The Sports Leigh-Out May 2-8

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 May 2-8.

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.

Umangs sprint to track & field sweep

Koblerville Elementary School Umangs swept the overall girls and boys division in the PSS-McDonald’s All Schools Athletics 2024-2025 after notching a number of points in most of the events during the two-day championships last May 2-3 at the Oleai Sports Complex.

The Umangs sprinted to first place with a total of 120 points in the boys division, while second place were Kagman Elementary School Blue Marlins with 88 points. In a tie for third place were San Vicente Elementary School and Tinian Elementary School with 63 points each.

In the girls division, the Lady Umangs collected 99 points, while Brilliant Star School came a close second place with 97 points. Third place went to Garapan Elementary School with 91 points.

HMS caps perfect season with championship

Fueled by unfinished business, the Hopwood Middle School Lady Hilitais turned their quest for redemption into a flawless run to the championship of the IT&E Interscholastic Girls Middle School Basketball League 2024–2025.

The south-side squad clashed with the north’s Tanapag Middle School Lady Tatagas in the finals and won it all, 31–19, last Saturday at the Marianas High School Gymnasium.

Defense wins games—and it won them the championship this year. The Lady Hilitais stole, rebounded, and converted turnovers, leaving TMS looking like a fish out of water. While the Lady Hilitais hustled their way to a commanding 17–0 lead, TMS floundered and struggled to even get close to their basket.

HMS’ Maria Enriquez, Hayven Moteisou, and Alina Eskova controlled the shooting game, executing nearly every attempt at the basket. Meanwhile, TMS couldn’t get a steady grip on the ball, with frequent mishandled passes leaving them scoreless as the first half neared its end.

Finally, with two minutes left in the half, TMS’ Aaleyah Fatialofa found an opening and put her team on the board, 2–17. Moteisou then fired a rimless three-pointer, and the first half closed with a 16-point deficit, 20–4.

In the second half, TMS got the ball rolling as Fatialofa delivered more baskets. But with each shot, HMS’ faster and more polished team executed play after play, moving the ball efficiently and taking open shots that TMS’ defense couldn’t contain.

Enriquez, now joined by Anica Aquino, continued to build the lead and shrink the distance to the championship trophy. Fatialofa gave it her all, scoring 14 of her team’s 19 points, but it was too little, too late. HMS then clinched the title and solidified their perfect season as the final seconds of the game expired.

Cardinals off to hot start in 2025 SBL season

The 2025 Saipan Baseball League Open Division is back, kicking off with a thrilling opener on Wednesday at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Baseball Field.

The defending champion Cardinals got off to a roaring start against the runner-up Padres, soaring to a definitive 18–8 victory after a huge seven-run final inning—signaling a competitive season ahead.

Despite the Padres drawing first blood with five runs in the first two innings, the Cardinals regrouped and took the lead in the third inning, 6–5. From there, the Padres were shut down by Cardinals pitching and managed to score only three more runs.

The Cardinals’ offense then exploded in the final inning, after already putting up five additional runs in the fourth and fifth. The entire lineup contributed to the rally, which began with Brian Camacho being hit by a pitch. RBI singles and walks brought in more runs for the Cardinals, sealing their win after the Padres failed to answer in their final at-bat.

Games are held every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at 6:30 p.m., with 13 teams vying for the title: Cardinals, Padres, Phillies, Bears, D9ers, Athletics, Orioles, Blue Jays, Bandits, Falcons, Natives, and BlueShark.

Members of the national baseball team are also scattered among these teams to sharpen their gameplay ahead of the Pacific Mini Games in Palau this June. The team’s head coach is Jay Kintol, with head coach Juan Iguel, and coaches Giovanni Mira and Eric Palacios. A more detailed story by Marianas Press about the national team will be forthcoming.

SBL’s Kyle Hocog, the league coordinator, said that the season ahead is jampacked, with each team playing 10 games before the postseason for a total of 65 games.

