ANDREI Kaithlyn Chavez of Mount Carmel School topped nearly every running event in the Public School System-McDonald’s U14 girls athletics championships held Friday and Saturday at the Oleai Sports Complex.
Whether it was long distance or sprints, Chavez was simply unmatched in stamina and speed. Starting in the 3000m distance, Chavez proved that she was on a different level as she took first place with over a two-minute gap against the rest of the competition, clocking in at 13:15.
Saipan International School’s Savita Sikkel was the next to cross the finish line at 15:17 to clinch second place while Agape Christian School’s Serena Chen settled for third with a time of 15:32.
School mate Esther Xu (16:13) was fourth while Saipan International School’s Phoenix Gross (16:17) was fifth.
Chavez continued to display dominance in the 1500m distance with a finish time of 5:50:43 to win the gold.
Grace Christian Academy’s Fiona Reagan came in second with a time of 6:23:74 followed by SIS’ Savita Sikkel (6:28:33), ACS’ Serena Chen (6:40:26) and Esther Xu (7:13:51).
Chavez earned another gold medal in the 800m race. Although the competition was stiffer this time around, she still managed to finish first, clocking in at 2:52:14 to beat GCA’s Fiona Regan (2:56:24), Ella Hall (3:06:06), ACS’ Serena Chen (3:10:23) and SIS’ Irin Chong (3:16:29).
In the 400m event, Chavez collected her fourth gold medal with a time of 1:06:64 while GCA’s Ella Hall trailed behind, clocking in at 1:10:13 to finish second.
SIS’ Savita Sikkel (1:10:42), Dandan Middle School’s Tamia Kileleman-Hix (1:11:57), and SIS’ Irin Chong (1:16:03) filled the rest of the top five list.
Chavez’s final top finish was in the 200m distance. She clocked in at 29:46 to beat GCA’s Ella Hall (30:17), SIS’ Savita Sikkel (30:48), Dandan’s Ha’ani Passi (32:11), and GCA’s Fiona Regan (32:42).
Chavez did not participate in the 100m sprint which was won by Dandan’s Tamia Kileleman-Hix who clocked in at 14:14. Following behind were SIS’ Savita Sikkel (14:42), GCA’s Ella Hall (14:89), Tanapag Middle School’s Ha’ani Salas (15:17) and MCS’ Mia Ysabella Abuan (15:46).
U18 girls
As for the U18 girls division, the competition among schools was fairly even.
The 3000m race was won by SIS’ Tiana Cabrera with a finish time of 13:07 while ACS took over the remaining top five spots: Emma Pang (13:14) placed second followed by Eunice Xu (13:24), Grace Shi (14:12) and Elizabeth Xu (14:35).
Cabrera won another gold medal in the 1500m distance with a finish time of 5:46:3 beating ACS’ Eunice Xu (5:49:34), Emma Pang (6:07:25), Marianas High School’s Asaka Litulumar (6:11:70), and ACS’ Grace Shi (6:21:83).
Cabrera tried to keep the streak going in the 800m distance; however during the last stretch she started to lose wind which allowed ACS’ Eunice Xu to take the top spot with a time of 2:51:32.
Cabrera (2:55:97) settled for second place while ACS’ Emma Pang (3:05:06), Grace Shi (3:05:31) and Elim Huang(3:10:52) followed behind.
In the 400m event, Saipan Southern High School earned a gold medal thanks to Casey Cruz who clocked in at 1:09:95 to beat SIS’ Tiana Cabrera (1:12:36), GCA’s Soleil Lamar (1:12:99), ACS’ Elim Huang (1:13:79) and Ivy Yu(1:15:72).
In the 200m event, MHS’ Leani Acosta clinched a podium finish as she bested the competition with a time of 28:90.
She was followed by ACS’ Sally Wu (29:22), Tinian’s Cheraline Epity (29:44), SSHS’ Casey Cruz (29:90) and MCS’ Erin Frink (30:46).
And lastly in the 100m race, SSHS’ Casey Cruz claimed the top spot with a time of 13:50 while MHS’ Leani Acosta (13:89) finished second. MCS’ Erin Frink (14:21) was third, ACS’ Sally Wu (14:46) fourth, and GCA’s Soleil Lamar (14:68) fifth.
Mount Carmel School’s Andrei Kaithlyn Chavez leads the 1500m event in the 2020-2021 PSS-McDonald’s Athletics Championships on Saturday at the Oleai Sports Complex.
Photo by James F. Sablan Jr.
