The Sports Leigh Out: Jan 31- Feb 6

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 January 31-February 06.

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, or the beautiful ocean.

PSS Sports: Hopwood waltzes past Chacha, 13-11; Dolphins stay afloat over MCS, 51-44; FMS undefeated in boys v-ball

The third quarter of PSS Athletics Program is well underway as Hopwood Middle School waltzed past Chacha Ocean View Middle School, 13-11, in the season opener of the PSS-NMI Softball Association Interscholastic Girls Middle School Fastpitch Softball League 2024-2025 last Saturday at the Dandan Middle School softball field.

In the season opener of the IT&E Interscholastic Boys High School Basketball League 2024-2025, two-time defending champions Marianas High School slipped past Mount Carmel School, 51-44, last Friday at a jam-packed Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

As for the continuation of the PSS-NMIVA Interscholastic Boys Middle School Volleyball League 2024-2025, Francisco M. Sablan Middle School is the top contender with four consecutive wins, maintaining an undefeated streak.

Japan’s St. Mary’s School visits Saipan

A high school varsity boys soccer team from Japan’s St. Mary’s International School visited Saipan for three days of friendly matches, camaraderie, and an exchange of culture.

The Titans, led by head coach Geoff Chan and junior varsity coach Lucas Vinall, arrived last Sunday and left yesterday morning after matches against three local teams.

The team, captained by Teiju Ajeesh, first took on Dove Women’s League’s Paire Football Club, then the boys high school champions Marianas High School—which the Titans won via penalties, 5-4, and wrapped up their stint yesterday against Saipan International School, 6-1.

I Am Her hoops camp debuts

The 3-month long I Am Her Basketball Camp for girls debuted last Saturday at the Koblerville Gymnasium.

Founded by Marlene Lumabi, a board member and coach of the Northern Mariana Islands Basketball Federation, she, along with camp coaches Mikki Kautz and Rachel Langu, aims to inspire, empower, and unite.

The first session led Langu, takes place from 8am–9am for girls aged 6-8 years old. The second session, led by Kautz, runs from 9:30am–10:30am, for girls aged 9-12 years old.

Each session will focus on the fundamentals of basketball: passing, dribbling, shooting, and defense. The camp runs every Saturday until April.

Swimmers make a splash in Tsunami Cup Champs

Tsunami Swim Club held the 2025 Tsunami Freestyle Junior Sprint Championships with 35 young swimmers splashing through the pool at Pacific Islands Club last Saturday.

Through the rain and cold, the young swimmers' energy was palpable - both in the water and in the cheering crowd that surrounded the pool—creating a thrilling and exciting swim meet that kickstarted an entire season of swimming events this year.

In the A Division finals, Catalina Frink dominated the 11/12 year-old group in the 100m freestyle with a time of 1:05.65. Sera Guerrero came in second at 1:05.66, while Gwen Retardo was third with 1:05.79.

Yoonmin Cho was the fastest in the 9/10 year-old age group at 1:17.24. Gabe Walsh settled for second at 1:22.17, while Junior Seman came in third at 1:24.81.

In the youngest division, the 8U 50m, Lucy Shin outswam two others with a time of 36.80 seconds. Second went to Lukasz Szeffler at 37.58 seconds, and third place was Luke Seman who clocked in at 42.38 seconds.

In the B Division finals, Lucy Thomsen was first in the 100m 11/12 year-old group at 1:14.81. Second was Eva Shin at 1:16.64, and third went to Hope Tenorio at 1:22.11.

Leo Li swam to first place in the 9/10 age group with a time of 1:24.57; second was Dongmin Jang at 1:27.35; and third went to Lauren Camacho with 1:28.66. And in the 8U age group, Angelo Pepito was the fastest at 47.86. Chris Arriola swam into second place at 48.09, and Emily Kang was third with 48.93.