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Gechig, 3 others earn NMSA honors
J.R. Gechig was named the Northern Marianas Sports Association January Athlete of the Month to lead three others that clinched the award given during the sports group’s monthly meeting last Thursday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium conference room.
Tsunami Saipan’s Ashley Dangol competes in the 50m backstroke race in last month’s SSC Pentathlon Swim Meet at the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)
The Northern Mariana Islands Volleyball Association nominated Gechig after he ruled the two-person reverse grass volleyball tournament held last Jan. 17 at the Navy Hill court.
This is the fourth time that Gechig, who is one of the CNMI’s best young volleyball players, won the annual event and with different partners.
He teamed up with this time with Charnessa Lizama, who was the female athlete honors.
Taiga Sato and 8-year-old Ashley Dangol earned the TSL Foundation NMSA Male and Female Student Athlete awards.
Sato, a seventh grader at Tanapag Middle School who’s been swimming for seven years now, recorded five personal best times in the recently concluded Saipan Swim Club Pentathlon meet.
The 12-year-old recorded PBTs in the 50-meter freestyle, butterfly, breaststroke, and backstroke and the 200m individual medley.
Aside from swimming, Sato also practices kendo three days a week.
Dangol, meanwhile, broke two CNMI records in last month’s SSC Pentathlon meet. She clocked 37.24 seconds to break the decade-long female Under-8 50m freestyle record of 38.07 previously held by Jellian Majors.
She then reset her own national record of 45.39 seconds in the U8 50m backstroke by registering 43.69 seconds. She also holds the U8 records in the 50m freestyle and 50m backstroke.
