MOC Black rules 500m sprint

MOC Black crewmembers head out to the course during the men’s open 500m race in last Saturday’s 1st Annual “Timmy Would Go” Memorial Paddle Classic held at the beachfront of Sandy Beach Homes in Chalan Kanoa. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Marianas Outrigger Canoe Black topped the closest finals race in the Inaugural “Timmy Would Go” Memorial Paddle Classic held last Saturday at the beachfront of Sandy Beach Homes in Chalan Kanoa.

The six-man crew of Billy Grow, Richard Sikkel, Jasper Van Der Maas, Mark Hapdei, Naum Vekhov, and Peter Pangelinan finished the 500m race in the men’s open division in 1:53.6, beating the 1:53.9 of sister squad MOC Red, which was composed of Ketson “Jack” Kabiriel, James Lee, Dino Manning, Eric Macduff, Jose Quan, and Bobby Cruz. The two MOC teams were neck and neck right at the get-go and were still shadowing each other at the turn at the left side of the beachfront before MOC Black went for the final push in the last 50m and won the sprint to the finish line.

Saipan Paddling Club joined the two MOC squads in the Top 3 after submitting 2:02.4.

Earlier in the preliminary race of the two-lap event, MOC Black was also the first finisher after tallying 1:50.94. MOC came in at second with its 1:51.78, followed by Guam’s Taotao Galaide (2:01.04) and SPC (2:01.85).

Still in the 500m final results, four other teams earned top honors in their respective divisions.

In the men’s juniors (17 and under), SPC 1 clocked in at 2:06.2 to prevail against SPC 2 (2:13.5) and Napu (2:15.1). In the preliminary, SPC 1 was ranked first after logging 2:06.91, while SPC and Napu timed in a 2:09.94 and 2:15.13, respectively, to settle for second and third.

In the women’s juniors, SPC 1 triumphed both in the preliminary and finals after recording 2:29.17 and 2:28.10, respectively. Napu took the runner-up finish in the finals after posting 2:56.20 and preventing another 1-2 finish for SPC teams, as SPC 2 dropped to third following its 2:58.9 time in the title race. SPC 2 had 2:40.11 in the preliminary against the 2:47.91 of Napu.

In the open co-ed, Taotao Galaide was the runaway winner after submitting 2:11.4 against the 2:20.5 of Napu and 2:22.5 of SPC, while SPC registered 2:24.4 to prevail in the masters co-ed (35 and above) versus Napu (2:27.8). Taotao Galaide made a big jump as it was ranked third in the preliminary after timing in at 2:16.72 and behind SOC 2 (2:16.19) and Napu (2:16.48).

Meanwhile, SPC teams ruled the 1,500m races in the juniors division, while Taotao Galaide topped the open men’s category.

SPC had a 1-2 finish in the six-lap men’s juniors race with its first team clocking in at 7:26.6 against the second squad’s 7:37.6. Napu was ranked third with its 8:11.9. In the women’s juniors, SPC 2 won after logging 9:24.3 and placing ahead of SPC 1 and Napu.

In the men’s open, Taotao Galaide jumped from second in the preliminary (6:58.16) to first in the finals (6:48.2). MOC Red, which was the first finisher in the preliminary with its 6:44.26, fell to second with its 6:53.7. MOC Black duplicated its feat in the preliminary following a third-best time in the finals (6:59.3). SPC completed the field and timed in at 7:26.34.

The Top 3 finishers in each races received medals during the awards ceremony of the competition that was held in memory of Timothy Lee Salas Wesley Jr., who died on Jan. 3, 2015 as he tried to rescue two young girls from drowning in the waters at Forbidden Island.