The Sports Leigh-Out Dec. 6-12

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.

Team CNMI hauls silver in net casting event at Indigenous Games in Taiwan

Lia Rangamar, Dereck Rangamar, Maria Quitugua, and Erik Basa put Team CNMI on the map at the 2025 World Indigenous Traditional Games in Taiwan with a silver finish in the net casting (talaya) event yesterday.

They placed second to team Seediq, with Hawaii claiming bronze. 

The CNMI delegation is in Taiwan not just for competition in traditional games such as  traditional archery, log sawing, traditional wrestling, net casting, traditional canoe race, traditional road racing, and freediving sprint, but sharing pieces of the Marianas’ indigenous culture through dance and music. 

The team also includes Antonette Labausa, Kaya Rasa, Miles Borja, Mayiah Duenas, Jenisha Dubrall, Lincoln Manibusan, and Gregory Iginoef.

Meanwhile, the dance group for the traditional music and dance portion of the event consists of Glenn Ruben, Gregory Iginoef, Benusto Lisua, Tyler Fitial, Brian Ruben, Jack Ruben, Michael Olaitiman Jr., Ian Kaniki, Luis Tilipao (band), Frankie Limes (band), and Vincent Limes (band). 

The delegation is joined by Felix Nogis, executive assistant for Carolinian Affairs and the CNMI’s official delegate to the Austronesian Forum in Taiwan. 

The delegation will be back on Dec. 16.

Stay tuned for the full story.

Guam’s Blayde Blas slices to a 100-km HOM victory

It was a far from ordinary race in a far from ordinary place—Saipan—and Guam’s Blayde Blas made the trip worth it with a first place finish in the elite 100-km long course with a time of 3:26:29.80 of the 2025 Hell of the Marianas on Saturday.

Starting at Marpi in front of the old Marianas Resort, those who dared to take on the long course headed down the flat and scenic Beach Road, pushed through the southside and up Papago’s grueling and unforgiving hills, cut into Kagman, took on the beautiful Route 36, then climbed back north to Suicide Cliff and hit the turnaround just past the Grotto entrance before returning to the start/finish line at Marpi. The race had everything—rain, slippery roads, and later, hellish heat and humidity. It was a true test of endurance through what is, if you’re on two wheels, Saipan’s hellish landscape.

The 23-year-old Blas said, after regaining feeling in his legs following the race, “It was very tough. This is my third one, so I got to pace myself a bit better. I think that’s what led to the win this time.”

Third time’s the charm for the Guamanian, but it didn’t come easy, as he was either in third or in the middle of the top three for most of the race. He said he took the lead only toward the end. “It was in the last 200 meters or so. I was really hoping it would come down to a sprint. I think I have a pretty strong kick, so I was happy the group was able to work together, and we sprinted hard at the end.”

The hardest part came in the last hour, when he cramped up while passing Banzai Cliff Road, making the final four climbs especially painful. Despite going through hell for the third time, the 23-year-old said he plans to be back next year to defend his title.

Second to Blas was Japan’s Tomonobu Kato, who, at the turnaround was in the lead, but fell behind and finished at 3:26:33.85. First place in the non-pro 100-km long course was NMI’s Fred Remilloza who finished right behind Blas with a time of 3:26:31.875.

Meanwhile, NMI’s Joel Buco and South Korea’s Kijoo Kwon finished nearly side by side with times of 3:42:24.011 and 3:42:24.463, respectively in the non-pro 100-km long course.

In the non-pro 100-km long course women’s division, NMI women swept the Top 3 as Robyn Spaeth posted a time of 4:43:11.906, followed by Kimiko McKagan at 4:48:30.477 and Kerri Bauer, who completed the course in 4:59:22.016.

As for the road bike 50-km short course, NMI bikers also swept the men’s division as Renren Gaviola led the road bike field with a time of 1:28:50.62, followed closely by Christian Villacrusis at 1:28:51.62 and Nap Dizon at 1:28:51.81. In the women’s division, Heather Brook claimed the top spot with 1:38:02.65, with Jay Anne Felipe finishing second in 1:44:04.30 and Marjorie Ganacias taking third at 1:56:31.94.

Guam’s Rolinski surfs to 1st place in Boogie Down @ Obyan

The NMI and Guam were united by the Pacific once more as 15 boogie boarders came together to ride the waves—moving in sync with the hues of blues of the ocean during the action-packed 4th Annual Boogie Down at Obyan 2025 on Saturday.

