The Sports Leigh-Out April 11-17

Hafa Adai yan Tirow sports fans, this is Leigh Gases bringing you Marianas Press’ weekly wrap up—the Sports Leigh-Out for the week of April 11-17.

Let’s take a closer look at what our athletes have been up to in off-island competitions and on their home turf—whether it’s on the pitch, mat, courts, fields, track, pools, or the beautiful ocean.

Elementary school track stars tear through qualifier

The CNMI’s youngest track stars from Tinian Elementary School and Sinapalo Elementary School graced the Oleai Sports Complex alongside Saipan’s fastest last April 11 and 12 in another qualifier of the PSS-NMA All Schools Athletics 2024-2025.

Tinian’s 12U boys dominated their respective heats in the 60m with first place finishes by Jeremy Cruz (9.93 seconds), Vicente Cruz (9.50 seconds), and John Ruwath (9.45 seconds). Their 9U girls also placed first in two heats of the 60m, with Nielissa Reyes coming in at 10.77 seconds and Charise Cruz finishing at 10.48 seconds.

Tinian runners also topped some of their heats in the 9U/12U boys/girls 200m; the 9U boys 800m; and the 9U girls/12U boys long jump.

Koblerville Elementary School, Garapan Elementary School, Grace Christian Academy, and San Vicente Elementary School, also had first place finishes in their respective heats/divisions.

Sweet victory for Sweet Candy II in SFA’s 21st Mahi Derby

It was a lucky maiden voyage for the crew of Sweet Candy II as they won the grand prize of $3,000 with their 16.5-lb mahi in the Saipan Fishermen’s Association’s 21st Annual Mahi Fishing Derby last Saturday.

Captain George Moses Sr. and the crew of Sweet Candy II, which is the newer version of their old boat Sweet Candy—including his son Moses Jr. and Tom Tucker—caught the winning mahi on their way back to Saipan on their way back from fishing off the waters of Goat Island.

The veteran fisherman who’s been fishing more than 30 years, said of their catch and eventual win was a “lucky” one because, “there’s a lot of good fishermen.” The fight for the winning mahi lasted for about 10 minutes.

He told his friend Tucker, who flew in from North Carolina just for this derby, that he would catch a marlin for him—which he did—and with the win, Moses said they were “overjoyed.”

The second and third place entries had mahi of the same weight, but second place went to the fish that was brought in first.

Marcelino T., captained by Marcelino Tresenio, landed a 15.9-lb mahi for $2,000, while third place went to Leanna Vae, captained by Elvin Masga, with another 15.9-lb mahi for $1,000. The side bet winner was Team Kanto with their 19.1-lb haul.

The derby saw 33 boats race off from the Smiling Cove Marina to try and catch the biggest mahi from 6am to 5pm.

NMI places 4th in POJC; Siwoo is doubles champ and places 2nd in singles finals

The 14-member delegation of the NMI National Junior Tennis Team wrapped up the 2025 Pacific Oceania Junior Championships in Lautoka, Fiji with an overall fourth place finish amongst 15 countries.

In the competition that was held from April 2-11, Siwoo Lee had the most successful performance for NMI as he won the boys U16 doubles championship with partner Guam’s Kevin Seo. Lee also finished second place in the U16 singles finals after he lost to Seo, 3-6, 2-6.

Ryan Choi also bagged the championship in the boys U14 doubles finals with partner Camelo Chen from Guam. Choi also finished fifth in a field of 12.

Anne Lee placed fourth in the girls U14, while the U12 girls finished strong with second place, as they lost just once to American Samoa.

The tournament drew in players from CNMI, Guam, American Samoa, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tahiti, Nauru, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga, and Cook Islands.

NMI Women’s Nat’l Soccer Team competes in LPK Cup in HK; AFC president praises NMIFA’s dedication

The NMI Women’s National Soccer Team competed in the LPK Cup Hong Kong 2025 and lost, 2-4, in their first match against TSL FC last April 14.

NMI’s Andrei Kaithlyn Chavez and Audrey Castro each nipped the net, but TSL FC doubled their advantage for their eventual win. The NMI team has one more game scheduled today, April 18 against Tuloy FC.

The LPK Cup was held in the CNMI last year. Next year, the tournament will be held in the Philippines. The LPK Cup is held in honor and memory of Lam Pek Kim, Raymond and Jerry Tan’s mother.

Prior to the tournament on April 12, Northern Mariana Islands Football Association president Jerry Tan was commended by Asian Football Federation president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa after the 35th AFC Congress in Malaysia.

In a news story on the-afc.com, Al Khalifa said, "As the newest member of the AFC, Northern Mariana Islands have made encouraging progress in these few short years, including the challenging period caused by the global pandemic, and their continued development is indeed testament to the leadership capabilities of president Tan.”

CNMI Weightlifting Federation donates barbell sets to Hopwood

The CNMI Weightlifting Federation donated barbell sets to Hopwood Middle School last April 11 in an effort to expand the sport in the CNMI.

NMI weightlifting team members Riella Ichiuo and secretary Jeanne Rayphand handed over the sets to HMS principal Victorino Borja, and HMS teacher Angel San Nicolas. Also last week, according to CNMIWF president John Davis, they sent a barbell set to one of their athletes in Tinian.

Davis said, “Any school interested in promoting or introducing the sport should contact us via email at cnmiweightlifting@gmail.com.”