The Sports Leigh-Out Mar. 14-20, 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.

Songsong Basketball Court repairs done, Liyo’ Baseball Field repairs underway

Local leaders gathered in Songsong Village to officially open the newly improved Songsong Basketball Court in Rota, on March 20. Recent upgrades include repairs to the restroom facilities, fresh paint on the pavilion, and waterblasting across the rest of the court area to refresh the space for the community.

Officials say the improvements aim to provide a cleaner, safer, and more welcoming place for residents, youth, and families to gather, play, and host community events.

As for the Liyo' Baseball Field, the construction and renovation efforts continue. The Department of Public Works (DPW) - Rota Team has nearly completed renovations to the dugouts, with the painting and installation of electrical lines still pending. The team is also currently constructing the new Press Box, Rota Mayor Aubry Hocog had decided to upgrade to a durable concrete structure in place of a plywood-built facility. Once the Press Box is completed, the next phases will include the construction of an awning above the bleachers, including renovations to the bleachers, and the installation of fencing and field lighting surrounding the ballpark.

The team extends their sincere appreciation to the DPW - Rota Team for their hard work and dedication to this project. Special thanks also to the DCCA - Sports Division, DPS, DLNR - Forestry, Parks & Recreation, and the CRB Team for their assistance in clearing and maintaining the grass on the field and surrounding areas.

Dolphins sweep 25-26 va’a season

It was a far-from-ordinary championship race day on a super windy Sunday (Mar. 15), instead of the usual Saturday, and it resulted in a sweep of all three categories of the 2025-2026 PSS-NMNPSF Co-Ed High School Outrigger season by the Marianas High School Dolphins off the shores of Kilili Beach.

Instead of all four high schools duking it out in their usual 500m and 1,500m races, due to the weather conditions, they had to race for about a mile, slalom-style instead. After each points were tallied on each race day and the final day, the Dolphins came out on top in the boys, girls, and mixed divisions.

Despite coming in second in the slalom with a time of 13:33.4, MHS garnered a total of 98 points for first place in the boys division. Saipan Southern High School finished first with a time of 13:26.8 but settled for second place overall with 94 points, while Mount Carmel School finished at 13:53.6 for a total of 72 points.

In the girls division, the Lady Dolphins ruled the slalom with a time of 15:36.1 and finished with 140 total points for the title. Second was SSHS at 16:21.9 with 85 points, and third went to MCS at 16:36.2 and 47 total points.

As for the mixed division, MHS finished at 15:04.4 for a total of 114 points for first place. SSHS came in second at 15:41.4 with 102 points, while KHS finished third at 16:19 with 50 points in the season.

All four schools had a huge number of seniors, with MHS’ boys roster consisting of Tyler Omelau, Iverson Francis, Enrique Naputi, Joseph (Ping) Taule, Stanley Choway, and Izeiah Deleon Guerrero. The girls were made up of Alana Hayes, Alyssa Mendiola, Shen (Vicky) Wanying, Alaysha Fejeran, Monique Mendiola, Angelina George, and Shamaelyn Kileleman.

Small team, big heart: Agape wins v-ball title

Despite being one of the smaller schools and teams in the 2025-2026 PSS-NMIVA Interscholastic Boys Middle School Volleyball League, Agape Christian School showed that size doesn’t matter as they found their way back on top with the title after going the distance with Saipan International School on Saturday, Mar. 14, at the Marianas High School Gymnasium.

With just over 50 students in the whole school, ACS outlasted all schools and won their second title of the season after their first title in the elementary school division just last month.

The Torchbearers had a one set advantage in the finals and needed just two more sets to clinch the championship. They took the second, 21-18, but the Geckos showed why they belonged there as they bounced back and took the third, 21-16, thanks to the hard-hitting Kanoa Owens and less mistakes by the team overall.

A back-and-forth battle ensued on the court as both teams put out all the stops, with ACS trying to clinch it with the fourth, but the Geckos, led by hard Owens, Rayphand, and Quido Jambor who held it down to win by a close margin and thriller, 22-20.

The final and deciding fifth set had both teams rattled, but costly mistakes got the better of the Geckos while the Torchbearers regained their composure. Timely blocks by Scott Li and well placed dinks by Jireh Fu put it away, 15-7, for their second boys middle school volleyball title. They won it for the first time in the 2024-2024 season against Francisco M. Sablan Middle School.

With Li and Fu were Andy Chen, Ratul Bhuya, Benjamin Cai, Job Gong, Brian Li, and Daniel Li.

The SIS team with Owens, Rayphand, and Jambor were Wilson Guo, Matt Zhu, Johnny Zhang, Jake Duenas, Carver Gross, Gabriel Walsh, Timothy Watson, and Jiaheng Zhang.

MHS are Top 2 teams in badminton

Marianas High School’s badminton Team 1 and 2 faced off in the 2025-2026 PSS-NMIBA-TakeCare Co-Ed High School Badminton League finals after taking down each team in their path on Saturday, Mar. 14, at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

With both teams stacked with junior national team players, teammates found themselves playing against each other for the gold, with Team 1 coming away with the title.

MHS 2 managed to win the men’s singles matchup of Evan Seguritan and Marlon Bautista, with Seguritan sweeping it, 21-15, 21-12, for a one game advantage. However, MHS 1 bounced back in the women’s singles as Lina Tsukagoshi handled Danielle Joson for a 1-1 tie.

