More than 200 race in second leg of cross country

Runners in the elementary school division head out to the course during the second leg of the 2018 Northern Marianas Athletics All Schools Cross Country Series held last Saturday at the CPA Airport Field. (Whit Altizer)

Better weather, better turnout for the second leg of the 2018 Northern Marianas Athletics All Schools Cross Country Series held last Saturday at the CPA Airport Field.

Two hundred sixteen finished Series 2, surpassing the number (180) of student-runners that participated in the rain-soaked race in the opening leg. The U15 age group drew the most participants with 44, while the U13 division had 40. The U9, U18, U7, and U11 categories lured 39, 35, 30, and 28 runners, respectively.

In the boys U7 division, which had runners completing the nearly one-mile course, SIS swept the Top 3 with Finn Altizer placing ahead of Jose Sablan and Oliver McCallion. In the girls division, Saipan Community School’s Allie Brasvell was the winner of the second leg and was followed by SIS’ Maliya Benson and fellow SCS student Elita Li.

The U9 age group had the same one-loop course with SCS’ David Ye and Agape Christian School’s Barbara Wang topping their respective divisions. Joining in the Top 3 in the boys group were SCS’ Daniel Males and San Vicente Elementary School’s Christopher Cruz, while Dandan Middle School’s Zoey Macaranas and Ha’ani Passi completed the podium finish in the girls field.

In the boys U11 division, William S. Reyes Elementary School had a 1-2-3 finish with Paul Lizama in first place and Jerry Faimaw and Izeah Jolo coming in at second and third, respectively. In the girls race, Brilliant Star’s Fiona Regan won over teammate Savita Sikkel and SIS’ Dana Lee.

In the U13 division, Agape and Dandan split the top honors with Peter Xu prevailing in the boys race and Gracie Mendiola ruling the girls event. SIS’ Doyegn Lee and Dandan’s Alvin Hocog rounded out the Top 3 in the boys division, while Agape’s Kristi Wang and Grace Wei did the same in the girls field. Students in the U13 division rounded the course two times.

In the U15 and U18 divisions, runners had to complete the course three times and Agape’s Arthur Liang, Elizabeth Xu, and Kobe Yang, and SIS’ Tania Tan emerged as top finishers. Tan, who missed the opening leg, prevailed in the girls U18 against fellow SIS student Anika Snyder and Marianas High School’s Jerlyn Castillo. Yang reached the finish line first in the boys 18 and Agape went on to sweep the Top 3, as Jonathan Xiong and Peter Wang came in at second and third. Liang, on the other hand, lorded it over in the boys U15, edging SIS’ Kaden Church and Kuu Nishimura. In the girls U15, Xu led Agape’s 1-2-3 finish, beating teammate Mei Ou and Zoe Tang.

Meanwhile, the third leg of the series will be held this Saturday at the Saipan Country Club in Chalan Kiya, starting at 7am. Then the final race or the 2018 NMA All Schools Cross Country Championship will take place on Oct. 13