The Sports Leigh-Out March 7-13, 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.

Isaiah is NAIA Swimmer of the Year; earns 7 gold in nationals

Isaiah Aleksenko is synonymous with swimming titles, records, and gold medals as he did it again—winning back-to-back NAIA Swimmer of the Year titles and helping Keiser University claim its seventh red banner during the NAIA Swimming and Diving Championships in Elkhart, Indiana held from Mar. 4-7.

This year, along with his title, the NMI standout won seven gold medals and shattered multiple NAIA and meet records once again, including the 100 butterfly (45.21), 100 backstroke (45.70), 200 individual medley (1:44.48), 200 butterfly (1:43.37), and several relay records.

Aleksenko helped set a NAIA record in the 400 freestyle relay (2:53.68), a meet record in the 400 medley relay (3:09.43), and additional records in the 200 freestyle (1:18.27) and 200 medley relays (1:25.42).

“It means a lot to me and I’m very happy,” Aleksenko said of his second title in a row and multiple records and medals. “I didn’t know if I was going to win again because I was so focused on swimming and updating my PBs that I didn’t realize the opportunity was there.”

The sophomore had an unforgettable meet and said his 100 fly was a personal highlight. “I updated my PB by almost a second and the time made me really happy,” he said.

“The atmosphere definitely changed,” he said of the nationals compared to his freshman year. “More people, more cheering. It felt more intense, and that there was more pressure, and more teams it felt like.”

When asked how his sophomore year went, he said, “It was good. It felt like it went by so fast and I didn’t realize that the school year was basically already almost over.”

CNMI Labor Day Softball Tourney is looking for sponsors

The 2026 CNMI Labor Day Softball Tournament is looking for sponsors for its 21st edition that will be held in Oregon.

2026 Saipan Marathon: Nakajimas did it again

It was a far from ordinary Saturday (Mar. 7) morning in Saipan with forecasts of heavy rain and flood warnings, but the skies showed some mercy over the close to 800 participants from all over the world that participated in the 2026 Skechers Saipan Marathon. However, Japan’s running couple—Hiroki Nakajima and Tomomi Nakajima did not as they crushed this year’s annual Skechers Saipan Marathon full marathon course.

In the rain-again, off-again morning, Hiroki braved the slippery and wet, but cool 26.2 miles/42.195K course that spanned from the Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan to the north towards Marpi, to the south past Pacific Islands Club, and back to Garapan with the fastest time of 2:45:53. Second went to Hiroki Kai at 2:55:07, while third was Taekwon Kim with 2:59:31.

In the women’s division, his wife Tomomi grabbed the top spot again as well with a time of 3:17:16. Second went to Ishikawa Emari with a time of 3:49:27, with third place going to Jung Yejin at 3:50:38.

Hiroki said of the course this year, “The course was very tough—strong wind so it felt very tough but we came back again and became champion[s] again, so we’re very happy.”

This year though, he said they had a slower time compared to last, but they hope to make their way back again next year to make it a three-peat.

The annual event also featured the half-marathon, 10K, and 5K.

The half-marathon first place overall was Japan’s Shohei Miyamoto with a time of 1:19:14. NMI’s Jody O’Sullivan came in second at 1:29:38, while Kim Dong-Hwan rounded out the top three with 1:34:36.

In the women’s division, NMI’s Dr. Lily Muldoon took first place with a time of 1:34:39, followed by Kim Bo-Eun at 1:47:17 in second, and Kristy Bryson in third at 1:49:03.

Muldoon, for her part, said that she doesn’t sleep well before a race, but a friend she met at the start line helped pace her through it, and she ended up running the fastest half marathon she’s ever ran in her life.

Ahn Euntae finished first in the men’s 10K with a time of 34:56. Genta Saito placed second with 36:48, while Ahn Younghwan secured third place at 37:45. In the women’s race, Lee Yun-Ji led the division with a time of 44:12. Park Minkyoung finished second at 47:23, and Baek Gi-Yoon claimed third with 50:30.

NMI’s Victor Nash Santos claimed the men’s 5K title after finishing in 18:09. Bok Gwon-Il placed second at 22:09, while Zhaodian Gao finished third at 24:11. In the women’s division, NMI women, including Nathania Tan took first place with a time of 18:31, followed by Kaithlyn Chavez in second at 21:42, and Tammy Ackerman in third at 22:55.

Jennifer Tan, owner/representative of Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan and representative of main sponsor Skechers said, “I think Saipan is perfect for sports tourism. I think this year, running along the ocean—I just ran the 10K myself and I thought it was a beautiful run despite a little bit [of] rain, it was perfect weather and perfect setting. I’m very proud of the turnout this year, I think we had close to 800 sign ups or we went over it and I hope to work with MVA to increase this number every year to make this a great event for the community and for the international tourists as well.”

The main sponsor is Skechers with additional sponsors Coca-Cola/Powerade (Platinum), and Gold Sponsors United Airlines, Enterprise Rent-a-car, and Gold’s Gym Saipan.

Tania, Nash break 5K nat’l records at 2026 Saipan Marathon

The 2026 Skechers Saipan Marathon had it all—from record numbers, repeat winners, and national records on the rainy Saturday (Mar. 7) morning.

Saipan’s Tania Tan and Victor Nash Santos broke the 5K national records during their race, with Tan clocking in at 18:31 (women’s record), while Santos running an 18:09 (men’s record).

Both performances will be ratified by Northern Marianas Athletics as official road running records. The course meets the standards required for a World Athletics Ranking Competition.

Agape is elementary school v-ball champs

A new champion was crowned in the PSS-NMIVA Co-Ed Elementary School Volleyball League as Agape Christian School won over Garapan Elementary School, 25-13, on a rainy Saturday at the Marianas High School Gymnasium. ACS upset erstwhile defending champions Koblerville Elementary School in the second round of the playoffs, and rode on their momentum from there, taking down Tinian Elementary School, GES in their first meeting, then GES again in the finals.

Premier are CWA Softball champs

Women, family members, and softball enthusiasts of all ages came out together just in time for Women’s Month in the 2nd Annual CNMI Women’s Association Softball Tournament held from Mar. 2-7. The games pulled through despite the rainy weather and after everything, Team Premier came out on top over them all. They went undefeated throughout the tourney, then fell to Just Fam in the championship which forced a second game that eventually went in favor of Premier for the title. Team G4 settled for third place.

MHS, SSHS are top schools in high school badminton

Marianas High School’s badminton Team 1 and 2 and Saipan Southern High School’s badminton Team 1 are the Top 3 teams left in the PSS-NMIBA Co-Ed High School Badminton League. The last playoff games were played on Mar. 7 and 9, with the finals set for this morning, Saturday, Mar. 14 at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Boys middle school v-ball regular season wraps up

The PSS-NMIVA Boys Middle School Volleyball League regular season wrapped up on Tuesday, Mar. 10 at the Marianas High School Gymnasium. Today is the championship round.

The varsity results are as follows: Agape Christian School vs. Hopwood Middle School: 21-11, 21-15; Tanapag Middle School vs. Chacha Oceanview Middle School: 21-12, 21-15; Saipan International School vs. Mount Carmel School: 21-8, 16-21, 15-10; Dandan Middle School vs. Saipan Community School: 21-18, 21-12.

The junior varsity results are: HMS II vs. DMS II: 21-0, 21-0 and TMS II vs. COVMS II: 20-22, 21-15, 15-3.