Team Santa, Agape Youth 1 dash to 1st in Christmas Relay Race

Saipan was decked from the south’s Pacific Islands Club to the north’s Last Command Post with runners in Christmas garb during one of the island’s longest running tradition—the 44th Annual Northern Marianas Athletic’s Christmas Island Relay 2025 on a merry Saturday morning on Dec. 27.

Seventeen teams took on the yearly tradition of running the 13.7-mile course, with Team Santa made up of soccer players and runners Kaithlyn Chavez, Anthony Bergancia, Takeru Jim, Victor Nash Santos, and Victor Neil Santos taking the overall title with a time of 1:23:42.19. Second was Agape Team 1 at 1:27:52.03, with Marianas Merry Miles coming in third place with a time of 1:35:15.70.

Chavez said the team was assembled last minute, just a few days before the start of the race. “Our strategy of course was to try to get a win against Agape because it’s always us against Agape so it’s great to be able to get a win today,” she said. “Us and Agape were together the whole time, and then when me and the girl ran, that’s when I made a gap, then the rest of the boys put more gap as well.” Bergancia added, “Ever since her lead, we just kept the pace steady and kept our momentum going forward.”

On winning first place, Chavez said, “It’s a great feeling of course because everyone throughout the race was gassed out and we all pushed ourselves. But of course, we all had fun and enjoyed each other’s company.”

Bergancia, for his part, said, “It’s our first time on top, so it’s a great team.” Bergancia, who is a student at Chaminade University of Honolulu said on being back home, “I really missed home… it’s really nice to be back home and just chill and spend time with family.”

As for what they’re looking forward to in the new year, Bergancia said, “Not really set on anything, still just having an open mind and always open to growth, being better as an athlete and as a person.” For Chavez, she said, “Same thing, but also trying to get back into sports, especially I’m not really doing sports right now, so just trying to get my fitness back, and getting better as well as an athlete and as a person.”

For the youth division, Agape Youth 1 sprinted into first with a time of 1:37:23.60. Second went to Hopwood 80 at 1:46:58, while Agape Youth 2 was third at 1:50:25.50.

In addition to the team relay, individual runners also took it upon themselves to brave the half-marathon distance on their own and started the race 30 minutes earlier than the team course.

Partners and sponsors of the event included Tan Holdings, the Tan Siu Lin Foundation, Coca-Cola Beverage Co. (Micronesia), Inc., and Run Saipan.