The Sports Leigh-Out August 29-Sept. 4, 2026

Hafa Adai and Tirow sports fans, this is Leigh Gases with this week’s Sports Leigh-Out brought to you by Joeten Motors!

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.

21st Labor Day Softball Tourney kicks off with coaches meeting

The highly anticipated 21st CNMI Labor Day Softball Tournament kicked off on Thursday, Sept. 3, with a coaches meeting in Portland, Oregon ahead of the games to be played on Labor Day weekend from Sep. 4-6. This is the biggest tourney yet with 66 teams—15 men’s upper division teams, 26 men’s lower division teams, 15 master’s division teams, and 10 women’s division teams. The games will be played at Delta Park, in Portland.

Stay tuned for more coverage of the tournament brought to you by Joeten Motors.

Race: Lee’s US Open debut ‘biggest thing’ in CNMI sports

Northern Marianas Sports Association Hall of Famer Jeff Race hailed Carol Lee’s U.S. Open debut as a landmark moment for CNMI sports as the islands’ top tennis player battled Great Britain’s Katie Boulter in the first round of the Grand Slam tournament.

“This is the biggest thing that's ever happened in sports in the CNMI right here,” Race said during a watch party last Aug. 31 at Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan. “This is it. You're looking at it. This match is the penultimate height that CNMI sports has ever reached.”

Watch party organizer and Crowne Plaza Learning and Development manager Glenn Policare said the resort wanted to rally behind Lee after watching her rise from the local tennis courts to one of the sport’s biggest stages.

“Are you kidding? We've been following, I've been following Carol Lee since she was a little girl. When I used to see her hit balls at Kanoa [Resort] with her dad and when we heard that Carol Lee was going to be on the big stage, we had to do something for her,” Policare said.

Lee eventually fell to the world No. 62 Boulter, 4-6, 6-3, 0-6, but pushed the more experienced British player to a deciding third set. Lee, a Saipan Community School alumna ranked No. 143 in the WTA Tour, had taken the second set 6-3 after narrowly dropping the opener.

A handful of supporters attended the early-morning watch party at Crowne Plaza to follow Lee’s historic appearance.

Race, speaking after Lee captured the second set, said she appeared comfortable and had put herself in position to challenge Boulter.

“Carol lost the first set by only one point and now she's just won the second set 6-3 and she's rolling. She's rolling and she's very into the match. She's looking very comfortable and relaxed,” Race said.

He said Lee would have to remain mentally strong against Boulter’s experience and continue executing her game plan.

“Carol's just got to be very tough mentally and continue to be aggressive and execute her game plan which is to keep the ball to the girl's backhand and to move her out wide to the forehand,” Race said.

Race also stressed that although Lee competes internationally under the U.S. flag, her sporting roots remain firmly in the CNMI.

Read the full story on our website.

E’Anna Palacios Won is 5th overall pick in Women’s Korean Basketball League

From the small island of Saipan to the big stage of professional basketball in South Korea, CNMI’s E’Anna Palacios Won, a 24-year-old basketball player, has taken the next step in her career, becoming a professional player in South Korea after being selected fifth overall in the first round of the 2026-2027 Korean Women’s Basketball League draft on Aug. 19.

Won, who began playing basketball in third grade after moving to Alaska, was selected to play for the KB Stars of Cheongju. She reports to the team on Sept. 4, with the season set to begin later this year. After graduating from college in 2025, Won decided to pursue basketball rather than take the traditional route of entering the workforce.

Her journey to her pro basketball career came after years of development, family support, and persistence—including a previous unsuccessful draft attempt last year and a stint playing semi-professional basketball with Korea’s Sacheon team to gain exposure.

After finally getting drafted this year, she said, “It was a really cool experience. I was really nervous, but I was glad that I was able to get picked up. When they called my name, I kind of blanked out a little bit. I had to walk up on the stage, but after a couple seconds, it kind of sunk in that all my hard work has paid off to get drafted and finally go pro. All the thoughts in my head—like all of the time and support I received from my family—kind of rushed in, and I did get a little bit emotional.”

With her pro status, Won said she is proud to represent the CNMI and her family on this stage, while also helping shine a light on women’s basketball. “I’m always so proud to represent the CNMI and also my Palacios side of the family… it feels good to represent all the people there and, as a woman too, the respect and just to bring more attention to women’s sport is always an honor.”

Looking ahead, she said she is willing to represent the CNMI in the 2027 Pacific Games. She previously represented the CNMI in 2022, when she helped lead the team to a silver medal at the FIBA Micronesian Cup in Guam.

Silver, bronze for Team CNMI in Pickleball World Cup

The CNMI National Pickleball Team is collecting more medals as Donn Dunlop and Annie Zhao won silver in the 3.5+ 60 ages mixed doubles category in the 2026 International Pickleball Tournament Pickleball World Cup Edition in Da Nang, Vietnam, on Sep. 1. They added to the bronze medal of Chelsea Henzon and Mikayla Lopez for a total of two so far for Team CNMI. Stay tuned for more results and the full story.

NMI gets a taste of 2027 Pacific Games triathlon course with Regional Development Cup

NMI’s triathlon representatives Shawna Brennfleck and Christian Villacrusis had a taste of what’s to come in the 2027 Pacific Games as they raced on the course that will be used for it in Tahiti when they competed in the 3rd World Triathlon Regional Development Cup on Saturday, Aug. 29.

