(NMASA) — The Northern Marianas Sports Association is pleased to announce its Athletes/Team of the Month for February 2021.
A selection committee comprised of representatives from each member federation submitted nominations in early March. This same committee voted for the athletes/team deserving of recognition for their sportsmanship, character, commitment to improvement, perseverance and achievement in sport.
Awardees are eligible to be named Athletes/Team of the Year and will be recognized at the annual NMSA awards banquet.
February was highlighted by the 6th Aquathlon held at Paupau Beach and the 2020-2021 Public School System Interscholastic 4v4 Beach Volleyball League Championships held at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan sand court on Feb. 27, 2021.
Male Student-Athlete of the Month
Isaiah Aleksenko
A humble, young triathlete and proud Marianas High School student. Isaiah is a formidable swimmer and started to venture into triathlon. He has consistently displayed progress over the years relying on his strength (swim) and working on his weaknesses.
The youngest male participant during the last aquathlon (5km Run/1km Swim/2.5km Run), Isaiah emerged first on the swim portion and landed silver medal by outpacing eleven adults and is one of the two participants who finished under the one hour mark (57:22) along with Shuji Kuroda (56.19).
Female Student-Athlete of the Month
Andrei Kaithlyn Chavez
Andrei Kaithlyn Chavez, 15 years old, is a middle school student at Mt. Carmel School. An active athlete and competitive in swim, bike, run at a young age. Always hungry for improvement, very respectful to her peers and officials. Kaithlyn emerged as the gold medal (1st place) winner in the last aquathlon by outpacing 14 female adults and placed 6th overall among 27 participants by registering 1:07:53. Kaithlyn is the back_to-back winner of TRAC hosted events by bagging 1st place also in the Saipan Duathlon.
Male Athlete of the Month
Shuji Kuroda
First place, 6th Saipan Aquathlon (5km Run/1km Swim/2.5km Run) held on Feb. 27 at Paupau Beach. Consistent finisher and runner-up last year, continuous training and dedication to multi-sports resulted in big improvement as displayed during off road/road duathlon and recently, 6th Saipan Aquathlon. Very friendly, respectful and courteous to his peers. Kuroda is a food and beverage assistant manager at Grandvrio Saipan.
Female Athlete of the Month
Denise Myers
Second place, 6th Saipan Aquathlon, emerged among 13 individuals in the Female Division. An avid, consistent podium finisher in run events and now venturing into multi-sports. Myers is a health and physical education instructor at Northern Marianas College.
Team of the Month
Mount Carmel High School boys beach volleyball team
It is composed of Richard Steele, Merrick Toves, Jeremiah Diaz, Brandon Lee, Jun Beom Kim, and Sam (Ji Hwan) Ryu. The MCS team went 9-0 in the pool play rounds over two weeks and did not lose a match in the double-elimination tournament. The team’s only game (set) loss was the first game against Grace Christian Academy in the Best 2-out-of-3 Championship match. Their game (set) tally for the whole tournament was 15-1. As far as matches go, MCS was unbeaten the entire season and championship tournament, earning them a perfect season record in addition to being the 2021 PSS Boys High School 4V4 Beach Volleyball champions. These boys have been excelling together in school team sports since they were in MCS elementary school and deserve to be February 2021 Team of the Month.
The February Team of the Month is the Mount Carmel School boys volleyball team which topped the PSS Boys 4v4 Beach Volleyball League.
Photo by James F. Sablan Jr
Female Athlete of the Month Denise Myers smiles as she crosses the finish line of the 6th Aquathon on Feb. 27, 2021 at Paupau Beach.
Photo by James F. Sablan Jr.
February Male Student Athlete of the Month Isaiah Aleksenko makes his way out of the water during the 6th Aquathon on Feb. 27, 2021 at Paupau Beach.
Photo by James F. Sablan Jr.
