Swimmers and triathletes lead Female nominees

Swimming and triathlon have the most nominees for the 2008 Female Athlete of the Year Award, while football and athletics have one apiece.

The first nominee for swimming is Sarah Johnson, who claimed the Female Athlete of the Month plum in February for winning the 5,000m race in the 3rd Annual Meek and Mighty Swim and getting the second highest points in the 3rd Annual Saipan Swim Club Heptathlon Virtual Meet.

Johnson also shone in an off-island tournament winning a gold medal and two silver on top of recording six lifetime best times in the Far North Queensland Championships in Australia.

Her fellow swimmers—Marystar Welch and Grace Kimbal—took the last two Female Athlete of the Month awards.

Welch got NMASA members’ votes for the Female Athlete of the Month for November when she won three events in the SSC All Schools Meet.

Kimball was selected Female Athlete of the Month for December after her impressive exploits in the 2008 Guam International Swim Meet claiming first place finishes in seven events.

Triathlon’s nominees are Mieko Carey, Maimi Shimizu, and Maimi Oshima-Berger.

Carey earned the March plum after placing second in the 2008 XTERRA Saipan Championships, third in Tagaman Triathlon and first in XTERRA Guam.

Four months later, it was Shimizu’s turn to take the monthly award after finishing seventh in the Kaike Japan Ironman Triathlon.

A stint in off-island tournament also helped Oshima-Berger join her fellow triathletes on the list of monthly awardees. Oshima-Berger, the Female Athlete of the Month for October, participated in the Niigata Half Marathon and finished third in the women’s division.

Back on Saipan, she competed in the Banzai Half Marathon and was the first female finisher and second overall.

Northern Mariana Islands Football Association’s Becca Newman and Northern Marianas Athletics’ Yvonne Bennett were the two other nominees for the coveted award, which will be handed out next month during the NMASA Annual Sports Banquet.

Among the nine nominees, only Yvonne Bennett of athletics is the two-time monthly winner earning the citation in May and June.

Her first monthly award came after she broke CNMI records in the 100m, 200m, and 400m races. She also anchored Kagman High School to a first-place finish in the 4x100m relay run in the All Schools Meet.

In June, Bennett competed in tougher tournaments joining the Oceania Grand Prix and the Oceania Championships. She made it to the finals of the 100m in the Oceania Championships and went on to set new marks in the 100m, 200m, and 400m races.

Newman took the Female Athlete of the Month honors for April after gaining the MVP in the Guam vs. CNMI game in Guam.

Newman’s superb goal-saving skills allowed the CNMI to force the FIFA 75th-ranked Guam to a 0-0 draw.