In the women’s doubles matchup, MHS 1’s Genelyn Lasangan and Ruth Bautista were in control against Kate Xu and Danielle Joson, winning 21-10, 21-13. The men’s doubles ended up deciding the championship, with MHS 1’s Dave Odicta and Brandon Manacop slipping past Evan Seguritan and Danielle Mulinyawe in a close three-set match, 21-20, 19-21, 21-19. With MHS 1’s three wins to MHS 2’s one win, the result was already settled and the mixed doubles match was not played.

Saipan Southern High School, last season’s champion, took third place.

Villacrusis, Muldoon are first again

Strong forces in the 2026 triathlon season—Christian Villacrusis and Lily Muldoon picked up where they left off as this time, they swam, biked, and ran their way to the top of their respective Sprint Distances in the TRAC National Triathlon and 5K event on a clear Saturday (Mar. 14) morning at Pau Pau Beach.

A large crowd of seasoned athletes and up-and-coming athletes, along with children of all ages welcomed the return of triathlon on island for the first time this year and competed in the Sprint (750m swim, 20K bike, 5K run), a Super Sprint (250m swim, 5K bike, 2K run), 5K run only, and Kids 9U and 6U Triathlon.

The event was organized by the Triathlon Association of the CNMI and was a qualifier for eligible residents to qualify for the 2026 World Triathlon Age-Group Championships in Pontevedra, Spain.

Kathy Ruszala, TRAC secretary, said that this event had a big turnout of adults compared to children for the first time. She said the goal of the sport and these events is to grow the sport. “Everyone’s caught the “tri-bug” again and we’re so happy for that, but at the same time, we would like to see our athletes compete internationally. There’s a qualifier for Tahiti, there’s Oceania, and hopefully Marianas Cup will pick up triathlon, but it’s not an easy sport to bring people everywhere with logistics and stuff, but we’re so happy it’s back in the CNMI again.”

The final scheduled event of the season for now is set for April 12, featuring the Olympic distance course—1.5km swim, 40K bike, and 10K run.

In the Sprint Distance Male division, Christian Villacrusis, winner of last month’s Duathlon (run/bike), claimed first place with a time of 1:12:46, followed by Michael Denevan in second at 1:14:53, and Jody O’Sullivan rounding out the top three with 1:17:32.

In the Sprint Distance Female division, Muldoon, who was also first in last month’s Duathlon, took the top spot with a time of 1:15:19. Shawna Brennfleck finished second in 1:19:59, while Robyn Spaeth secured third place with a time of 1:30:46.

Dozens participate in 3rd Annual DYS Strike Out Child Abuse Softball Tournament

The community came out in full force to strike out child abuse in the 3rd Annual DYS Strike Out Child Abuse Softball Tournament at the Capital Hill Softball Field from Mar. 9-13.

Despite the rain throughout the week, a champion was crowned on the final day—Team Bridge Capital after beating Team Blue Jays in the last game, 22-20. The Blue Jays beat the undefeated Bridge Capital, 23-14, in their fast match up, which forced the final game. Third place went to Team Warriors.

Mariah Barcinas from the Child Protective Services under the Division of Youth Services said that since the first event in 2024, it has grown so much. “We are so, so proud of this initiative that we started back then. The reason for that is to continue to spread awareness of child abuse and neglect herre in the CNMI.”

With the rainy weather throughout the week, Barcinas said that the teams and players all came out and brought positive vibes. “They were down to play in the mud and all of that—it was really nice. And, we all remembered the cause which is to strike out child abuse here in the CNMI.”

On how the tournament went, she said that the first night on Mar. 9 was really “lit. We had a minimum of 150 people every night show up and we are just so, so proud of that because it shows us that our community cares. Shout out to Ben Ki and Island Grindz as well, they were our vendors for this year, our partner agencies, and everybody for making this event possible.”

She then thanked everyone for giving them the opportunity to serve the community, protect the children, and serve families. “We want to continue to encourage everyone to call us. Call us when you need help, call us when you need us—we got you.”

This year, there were 11 teams that participated.

Melvin Sakisat honored with House Resolution

Members of the House of Representatives presented the family of the late Melvin

W.C. Sakisat with a copy of House Commemorative Resolution 24-06, which honors Sakisat's life and legacy as a community leader, a hall-of-fame athlete, and citizen on March 13. A packed chamber of family and friends witnessed Sakisat's widow Ruth accept the honors on behalf of her husband.

NMIFA kicks off Healthy Play, Healthy Lives initiative

In partnership with the Opioid Proceeds Council, we proudly kicked off the Healthy Play, Healthy Lives initiative during our celebration of the AFC Women's Football Day on Sunday, March 15.

The day began with a "Practical Ways to Manage Stress" workshop led by Ms. Ruth Torres of the Community Guidance Center, equipping our players with the positive skills to prioritize and support their overall health and wellness.

We also recognized our Play Clean, Play Strong Women Ambassadors, who will help lead our campaign and inspire players, families, and our community through their leadership and commitment to healthy lifestyles.

More than 200 women then stood together on the field to take the Play Clean, Play Strong Pledge, committing to respect their bodies, support one another, and choose strength, discipline, and healthy choices over alcohol and drugs.

The celebration continued with an exciting 6v6 women's tournament, along with campaign activities where players and supporters visited the Play Clean, Play Strong pledge wall, signed their names, and shared their commitment to building stronger, healthier communities through football!

Together, we are raising awareness about substance misuse prevention, safe recovery practices, and healthy lifestyles. (PR)