Guam’s B.J. Rolinski swept both the Open Men’s and Drop Knee divisions, while Kristina Anderson came out on top in the women’s division.

Rolinski’s double-gold performance didn’t look like someone competing off his home turf, but it was still a tight battle against some of the CNMI’s best—former Boogie Down champs Vincent Villagomez and Frank Ramon, and Herman Guerrero.

After carefully picking his waves with near-perfect execution and trick selection, Rolinski—the 2025 Rick’s Reef Classic champ in Guam—surfaced on top with a total score of 6.34. Guerrero followed close behind at 6.33. Ramon took third with 5.50 points, and Villagomez finished fourth at 4.60.

In the Drop Knee division before the open men’s finals, Rolinski defended his title with a first place finish of 4.77, with Guerrero in second place at 3.40. Jacob Yamagishi finished third at 3.00 flat and Joey Tudela came in fourth at 2.87.

Working to promote “the Beautiful Game” in the Marianas

Members of the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association—Alex Sablan, Steven Pixley, and Wesley Bogdan—traveled to Washington D.C. to advocate for the CNMI’s admission into FIFA, the global governing body for football (soccer). 

In a post by CNMI Congresswoman Kimberlyn King-Hinds, she said, “I helped arrange their meeting with White House Task Force Executive Director Andrew Giuliani, and was grateful for the time the White House gave to our people to make their case for our nation’s support in adding the Northern Marianas, the only U.S. territory not currently represented in FIFA.”

Wrestling fed rolls out open house to grow the sport further

The Northern Marianas Wrestling Federation hosted its first open house on Saturday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium, with about 30 participants in two sessions—younger kids aged 5-12, and 13 and above.

The open house’s purpose was to get more word out to the community about the federation’s mission, vision, core values, and goals for future competitions and training both off-island and locally. Participants also went through some wrestling drills and watched demonstrations by members of the national team.

According to the federation, their goal is to build an inclusive and growing wrestling community in the NMI and help athletes reach the regional and international level.

NMWF head coach Rick Bauer said after the open house, “the most important thing is growing the sport at the grassroots level—having fun on the mat.” For the younger group, Bauer said they made their session fun, fast-paced, and interactive; as for the older group, they dipped into more knowledge of the sport.

The federation also handed out QR codes for participants to fill out their preferred training days and time slots. Bauer said they’re not going to set a formal training schedule until they review the responses and see what will work best. “We want to have times that work to get more people in the room,” he said.

The open house was made possible by a full wrestling mat donated by Palau and a new home for the federation in one of the rooms north of the gym. There, the federation holds informal practices on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 5pm to 6:30pm and anyone is welcome to join.

Agape takes 1st and 2nd place in MS badminton finals

Agape Christian School continues its reign in the PSS-NMBA TakeCare Co-ed Middle School Basketball League by securing the top two spots in the championships last Saturday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Champion ACS 1’s roster included Angela You, Rebecca Wu, Lydia Li, Andy Chen, Benjamin Cai, Brian Li, and Daniel Li, led by head coach Andreau Galvez and assistant coach Pastor KH Pang. Silver went to sister team ACS 2, while Saipan International School 1 and Hopwood Middle School 1 were tied for bronze.

U15 soccer team off to EAFF U15 Champs in China

The NMI U15 Men’s National Soccer Team was sent off with well wishes and good luck during a send-off ceremony at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium on Sunday.

The young squad is competing in the FIFA Forward Programme EAFF U15 Championship 2025 in Zhangzhou, China, from Dec. 18-22.

The NMI team is in Group B with Chinese Taipei, Macau, and Guam. Their first match is against Chinese Taipei on Dec. 18, followed by Macau on Dec. 20, and their final match is against  Guam on Dec. 22.

The 20-man roster consists of Travis Kileleman-Hix, Jebro Leon, Edric Morales, Jed Cornista, Ali Santos Jr., Benjie Escano Jr., Izaiah Tenorio, Napu Pangelinan, Aldric Antonio, Yutaka Kadokura, Damien Concepcion, Jaide Benson, Xavier Camacho, Ronald Manabat, Dominic Chhetri, Kain Estolas, Arstin Tagabuel, Brandon Teigita, Justo Quitugua, and Taiga Namai-Scoggins.

Officials joining the team are goalkeeper coach Atsushi Hanita, assistant coaches Wataru Kadokura and Naruhiko Tsutsumi, team doctor Brian Briones, and team manager Mikky Buno.