The league then has a three-week break before and after the Mini Games, and will resume on July 14.

Anne, Jyle top U18 singles in Altanx CNMI Jr. Champs

Anne Lee continues to rack up wins in the local tennis scene as she smacked her way to the U18 girls title over Stella Choi in the 2025 Altanx CNMI Junior Championship held last May 4 at the American Memorial Park tennis courts.

As for the U18 boys title, Jyle Landicho secured it, while second place went to Si Woo Lee.

In the other divisions, Daniel Kang emerged the champion over runner up Matt Zhu in the U14 boys, while in the U12 boys, Isaiah Mook took first place while second place was Dong Min Jang.

In the U14 girls, Jenna Pascual took the top spot over runner up Vivian Chung. Emma Lang was first in the U16 girls over runner up Amy Park.

In the U12 girls, Fiona Yu won the championship, while second place was Harper Loken.

Over in the doubles categories, the U12 champions were Dong Min Jang and Isaiah Arriola Mook, while second place went to Harper and Scarlett Loken.

Ryan Choi and June Yu teamed up to bag the championship of the U18 doubles, while second place were Anne Lee and Jyle Landicho.

In mini tennis, Yo Suzuki claimed the title while Grayson Jo was second place.

The tourney was held over two weekends—April 26-27, and May 3-4 at the American Memorial Park Tennis Courts.

Dr. Ron honored; Santos, Bang top Star Wars Day Run

Victor Nash Santos continues to make his mark in local races as the speedster added another first place finish in his belt—this time, in the 5K portion of the 2025 NMI Star Wars Day Run “May the 4th Be With You” race held at American Memorial Park last Sunday.

Santos competed with many participants dressed up in Star Wars garb and clocked in first overall with a time of 20:01. Second place was Jordan Ruiz at just a second behind with 20:02, while third was Jun Kawano at 21:38. Bang finished first at 24:42, while second was Lovel Spaeth at 26:00, and third was Yuxi Zhang with 26:02.

There was also a Padawan 1-mile race, with the event sponsored by CHCC Public Health in celebration of National Adolescent Health Month.

Then, Dr. Ron Snyder, Saipan International School’s headmaster and Run Saipan’s secretary and treasurer, was awarded a Run Saipan Excellence Service Award plaque as he is leaving the island for Portugal soon.

Synder was part of Run Saipan from 2021 to 2025. The plaque said, “In recognition of your outstanding achievement, performance, service, commitment, and contributions to Run Saipan and the running community. Thank you. We love you and we will miss you.”

Braves’ Damian Sablan homers; Blue Jays beat Bears, 9-8

Home runs are hard to come by, but Major League Division’s Damian Sablan of the Braves homered during the continuation of the 2025 Saipan Little League Baseball season at the Miguel “Tan Ge” Pangelinan Softball Field last Saturday.

Unfortunately, results from games played that day in that division were not reported to Marianas Press.

In the junior and senior leagues played at the adjacent Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Baseball Field last Saturday, the Blue Jays beat the Bears in a close 9-8 game.

Then, the Marlins beat the Cobras in another narrow win, 12-11. In the seniors league game that day, Comets slipped past Ol’Aces, 8-7. Last Sunday in the junior division, Ol’Aces thrashed the Blue Jays, 13-5, while the Braves sunk the Marlins, 7-4. In the lone senior league game that day, the Braves beat the Comets, 9-8.

Kanoa teams, MP United clinch youth titles; Kanoa takes A division champ, Paire are Masters champs

Kanoa Football Club teams flooded the pitch with their bright orange jerseys as they clinched multiple championships in the TakeCare Youth Soccer League Spring 2025 at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville last Saturday.

Their U17 boys and girls team won the title, while their U12 boys and U14 girls won the championships in their respective divisions as well.

In the U14 boys division however, MP United took the title.

As for the 2025 Spring Dove Women's A League last Sunday, Kanoa took the title, while Paire clinched the Masters league championships.