The Sports Leigh-out Jan. 31-Feb. 6, 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.

Johnson, Hawley top full as Taflinger, Ackerman lead half at 3rd Rota Marathon

The far from ordinary 3rd Annual Rota Marathon welcomed 100 local and off-island participants who tested themselves in the full, half, and 5K courses early Saturday morning (Jan. 31).

In the friendly jewel of the Marianas, first-time marathon runner Matthew Johnson of Guam captured the title of fastest finisher in the full marathon with a time of 3:37:35, which also set a course record. Second place went to Saipan’s James Munnis at 4:30:11, followed by Dominic Vaccaro in third at 5:00:56.

Johnson tackled the reversed 26.2-mile (42.2-km) course under the stars, heading north to Sinapalo from the Rota Round House in Songsong along the western lagoon before looping back through Songsong and the scenic Sasanhaya Bay route to the Japanese Cannon, then returning to the Round House as the sun fully rose. Cooler winds and passing rain from a weeklong weather system added an extra challenge on slick roads but spared runners from the island heat.

The 35-year-old, originally from England, said finishing first in his first-ever marathon was an amazing feeling. “I heard that Rota has the best marathon in the world—the hardest marathon in the world actually, and so I thought I’m going to take the challenge up and try it out,” he said. “It was hard. I think coming into this, I underestimated the course. There was like 1,700 ft of climbing. There were mountains here—it was difficult, but it was very, very beautiful as well.”

Saipan’s Krista Hawley, an avid runner who had just completed and won Saipan’s 81-km Sugarcane Journey Run, defended her women’s division title in the marathon with a time of 4:27:24. Second place was Guam’s Aspen Eghert at 4:46:14, with Saipan’s Eunho An coming in third at 5:34:50.

Hawley, who also won first place in her division last year, said she returned because she loved the race and wanted to defend her title. “It felt really good, it was unexpected,” she said of winning again despite a slower time. “I had done a big run a few weeks ago, so it was really tough, but the support of the volunteers along the course really helped keep me going.”

In the half marathon, which ran north to the Rota Hotel before heading back through Songsong to the Japanese Cannon and returning to the Round House, Saipan’s Landen Taflinger finished as the fastest overall at 1:38:49. Second place was Rota’s Elphrain Taimanao at 2:05:30, followed by Michael Pimentel in third at 2:07:24.

The 17-year-old Taflinger said the course was nice but very hilly. On winning the title after finishing fourth last year, he said it felt great. “It’s a lot less competition this year, but I got a lot better time, like three minutes better than last year, so I’m proud.” With the early 4 a.m. start, he said he liked it better. “Usually we run the half marathon at like 5 a.m., but this one was at 4. It helped a lot with the sun because there was no sun at all, so it was a little bit cooler. It’s just a little bit weird finishing so early.”

The 5K was dominated by Landen’s father and sister, Chad and Addalee Taflinger, who finished first in their respective divisions. Chad placed first in the men’s division with a time of 22:25, while Addalee was first in the women’s division and second overall at 23:23. Jun Shimada placed second in the men’s division at 22:46, followed by Genaro Mejia in third at 23:51. In the women’s division, Megumi Shimada finished second at 25:54, with Elvira Furnari placing third at 32:19.

Team Marianas prepares for Marianas Games

The Hon. Mayor Aubry M. Hocog, joined by MOR Chief Dean Reynold Manglona, MOR AO Sandy Masga, DCCA RD Frederick Manglona, and DCCA Oscar Quitugua, and Agencies recently had a zoom meeting with Mayor Edwin Aldan, Mayor RB Camacho office, the team Jerry Tan, the Northern Marianas Sports Association (NMSA), the Guam National Olympic Committee (GNOC) to begin planning for the first upcoming Marianas Games.

The group came together to talk about how to support local youths who will be representing their respective islands. Their discussion focused on the building of representative teams, helping young athletes prepare, being sure everyone is competing fairly, and going through a check list to make sure everything is in place for them to compete. This is going to help our kids build up their skill, hopefully allow them to participate and be a part of a team to compete in other type of sports or Pacific Games to represent the CNMI. The event aims to strengthen unity and friendly competition among the islands.

They also went over important details such as the estimate cost of the event, travel and transportation, scheduling, logistics, and the types of sports that will be included in the Games. They discussed that this effort is about more than just sports. We want to give our youth something positive to be part of, a chance to come together, work as a team, and represent with pride.