Villacrusis finished eighth with a time of 1:12:23, while Brennfleck placed 10th in 1:22:20. Both recorded personal bests in official World Triathlon events.

“The course prepared us well for the competition next year,” Brennfleck said. “We will be training in the same water and on the same roads as the course.” For Villacrusis and Brennfleck, the Tahiti race was also a chance to see where they stand with less than a year to go before the Pacific Games.

Both athletes, along with coach Robyn Spaeth then stayed in Tahiti after the event to train with New Zealand high-performance coach Chris Clarke, and are leaving tomorrow.

The Regional Development Cup series began in Fiji in December 2025, followed by Palau in March 2026. The races brought athletes and coaches from around Oceania including Tahiti, Samoa, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Guam, NMI, and the Cook Islands together for competition and training.

For NMI, the trips are also an opportunity to get more people involved in triathlon back home, especially younger athletes. “One of our biggest goals is to introduce more youth to triathlon and create a clear pathway for them to develop as athletes,” said Brennfleck.

The RDCs give younger athletes a chance to train alongside athletes from other Pacific countries and work with coaches from outside the CNMI.

Read more on our website.

PSS Athletic Programs present Plaque of Appreciation to TSL Foundation

The CNMI Public School System’s Athletic Programs presented a Plaque of Appreciation to the Tan Siu Lin Foundation in gratitude for their five years of support to the program on Thursday, Sept. 3 at the Commissioner of Education’s Office.

PSS Athletic Programs Director Nick Gross and PSS Acting Commissioner of Education Jacqueline Che handed the plaque to TSL CEO Jerry Tan and Executive Director Merlie Tolentino.

PSS Athletic Programs underway with start of Cross Country

About 140 middle and high school runners kicked off the 2026-2027 PSS Athletic Programs season with a bang under a dark afternoon sky as the PSS-NMA All School Cross Country season got underway on Friday, Aug. 28, with its “Early Bird” qualifier on a new course at the Civic Center Basketball Court in Susupe.

Both courses headed south and back along the beach side and dirt roads, with middle school runners taking on two long laps and one short lap, while high school runners completed three long laps and two short laps.

Maliwanag is clear champ of 1st Youth 8-Ball League

In a first-of-its-kind event in the CNMI, the Marianas Youth Billiards Association Open 8-Ball League crowned its champion, 18-year-old Gelo Maliwanag, after he won seven games in a race-to-seven final against JM Ellama at Tom Yum Restaurant on Saturday, Aug. 29.

They played a total of 11 games, with Maliwanag sealing the win in the final game. He swept the first three games in a row, but Ellama didn’t bow out yet, winning two games after. It was a back-and-forth battle, with Maliwanag clinching two more wins while Ellama won the eighth game. Maliwanag then won the ninth, but Ellama bounced back one last time to win the 10th. However, Maliwanag needed just one more win and made sure he got it in the final game.

After winning the championship, Maliwanag said, “It feels really great. I got lucky, so thank you, Lord. My goal was just to enjoy the game. Of course, my goal was to win, but my mindset was just to enjoy the game and have fun, so maybe that way I could maybe win.”

As for the season which started in April, he said, “It’s really fun to me, especially challenging other youth, and there’s going to be a next season, so join, guys.”

When asked about his finals opponent, he said, “I respect all my opponents. I give respect. I just try to enjoy the game how they enjoy the game. Everyone’s tough.”

Maliwanag said he had only started playing billiards last year after being inspired by watching players such as Efren “Bata” Reyes and A.J. Manas on social media.

“I just look up to them, and that’s what made me start. It’s really fun,” he said. “I really love it. It’s just really fun for the people who play billiards. They could get better if they want to take it seriously.”

Tangi, Hawley top 6th Independence Day 2-miler

Rain or shine, Latte Built’s long-awaited 6th Annual Independence 2-Mile Race 2026 finally went underway after two delays in the early morning of Saturday, Aug. 29 in front of Latte Built Gym.

This was also Run Saipan’s first official road race back since Super Typhoon Sinlaku, with over 20 participants taking on the course that headed one mile north then a mile back to the gym.

Braving the slippery roads and through soaked shirts and shoes, first place in the men’s division went to Honofre Tangi at 14:10, second was James Munnis at 14:18, and Ariel Lapuz was 15:53. In the women’s division, Krista Hawley came in first at 16:04, second was Deverly Madracheluib at 19:13, and third was Doyi Kim with 20:09.

Also during the race, three participants ran the whole course with the U.S. flag. As to why, Latte Built’s general manager Ralph Villas said, “we wanted to do a tribute to the 250th birthday of America, so we’re giving away a one month express membership for anyone that runs the entire duration of the race holding a 3x5 flag.”

The turnout, he said, “was pretty great. We were expecting like 10 people but I think we had over 29 that showed up so that’s pretty great.”

With it being the 6th annual, Villas said it’s one of the veteran-owned gym’s ways of giving back. He then thanked Run Saipan, Northern Marianas Athletics, and the people who showed up to race.

M2 Fitness celebrates 6th anniversary on Saipan

It was an evening of movement, inspiration, and celebration as M2 Fitness held its 6th Anniversary-Level 6 Unlocked with Kramer Pastrana at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium on Saturday, Aug. 29.

M2 Fitness started in Aug. 2020, with a branch in Guam as well.