments to her list after breaking records during the monthlong qualifying trials for the McDonald’s All Schools Track and Field Championships.

The Grace Christian Academy student competed in the 100m, 200m, 400m races and the long jump, breaking the meet records in the 100m and 200m.

She broke into the records books by sprinting for a time of 15.44 seconds in the 100m, and completed the half-lap, 200m race in 32.72. Rangamar is also ranked first or second in each of the events she participated in.

Other notable athletes who were given honorable mention for April were triathlete’s Ashley Northen and track and field’s Ricardo Basilla.

Northern took first place in the TagaKids girls’ 6-9 division and placed second in the XTERRA Sunset Fun Run with time of 33:44 minutes.

Basilla, who stands 5’4”, competed in the long jump and high jump of the qualifying trials, clearing 1.6 meters in the high jump to place first in his age category.

He ranked in the top four in the long jump after registering a distance of 5.02 meters and is a member of the top teams in the 4X100m and 4X400m relays.