The Sports Leigh-Out Feb. 21-Feb. 27

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 Feb. 21 to 27.

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.

Robbie, Tania are 2024 NMSA Athletes of the Year

The Northern Marianas Sports Association celebrated its 40th year anniversary in its yearly awards banquet ceremony last Thursday, Feb. 27, at the Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan.

Living sports legends, up-and-coming athletes, and veteran athletes gathered for the celebration, filled with nostalgia, pride, and emotion, while also honoring the 2024 awardees.

The 2024 NMSA Male Athlete of the Year was tennis player Robbie Schorr, while the Female Athlete of the Year for two years in a row is track-star Tania Tan.

Stay tuned next week for the full report and results of the Female/Male Student Athlete of the Year, Coach of the Year, Administrator of the Year, and Team of the Year.

Aleksenko reels in 5 gold medals, breaks 4 records in conference champs

Swimming prodigy Isaiah Aleksenko’s list of achievements in his collegiate debut is ever-growing just as it did when he was still a high school student in the CNMI.

The 18-year-old, in his first official collegiate swim meet, reeled in five gold medals, broke four records, collected National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Men's Swimmer of the Month for the second time this season, and for his overall performance, was named the Sun Conference Swimmer of the Year.

In the Sun Conference Championships held last Feb. 6-8 at the Florida Aquatics Swimming & Training facility in Ocala, Florida, the Keiser University Seahawk freshman splashed to the gold medal and broke NAIA records in the 100m butterfly with a time of 45.96 seconds, and 200m butterfly at 1:44.55

In the 100m backstroke, Aleksenko won his third gold medal, and broke his school’s record and meet record with a time of 46.49 seconds. As for the relays, he won gold in both the 200m freestyle medley and in the 400m medley relay, where he set a new meet record at 3:12.17.

He will travel to Elkhart, Indiana to compete in the NAIA Nationals set on March 5.

Pirates swipes 2nd championship in a row

The Pirates defended their SBL Masters League title successfully after winning the best-of-three championship series against the Brewers in two straight games at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Baseball Field.

The rain held off long enough for the Pirates to blow the Brewers out of the water with a huge 47-12 victory on Wednesday to seal their second championship in a row. In their first game on Monday, the Pirates clinched the advantage with a 29-18 win.

The Pirates rode on the waves of their momentum from the regular season when they won eight straight games and secured the most sought-after prize—the trophy—as they didn’t hold off laying waste to their opponents in the postseason and in the finals.

Although short on pitchers in the finals, the Pirates’ Derron Flores took it upon himself to shut down the Brewers and give them six strong innings in the second game, while finals MVP Pete Tomokane put on a stellar performance in the box to complement the gem on the mound. He hit three doubles and collected nine RBIs, and went 6-10 in both games.

The Brewers, on the other hand, could not get past the pitching and defense wall that the Pirates put up and scored the majority of their 12 runs in the first inning. The game was close and hotly contested until the second inning when the Pirates broke through the levees and drowned out Brewer pitching.

The Pirates went on to put up huge offensive numbers after a quiet third inning, as they scored seven in the fourth, seven in the fifth, 17 in the fifth, and six in the seventh inning. When the Brewers couldn’t stop the bleeding of runs in the fifth, the trophy was already basically etched for the Pirates. However, the Brewers were the home team and still fought until the bottom of the last inning, but in the end, they were not able to get another run off Flores.

Pajarillaga receives athletic honors

Grace Christian Academy alum Kean Pajarillaga gained honors in collegiate swimming during the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Swimming and Diving Competition held last Feb. 19-22.

He was also voted the Men's Co-Rookie of the Year after collecting the MIAC championship in the 200 backstroke at his debut conference meet. The freshman also earned a trio of All-Conference honors as a relay participant.

He is Macalester's second Rookie of the Year honoree in the last three swimming and diving seasons (Skye Schmit, 2023) and the first recipient from the Scots' men's program.

When asked his thoughts about this success, Pajarillaga stated in a press release, “I was excited to receive rookie of the year award and also first place in the 200m back. I will keep working hard, though, to improve all my times. I want to thank God, my family, my coaches and my Macalester Swim and Dive Team for supporting me. I also want to give a shout out to my coach back in Saipan, coach Hiro [Kimura], his wife, Ms. Yuko, and the rest of my friends for all their support.” Kimura and his wife congratulated Pajarillaga for his accomplishments and expressed how excited they are for the next stage.

