By Roselyn B. Monroyo
Variety News Staff

TWO sprinters, a swimmer and a junior tennis player were named top athletes in April during the NMASA meeting last Thursday.
Tyrone Omar of Northern Marianas Athletics was named Male Athlete of the Month, while fellow sprinter Yvonne Bennett was chosen Female Student Athlete of the Month.
Omar and other NMI tracksters hosted an invitational meet with Guam last month at the Oleai Sports Complex track and field facility.
The 2006 NMASA Male Athlete of the Year dominated sprint races anew posting a new personal best time of 10.81 seconds (hand time) in the 100m race. He timed in at 22.78 seconds in the 200m run.
Based in the 2007 Pacific Islands ranking released by the Oceania Athletics Association on April 24, Omar’ 10.81 seconds is the second fastest behind the 10.74 seconds of Papua New Guinea’s Wally Kirika.
Omar’s time in the 200m was the eighth fastest based on the same rankings.
Not to be outdone was Bennett, who set a new meet All Schools track meet record in the 100m in the 18-and-under division.
The Kagman High School student timed in at 13.33 seconds in the 100m qualifying race for the 2007 McDonald’s All Schools Track and Field Championships beating perennial favorite Jacque Wonenberg (13.61 seconds) of MHS.
Bennett clocked 27.74 seconds in the 200m race to defeat Wonenberg (28.01) anew.
After a successful stint at the world championships in Melbourne, Australia, Sarah Johnson returned to local action ruling her age group in the 29th Saipan Swim Club Ocean Swim.
Johnson timed in at 40 minutes, 39 seconds in the 2.5k swim to win the girls’ 13 to 14 age group and this feat earned her the Female Athlete of the Month honors.
This was Johnson’s second Female Athlete of the Month award in a row, as she received the same citation in March.
The Saipan International School student won the Female Athlete of the Month (March) plum when she posted 6-for-6 lifetime best swims in the world championships Down Under.
The other awardee was tennis’ Chris Cajigan, who won in two tournaments last month.
He prevailed in 9-and-under division contests in the PIC netfest and in the UMDA Junior Tennis Championships.
Cajigan claimed the boys’ 9-and-under division title in the PIC tennis tournament after tripping Dylan Ackerman in the finals, 7-6. In the UMDA netfest, Cajigan beat Michael Grandinetti in the championship match, 6-1.