The Sports Leigh-Out Nov. 15-21

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.

NMI team starts 2025 Davis Cup campaign with sweep

The NMI Men’s National Tennis Team made up of Colin Sinclair, Robbie Schorr, Colin Ramsey, and Anthony Gregoire started their 2025 Davis Cup campaign in Bahrain with wins on opening day on Wednesday.

The boys beat Yemen with Schorr winning the opening act with a 1-0 lead, winning 6-0, 6-2. Sinclair followed up with the same 6-0, 6-1 score. Ramsey and Gregoire made it a 3-0 sweep, winning the doubles 6-2, 6-1.

The team had a bye on Thursday and played Laos yesterday, Friday, with results pending.

There are 14 teams from the Asia/Oceania region trying to capture one of the two spots for promotion to the next group in 2026. The event runs until Sunday, Nov. 23.

Raho leads NMI with MVP, medals, and records at KLASS Invitational Swim Meet

Young swimmer Piper Raho had a big weekend at the KLASS Invitational Swim Meet in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, coming home with the MVP award after winning three gold medals, three silvers, and setting multiple national and age-group records.

The meet was held on Nov. 15-16 at the Alice Smith School, a private coeducational British International School in Kuala Lumpur.

Team NMI brought 12 swimmers to the competition, which featured athletes from around the region. For many of them, this was their first time racing in a 50-meter pool.

The NMI lineup included Lucy Thomsen, Gabe Walsh, Olivia Walsh, Jr. Seman, P.J. Seman, Luke Seman, Hope Tenorio, Matthew Szefler, Lukasz Szefler, Mia Camacho, Raho, and Michael Miller.

Raho picked up first-place finishes in the 50m freestyle at 28.07 seconds, 50m backstroke with 31.67 seconds, and 50m butterfly at 30.33 seconds. Her wins in the 50m freestyle and 50m backstroke set new national and age-group records, and her 50m butterfly also broke the age-group mark. She added three silvers in the 100m freestyle, 100m backstroke, and 100m butterfly.

Other NMI swimmers also earned podium spots as Jr. Seman took bronze in the 9–10 boys 50m backstroke at 40.67 seconds. Matthew Szefler grabbed bronze in the 50m butterfly (28.67), 100m butterfly (1:05.99), and 50m breaststroke (36.91). Michael Miller had a strong outing as well with two silvers and two bronzes, including second place in the 50m freestyle (25.65) and 100m butterfly (1:03.90).

Head coach Richard Sikkel said the “Team did awesome. All swimmers improved on either all or most of their previous times. Not everyone reached the times they were hoping for, but overall the results were super positive. This was another great learning experience for our younger swimmers and a good tune up for our older swimmers.”

He added, “We expected some fast swims out of our swimmers in this meet. Seeing the swimmers place in their age groups is a great validation for the swimmer and the effort they put into training, but ultimately it comes down to improving on your own time.”

Wrestling Federation finds a new home

The NMI Wrestling Federation is settling into its new home in one of the rooms at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

They’ve been utilizing the space for about two or three weeks now after Belau Wrestling Federation donated a full sized mat to the federation. For now, they have informal practices with some of the wrestlers from the national team that competed in the Mini Games, as well as some interested in just rolling around and getting to know the sport. The federation is set to have an open house on Dec. 6 with formal practice schedules forthcoming.

To add to the momentum, vice president of the federation and head coach Rick Bauer received his United World Wrestling Level II Coaching Certification during the UWW Oceania Regional Educational Development Program held last month in Sydney, Australia, and some wrestlers are gearing up for competitions off island.

Strong showing for NMI Open X-Country and Masters 6K Champs

The NMI Open Cross Country and NMI Masters 6K Championships hit the trails at the Saipan Country Club early morning last Saturday, bringing out runners of all ages for a challenging day of racing. Competitors in the Open 8K battled through two short-course loops before taking on two longer laps, while Masters athletes completed a 6K route made up of two short laps and one long loop that featured hills, grass sections, and even sand bunkers.

This year’s field ranged from 16-year-old newcomers to veteran runners as old as 76, highlighting the community’s depth and dedication to the sport.

Victor Nash Santos topped the Open Division with a time of 34:31.60, followed by Landon Taflinger (35:46.48) and Takeru Jim (39:46.48).

In the Under-20 category, Saluta Jolash led the way in 47:50.72, with Riggillo Robert and Pete Phair close behind.

Masters runners also put up strong results, with age-group wins going to Chad Taflinger (M40, 29:09.47), Joel Phair (M40, 29:51.78), Angela Taflinger (F40, 34:43.81), Pamela Walsh (F45, 42:54.14), An Bang (F50, 34:31.63), Nelly Min (F55, 39:10.05), Paul Khang (M75, 39:32.96), and Simon Necesito (M30, 50:11.10).

Raiders Top Mayor’s Precinct 3 3x3 hoops tourney

The Raiders came out on top in the Saipan Mayor’s Precinct 3 3-on-3 Youth Basketball Tournament held last Saturday at the Garapan Basketball Court.

After several appearances in past events, the Raiders finally broke through and claimed the championship, edging out Precinct 5 champions Team Bricklayers, 30–25, in the title game. Team USA, another returning squad, settled for third place.

This weekend’s tournament drew 15 teams. Mayor Ramon “RB” Camacho, Lt. Gov. Dennis Mendiola, and community business owner Steve Jang spoke to the players about the importance of youth sports, staying active, and building friendships across different backgrounds.

Before games tipped off, Camacho, Mendiola, and Jang each stepped up to the 3-point line and took three free-throw attempts as young athletes cheered them on.

MCS atop middle school girls v-ball

The PSS-NMIVA Girls Middle School Volleyball League is underway at the Marianas High School Gymnasium and defending champions Mount Carmel School picked up where they left off with an undefeated streak of three wins so far.

Their recent win on Thursday was against last season’s finals rival Tanapag Middle School as they coasted through two sets, 21-14, 21-14. In other results that day, Francisco M. Sablan Middle School picked up a win against Saipan International School. 21-9, 21-6, and Grace Christian Academy won over Chacha Ocean View Middle School, 21-15, 21-13.