SIS’ Windsor Gross leads the U12 girls 400m finals event of the McDonald’s-PSS All School Track and Field (Athletics) SY23-24 at the Oleai Sports Complex on Saturday.
Saipan International School athletes pose for a photo after winning the overall title in the girls elementary division of the McDonald’s-PSS All School Track and Field (Athletics) SY23-24 at the Oleai Sports Complex on Saturday
THE girls of Saipan International School are the back-to-back champions in the elementary division of the McDonalds-PSS All School Track and Field (Athletics) SY23-24 after accumulating 107 team points during a two-day finale at the Oleai Sports Complex on Friday and Saturday.
Third grader Olivia Walsh bagged three gold medals even though she was competing in track and field for the first time.
On day 1, Friday, Walsh won the first of her three gold medals in the U9 girls 800m event with a finish time of 3:27.68 followed by Tinian Elementary School’s Sesa San Nicolas at 3:31.72, and Isla Montessori School’s Honey Thomsen at 3:32.83.
Walsh placed fifth in the U9 girls 200m distance with a time of 38.10 while William S. Reyes Elementary School’s Vinase Agulto came in first with a time of 36.62. San Vicente Elementary School’s Jurina Basiente was second at 37.29 while Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School’s Molli Camacho and Seraphina Alvarez were third and fourth at 37.56 and 37.68.
SIS’ Kaylen Taflinger finished second in the U12 girls 800m with a time of 3:07.07 followed by teammate Neveah Arriola in third at 3:13.38. It was Brilliant Star School’s LoVel Spaeth who finished first at 3:05.68.
SIS placed third in the girls 4x100m event with a time of 1:06.08 while Koblerville Elementary School finished first at 1:04.70, and Garapan Elementary School came in second at 1:04.73.
In the 4x400m event, WSR came in first with a time of 5:35.00 followed by SIS at 5:38.57, and KOB at 5:44.39.
Athletics
In the athletics side, SIS’ Micaela Zevallos and Alena Mendiola racked in a few points in the U9 girls Long Jump event by finishing fifth and sixth places with distances of 2.57m and 5.46m, respectively.
In the U12 girls long jump, GTC’s Jhaexian Serion came out on top with a distance of 3.59m while SIS’ Windsor Gross followed with 3.43m and KOB’s Lei Pebley was third with 3.38m.
Day 2, on Saturday, was when Walsh shined, winning two more gold medals.
She claimed her second gold in the U9 girls 400m event where she won with a time of 1:26.79, edging Oleai Elementary School’s Mitchiko who clocked 1:26.92. In third place was TIN’s San Nicolas at 1:29.83.
Walsh’s third gold was won in the U9 girls 1,500m as she finished first with a time of 7:04.38 while IMS’ Thomsen came in second at 7:20.57 and BSS’ Aya Smith finished third at 7:32.21.
SIS’ Windsor Gross topped the U12 girls 1,500m distance with a time of 6:15.41 followed by BSS’ LoVel Spaeth at 6:16.91 while SIS’ Kaylen Taflinger and Neveah Arriola came in third and fourth at 6:31.52 and 6:45.76.
Gross won a second gold medal in the U12 girls 400m event, finishing first with a time of 1:14.45 followed by WRS’ Aquino at 1:16.96, and BSS’ Speath at 1:17.05. SIS’ Taflinger and Arriola also made the list in sixth and seventh places at 1:21.89 and 1:25.09.
In the U12 girls 100m sprint, Gross took the bronze with a time of 15.81. WSR’s Anica Aquino finished first at 15.33 while KOB’s Baylyn Mansfield was second at 15.49.
SIS ended the day with a third-place finish in the girls 4x100m event with a time of 1:07.71 while KOB placed first at 1:03.50 and GES came in second at 1:04.92.
With a total of 107 team points, SIS successfully defended their title.
The rest of the overall team standings: WSR with 97; KOB with 94; GTC with 62; TIN with 44; BSS with 39; GES with 34; OES with 29; SVES with 27; IMS with 14; SCS with 8; KAG with 2; and SIN with 1.
Bonus
SIS coach Pamela Walsh shared that this year was “really interesting because we are composed of 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders.”
Most of their athletes will be moving up an age group while some are being promoted to middle school next year.
“It’s back to zero for us but it’s OK,” Walsh said. “They worked hard, persevered and finished — these gold medals are just a bonus. We just want to finish what we started and finish strong.”
She added, “The season overall was fun. We had a lot of participants and we’re happy in SIS with everyone trying something new or being part of a team.”