This marks the first step in creating a Marianas youth sports program that brings young people together, builds confidence, and strengthens our community between the islands. Planning will continue as the Municipality works with partner agencies in preparation for the first Marianas Games. (PR)

7 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze for Jr. Nat’l Tennis Team in Guam; 14 qualify for Oceania Champs

After strong performances on Thursday, Feb. 5, by first place finishes from the 12U boys team of Isaiah Arriola-Mook, Tim Watson, and Gabriel Walsh and the 12U girls team of Fiona Yu, Aileen Kim, and Harper Loken in the International Tennis Federation’s North Pacific Regional Championships in Guam, singles players capped it off with more podium finishes yesterday, Friday, Feb. 6.

Overall, NMI players earned 10 gold medals and three silver, with 14 athletes qualifying for the Pacific Oceania Junior Championships as Anne Lee captured the girls 16 singles title, while Vivian Chung placed third in the same division, and Ryan Choi claimed first place in the boys 16 singles.

In the 14U category, Daniel Kang emerged as the boys singles champion, while Stella Choi finished second in the girls singles. The 12U division saw dominant performances from Fiona Yu, who won the girls singles title, and Isaiah Arriola-Mook, who topped the boys singles field.

In the upcoming Pacific Oceania Junior Championships in Fiji from April 10-18, NMI will be well represented with 14 of its best junior players qualifying. They are Isaiah Arriola-Mook, Tim Watson, Gabriel Walsh, Fiona Yu, Aileen Kim, Harper Loken, Daniel Kang, Matt Zhu, Cody Park, Stella Choi, Ryan Choi, Anne Lee, and Vivian Chung.

Third quarter interscholastic sports underway

With half of the school year over and done with, third quarter interscholastic sports are underway with co-ed high school va’a, boys middle school volleyball, boys high school basketball, girls middle school fastpitch softball, and girls high school basketball. Co-ed high school volleyball begins on Saturday, Feb. 14.

Muldoon, Odicta fastest in rainy Airport Trail Run

Lily Muldoon and Dave Odicta were the fastest in the Run Saipan’s 4th Annual Saipan International Airport Trail Run at Airport Road on a rainy Saturday morning, Jan. 31.

The race featured an 8K trail race and a 1-mile youth run.

Muldoon was the fastest overall and in the women’s division at 36:54, while Odicta clocked in at 39:23, with Eugene Olivar right behind at 39:27. Matt Furan came in third at 44:34.

In other results, Genelin Lansangan led the female 18U division at 47:09; the top female age-group winners included Shawna Brennfleck (40-44 at 47:21), Pamela Walsh (45-49 at 54:20), Leonora Abuy (50-54 at 1:11:31), and Nelly Min (55-59, 53:32).

Male division winners were Philip Joseph Santos (Open at 45:09), Scott Smith (34-39 at 45:44), Alvin Reyes (45-49 at 55:05), Brad Ruszala (50-54 at 1:21:12), James Abuy (55-59 at 1:11:31), Floro Derexes (60-64 at 1:01:41), and Paul Khang (65+ at 57:47), with Changwhan Jang at second place in 65+ at 59:22.

Meanwhile in the mile run, first place in the boys division went to Beau Bauer at 7:07, second was Brayden Brennfleck at 7:27, and third went to Jace Brennfleck with 7:58. The girls only had one runner, Victoria George with 7:45.

2026 Priority Care-NMIBF Government/Business League underway

The 2026 NMIBF-Priority Care Government/ Business Basketball League kicked off the season on Thursday, Jan. 29, with an opening ceremony and parade of their 11 teams including Priority Care, Customs, CUC, Feds, Marpac, CHCC, Tan Holdings, DFEMS/DPS, PSS, CPA, and Docomo Pacific at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Lt. Gov. Dennis Mendiola tossed the ceremonial jump ball to signify the start of the season. Remarks were made by Saipan Mayor Ramon “RB” Camacho, followed by NMI Basketball Federation’s Sylvina Simram.

The results of the first day of games were: Docomo beat DFEMS/DPS, and Priority Care took down CHCC, 92-73.

3 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze for Trench Tech at Guam’s Copa de Marianas

CNMI grapplers made their mark at the Copa de Marianas BJJ Championship held last Saturday in Guam, led by Vince “The Clinch” Masga, 32, who captured gold in the Adult Brown Belt division. The youth competitors also delivered standout performances, with 9-year-old Uma Naputi earning double silver in the Kids Grey Belt division, Athena Feger, 7, taking home a silver and a bronze in the Kids 6-7 division, and 15-year-old Gerard Naputi dominating the Juvenile Grey Belt division with a double gold finish.

The Guam tourney is the first in a series of events this year including Marianas Pro Series Japan on March 14, Marianas Pro Series Philippines on April 25- 26, Marianas Pro Series Taiwan on May 30-31, Marianas Pro Series Korea on June 6, and Marianas Pro Series Hong Kong on July 18-19.