The Sports Leigh-Out Mar. 28-April 3, 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.

Former pro v-ball players and MCS alum host 2-day clinic

Over the course of two days, Mar. 31 to Apr. 1, South Korean coaches, including Mount Carmel School alumnus Seokjun Yun, brought the art of volleyball to life for local youth at the Marianas High School Gymnasium with their first-ever volleyball clinic.

The clinic, organized with the NMI Volleyball Association, featured Seoul-based ASTROHIGH Volleyball Club and two former professional players—Hyo-Dong Lee, the club’s head coach, president, and founder of the KORYVA Korea Youth Volleyball Association, and Yuri Kim, a former national team libero—who brought their experience from South Korea’s top competitive leagues straight to local athletes. ASTROHIGH and KORYVA focus on youth volleyball development both locally and internationally, offering training, clinics, and tournaments for age groups like U15 and U18.

Lee played in the Korean V-League, Korea’s top volleyball competition, as a setter. Over his career, he appeared in more than 120 matches and 29 tournaments, earning the Best Setter award in the Korea Corporates Volleyball Federation 2016/17 season. Kim, meanwhile, competed as a libero on the women’s national team, including appearances at the 2014 FIVB Women’s World Championship.

With such experienced coaches, the clinic offered youth players an inside look at professional-level training right at home. The program ran four sessions over two days, with U15 and U21 groups of 20 boys and 20 girls in each session, and each session lasting about two hours. The younger group focused on fundamentals—passing, footwork, and basic positioning—while the older players learned advanced systems and training methods used in Korea.

Yun, an MCS Class of 2018 graduate, former CNMI National Team member, and MCS Varsity Captain who now manages ASTROHIGH, said before the clinic that his main mission is to give back to the place that raised him. With the first clinic on Saipan done, he said he was proud of how quickly local players picked up the drills. Many adapted well despite being new to this style of training, and said they responded enthusiastically, often asking for photos and social media contacts after sessions.

Submissions rule black belt matches of Ballroom Blitz

The 2026 Trench Tech Ballroom Blitz Grappler’s Gala was a night where class met gera, with fighters from the CNMI, Guam, Korea, and the U.S. taking the spotlight on stage in a hotel setting—the Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan—on Saturday, Mar. 28, for the first time in about a decade. To end the night with a bang, the final showdowns featured three black belt fights, all of which treated the audience to heart-stopping submissions.

There were no judges and points in this event, as organizers from Trench Tech wanted grapplers to give and leave their all on the mats. It was submission or nothing. In the last match of the night, South Korea’s Shin Jiseop and CNMI’s Clinton “Sapinho” Dela Cruz gave the audience their money’s worth as both worked to get the advantage. Dela Cruz, in front of his home crowd, tried to take down Shin, but they went through a series of scrambles before Jiseop secured a rare dogbar, forcing the tap at 8:09 in the match that was set for 10 minutes.

Before that, in light heavyweight, DJ “Kimura Kid” Jackson wasted no time, quickly taking control and locking in a kimura—true to his moniker, on Kim Min Seong just 1:05 into the match—a common submission, but the quick finish made it stand out.

The first black belt fight of the night featured Park Do Hyun in the middleweight division, and he worked through a back-and-forth battle before catching an opening and finishing Tyrone “Busy Bones” Jones with a kneebar at 6:44.

The event also featured an open belt hybrid division, where different belts matched up and took on the mats. Guam’s Sage Garcia submitted CNMI’s Jason Atrero via rear-naked choke at 2:49; Saipan native Roman “The Sonic Boom” Alvarez submitted Guam’s Sean Mendiola via kimura at 3:51; and in the heavyweight superfight, Guam’s Roque Martinez defeated CNMI’s Kier “The Radical Kid” Agda via head and arm choke at 1:22.

The only other submission was in the white belt division as James Garcia defeated Bonnie “The Hitman” Sagana via armbar at 4:32.

The rest of the matches showed what patience, technique, and determination on the mats can do, as they ended in draws.

Tania Tan: Another race, another record

It seems like every month—and every race she enters—CNMI track star Tania Tan is setting and breaking national records while also notching personal bests. Her most recent achievement: a sub-five-minute 1,500m, clocking in at 4:55.54.

At the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival at UCLA’s Drake Stadium on Friday, Mar. 27, Tan reached her sub-five-minute goal, winning first place in her heat with her record time and finishing eighth overall.

Just last February, Tan set a time of 5:20 1,500m in New York which broke her previous 1,500m outdoor national record, which she set in Tonga last year. Now with a sub-five minute 1,500m, her next goal is a sub-4:50.

Tan owns national records in every distance event from the 1,500m, 3,000m, 5,000m, 10,000m and the half marathon.

On how she felt winning first place in her heat, Tan, who’s competed stateside a few times said, “I usually never win races in the US because it’s just so competitive, so it feels nice to get the win this time.”

Her main goal, she said, has always been to run sub-five minutes. “I’ve always wanted to run sub-5 in the 1,500m and I was so close in Tonga in October 2025 (I ran 5:00) so I really wanted to get under that barrier.”

With her races part of her training for the upcoming Oceania Athletics Championships 2026 in from May 18-23, she said her training has been going well. “I’ve just been stacking consistent weeks of running + workouts + strength work. I’m working to run the 1,500m and 5,000m in Darwin so that’s the main goal,” she said.

She then attributed her achievement to trusting in herself, her training, and the process.

Audie wins Latte Built 2026 Annual Wellness & Transformation Challenge

Discipline, determination, and the drive to improve was the name of the game from Jan. 3 to Mar. 28 for participants of the Michelob Ultra Latte Built 2026 Annual Wellness & Transformation Challenge.

In the final weigh in on Saturday, Mar. 28, participants were measured in three areas: weight lost, inches lost, and body fat, all compared to where they started so everyone had a fair shot.
When it was all said and done, Audie Maratita took first place, dropping 50 lbs. for a 63.29% total. Mae Basa came in second with 28 lbs. lost (59.64%), and Lauren Duenas-Sambile grabbed third after losing 42 lbs. (44.87%). Runners-up were Dan Bicera for the men with 39 Ibs. lost (41.07%) and Deverly Madrachaeluib for the women with 49 Ibs. lost (42.26%).

It wasn’t just about numbers—everyone pushed themselves, broke through limits, and showed what hard work can do.

JNA in Philippines for football camp with Tuloy FC

The NMI Football Association’s Junior National Academy is in the Philippines for a training camp with Tuloy Football Association. The team rode the Philippine Airlines flight on its first day back in business in the CNMI.

Little League receives donations of baseballs

Kelvin Duenas donated baseball to the 2026 Saipan Little League Baseball Inc. on Tuesday, Mar. 31.

The SLLB said on their Facebook post, “Your support helps keep our players on the field, growing their skills, building confidence, and loving the game. It's community members like you who make a lasting impact on our youth-both on and off the field. We truly appreciate your kindness and commitment to our league.”