The GCA community is very proud of Pajarillaga and excited for all that is ahead for him.

TRAC hosts 1st triathlon qualifier for Pacific Mini Games

There are only about four months left until the 2025 Pacific Mini Games in Palau, and local sports federations are gearing up and fine-tuning their teams and athletes for the big event.

Last Saturday, triathletes took to the sprint triathlon course that started at PauPau Beach—the first of a series of qualifiers run by the Triathlon Association of the CNMI, with Christian Villacrusis and Heather Brook topping their respective divisions.

There was also a kids event dubbed Kids Tropical Triathlon in which participants 14 and under took on shorter versions of the course.

The sprint triathlon started off with a 750m swim portion on the shores of PauPau; transitioned over to the 20-kilometer bike portion from PauPau to Marpi Landfill and back twice; and it finished with a 5K run from PauPau to the turnaround at the H.O.P.E. Recovery Center and back.

The goal of the qualifiers is to get the fastest three male and three females for the team that will represent the CNMI at the Games.

Twenty-four-year-old Villacrusis topped the event as the first overall finisher with a time of 1:16:58. Second was high school student Michael Miller who clocked in at 1:19:04, and third was tennis player Colin Ramsey at 1:24:43.

In the women’s division, Heather Brook came in first with a time of 1:23:31. Shawna Brennfleck was right on her heels for second place at 1:24:39, and Kerri Bauer finished third at 1:37:48.

Run Saipan group run every Wednesdays

Run Saipan, the CNMI’s only running club, is hosting a group run every Wednesday at 5:30pm all year long. Participants could either run, jog, or walk at your pace for 30 minutes starting from the American Memorial Park Visitors Center parking lot.

Run Saipan’s Philip Santos is the lead for this run and starts it off with dynamic exercises/stretches.

Run Saipan president Edward Dela Cruz Jr. said that this is for the community to get together and get moving just like the Zumba groups and street basketball courts. There’s no sign ups or fee. “[If] you want to meet people that’s using this form of exercise and want support, then this is the place to be. Walking is 100 [percent] recommended. We all know not everyone can run so if people want to start, walk or jog.”

PSS Sports: SSHS beats KHS, remains undefeated

Saipan Southern High School Manta Rays beat Kagman High School Ayuyus, 40-31, for their third straight win last Friday in the IT&E Interscholastic Boys High School Basketball League 2024-2025 at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Then, on Wednesday, the Manta Rays took on the Saipan International School Geckos and won their fourth straight game, 42-26.

In the other games that night, the Ayuyus bounced back and overpowered Agape Christian School, 70-29, and Mount Carmel School Knights trounced Grace Christian Academy Eagles, 41-23.

Marianas Batting Alley opens in Gualo Rai

A new business is hoping to hit a home run with the community as the only indoor batting cage facility in the CNMI—MC Marianas Batting Alley—held its grand opening last Saturday in Gualo Rai.

The event was attended by dignitarie,\s as well as family and friends of the owners, May Cabrera and Cat Dela Cruz.

Cabrera and Dela Cruz are local business owners who also own the clothing store 670 Rock Steady Shop, which is also located in Gualo Rai.

Born out of Dela Cruz’s love for the bat-and-ball sport, the batting alley is the first of its kind in the CNMI. It caters to people of all ages—individuals or groups of friends and family looking to try something new, baseball/softball enthusiasts, or teams in need of an indoor training facility.

The warehouse is located just off the dirt road leading down from the left of the U.S. District Court in Gualo Rai.

Their current hours of operation are from 11am to 9pm from Sunday through Thursday, and 9am to 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays. The alley features six cages—four with pitching machines, one for self-pitching, and one bullpen.

Cages two and three range from 20-80 mph, with a 30-minute round priced at $45. A one-hour session costs $65, and a token worth $8 allows for 15 hits.

Cages 1 and 4 are designated as junior/softball cages, with speeds ranging from 20-60 mph. The pricing is $25 for 30 minutes, $50 for one hour, and a token for 15 hits is $8. For the self-pitch and bullpen cages (cages five and six), the cost is $15 for 30 minutes and $25 for one hour.

Team packages are also available: $155 for two hours with the use of two cages, and $125 for two hours with access to both the junior/softball and bullpen cages.

A waiver of liability and release must be signed before using the facilities, and the QR code for this can be found at the reception area.

Credits: Isaiah Aleksenko for his photos and Macalester Swimming and Diving for Kean Pajarillaga’s photos.