Ayuyus zero in on title repeat

Kagman High School men’s paddling team in action in last Saturday’s fourth leg of the 2020-2021 Public School
System Interscholastic High School Canoe Series in the waters off Kilili Beach. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Kagman High School inched closer to securing the title for the second year in a row in the men’s division of the 2020-2021 Public School System Interscholastic High School Canoe Series after a perfect fourth leg of the series last Saturday in the waters off Kilili Beach.

The Ayuyus widened the gap between its opponents by sweeping all four rounds of the fourth leg to gain an additional 20 points. After last Saturday’s round of races, KHS is moving into the championships with an overall score of 45.

KHS completed the preliminary round of the 500m dash in 2:48 to take first place and gained 5 points. They later came back to take first place in the finals completing the course in 2:58 for another 5 points

In the 1,000m, KHS completed the preliminary round in first place with a time of 6:16 and took first again in the finals submitting a time of 6:21 for a total of 10 more points.

Saipan Southern High School, who holds the No. 2 spot on the leaderboard, is a whopping 24 points behind the Ayuyus.

Although it is nearly impossible given KHS’ spotless track record for the season, the only way the Manta Rays could pull the rug from under the defending champions is if the group takes first place in all four rounds of the championships and KHS falls to third in at least two rounds. Since points will be doubled for the championships, sweeping the entire four rounds would add an additional 40 points to bring the team to 61.

ROSELYN MONROYO
Kagman High School co-ed team in action in last Saturday’s fourth leg of the 2020-2021 Public School System Interscholastic High School Canoe Series in the waters off Kilili Beach. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

SSHS came just 12 seconds behind KHS in the preliminary round of the 500m dash with a time of 3:00 to earn 3 points. Later in the finals, SSHS finished just 5 seconds behind KHS at 3:04.

For the prelims and finals of the 1,000m, SSHS lagged behind KHS by 13 seconds completing the races in 6:30 and 6:53, respectively.

Marianas High School currently holds third place with a score of 15 points. MHS completed the prelims of the 500m dash at 3:04 and the finals at 3:08.

For the 1,000m dash, the Dolphins came in last finishing the preliminaries at 6:57. MHS improved slightly in the finals to complete the round in 6:38.

In the co-ed division, KHS also holds the No. 1 spot on the leaderboard with 38 points, but not by a large margin.

SSHS is only 14 points behinds with an overall score of 24. The co-ed Manta Rays still have a shot at conquering KHS in the championships since points are doubled.

MHS currently stands in the No. 3 sport with an overall score of 10.