Saipan triathletes shine on Rota

ROTA—The fourth overall finisher of the 12th Annual Rota Blue Triathlon wasn’t the only one from Saipan who swam, biked, and ran all over the Commonwealth’s southernmost link in the Marianas chain, as Rob Carruth was joined by a small army from the Northern Mariana Islands Triathlon Federation who boarded a southbound plane at the Francisco C. Ada International Airport on Friday.

One of the brightest stars from the CNMI was 16-year-old Caleb Gabbie, whose training paid off as he finished sixth overall with top 10 times in the swim and bike before muscling out a top 20 time on the run.

Gabbie was the sixth person who emerged from the 1.5-kilometer ocean swim with a time of 28:55, and was third only to professional triathlete Taro Shirato and future pro Airi Sawada of Japan on the bike with a speedy 1:15:37 around the 40-km course. Gabbie’s 59:18 on the 10-km run course was nothing to shake a stick at, as the up-and-coming star was 19th in the crowd of 70 racers to finish the race in 2:41:26.

Saipan’s third racer to reach the Roundhouse was also 17th overall as veteran Joshua Berger broke the three-hour mark for the first time in his career with a time of 2:57:56. Berger’s breakout came as the result of a 33:41 (26th) swim, a 1:23:47 (17th) bike, and a 1:00:28 (24th) run.

Missouri native and Pacific Islands Club employee Kevin Carey showed his stuff in his first race in the CNMI with a strong showing that netted him the 23rd spot overall with a time of 3:03:47. Carey zipped through the water in 33:38 (24th), rumbled down the road despite mechanical problems on the bike for a time of 1:36:14 (40th), before muscling out the 10th best run time of 53:55.

Not far behind was Manny Sitchon at 3:05:09, whose hours swimming around the tanks in the lagoon, biking all over, and running the southern edge of Saipan paid off with a 25th overall finish.

Sitchon ran out from the water at the 33:19 (17th) mark, cycled the circuit in 1:24:44 (20th), and ran to the finish line like a champ in 1:07:06 (38th).

The ladies showed up strong as well as Sue Knecht led the way with a time of 3:19:09 that was good enough for 39th overall and sixth in the women’s division thanks in large part to her excellent 33:58 (28th) swim time that got her out of the water ahead of more than two-thirds of the pack. From there Knecht rounded the ride at 1:34:51 (36th) and powered out a time of 1:10:20 (43rd) on the run.

First-timer Brenda Schultz was the second local lady to cross the finish line in her first-ever Olympic-distance race, as the top rookie of the NMITF’s Enticer Series was also just the eighth woman to complete the feat with a time of 3:26:44.

Schultz gave her all on the course by starting with a strong 40:23 (54th) on the swim, 1:38:18 (46th) on the bike, and a 1:08:03 (40th) on the run in what may very well be her last race.

Rob wasn’t the only Carruth on the course either, as his wife Joy was the 11th female to reach the Roundhouse with a time of 3:36:57 (53rd). After rounding the buoys and running to the first transition at the 40:09 (52nd) mark, Carruth turned on the speed on the bike course with a 1:31:40 (29th) on the nearly 25- mile route before legging out the run in 1:25:08 (61st).

While the triathletes were faced with unique challenges, Florian Braig had the longest journey of them all by challenging the Half-Ironman B Course. Braig finished 24th overall with a total time of 6:42:27, and his distances were considerably longer than the rest of the delegation.

The veteran racer completed the 2-km swim in 1:04:51 (28), pedaled the 90-km bike course in 3:06:45 (18), and endured the 21.1-km run course in 2:30:51 (26). He had to go the course alone, but seven of Saipan’s racers got by with a little help from their friends in the team division.

Hilary Stevens and Fred Camacho joined forces to take first place with an overall time of 2:53:57, and each of them had excellent outings. Though she was the third team participant out of the water, Stevens was the seventh swimmer around the course overall with her time of 29:07. Camacho picked up the proverbial torch from there with the fastest team bike time of 1:19:56 and the second fastest run of 1:04:54 to complete their team title.

Saipan struck again as the husband-and-wife tandem of Izumi and Monica Yamaguchi took second place when Monica ran through the archway eight minutes later at 3:01:23.

As one of Saipan’s top runners, Monica zoomed through the course at the top of the team list and ninth overall at 53:21, but she also made strides in the water with a time of 39:30 in her first ocean swim before handing the reigns to her husband on the bike. Izumi furthered their cause with the fourth fastest team time of 1:28:23.

Saipan’s third team took fourth place when the Cooper Graf-Gayle Berger tandem combined for a strong 3:18:25. The pride of the Saipan Swim Club cut through the blue like a hot knife through butter as Graf trailed only Shirato and Sawada with a time of 26:08 in the water. After Berger zipped along the hilly bike course in 1:35:19, Graf went back to work on the run, as he dug deep to cross the finish line 1:16:58 later in his first 10-km event.

Newcomer Matt Conner also made waves for Saipan as he teamed up with Mary Beth Nauman of Guam to take fifth place in the team division with a combined time of 3:26:44. Conner later said he enjoyed participating in his first local event, and the NMITF is hoping he continues to participate upon his return to Saipan.

One of Saipan’s top females made the trip to Rota as well, but PIC Clubmate Mieko Motoyoshi decided the night before the race that she wasn’t able to compete due to the return of a nagging injury that kept her from representing the CNMI in the Kaike Triathlon in July.