Agape Christian School, Marianas High School, and Tinian Jr/Sr High School male athletes pose for a photo with Northern Marianas Athletics President Ray Tebuteb, right, during the awards ceremony for the U18 boys high school division of the PSS-McDonald’s All School Athletics Championships at the Oleai Sports Complex on Saturday.
Agape Christian School, Saipan International School, and Saipan Southern High School female athletes pose for a photo with Northern Marianas Athletics President Ray Tebuteb, right, during the awards ceremony for the U18 girls high school division of the PSS-McDonald’s All School Athletics Championships at the Oleai Sports Complex on Saturday.
AGAPE Christian School has proven once again that its athletes are the fastest on the track after claiming the boys and girls division titles of the PSS-McDonald’s All School Athletics Championships Saturday at the Oleai Sports Complex.
Although the ACS boys team did not place first in most of the U18 events, it was their consistency that led to their overall victory with a total of 114 points.
Marianas High School finished overall second with 84 points, edging Tinian Jr/Sr High School who had 83 points.
Where ACS truly shined in the boys division was in teamwork which allowed them to dominate the 4x400M and 4x100M events.
The 4x400M run showcased their endurance with each ACS runner maintaining a proper pace en route to a first-place finish with a time of 03:54.52. Marianas High School came in second (04:08.55) while Tinian Jr/Sr High School placed third (04:09.99).
In the 4x100M event, the ACS runners were the first to cross the finish line, clocking 48.7. They were followed by MHS (50.69) and Saipan International School (51.01).
For their part, ACS’ Jireh Wang and Samuel Zhu topped the U18 boys 3000M distance with a time of 10:35.68 and 10:52.32 respectively.
Wang added another gold medal for his team when he placed first in the 1500M race with a time of 04:48.76, beating MHS’ Pony Tang (04:50.49) and ACS’ Zhu (04:55.54).
In the sprint and mid-distance races, ACS did not finish first but its runners maintained a steady performance.
ACS’ Bill Li finished second in the 100M with a time of 11.82 behind GCA’s Theodore Rodgers who clocked 11.63. SIS’ Charlie McDonald came in in third at 11.82.
In the 200M event, Li finished third with a time of 24.37 while Rodgers earned his second gold with a time of 24.05 and Marianas High School’s Cody Shimizu came in second at 24.22.
In the 400M event, Shimizu bagged his first gold medal with a finish time of 56.15 while Rodgers came in second at 56.94. ACS’ Caleb Cui was third with a time of 57.18.
In the 800M distance, ACS’ Cui and Wang placed second and third with a time of 02:15.93 and 02:16.16 while Shimizu finished first at 02:14.02.
Girls division
The ACS girls topped their division with a total of 121 points.
Saipan International School came in second with 74 points while Saipan Southern High School finished third with 69 points.
ACS earned gold in the 3000M distance with Eunice Xu finishing first with a time of 12:41.07 followed by SIS’ Tiana Cabrera (13:26.30) and ACS’ Emma Pang (14:08.15).
Xu earned a silver in the 800M distance with a time of 02:41.65 while SIS’ Kaithlyn Chavez claimed the gold with a time of 02:32.70. SSHS’ Summer Manahane finished third at 02:55.95.
Xu won another silver in the 1500M event with a time of 05:40.61. Chavez came in first (05:34.00) while Cabrera was third (05:57.53).
In the 200M race, ACS garnered several points with Priscilla Cheng, Mary Zhu and Susie Zheng coming in third, fourth and fifth at 34.46, 31.75, and 32.57, respectively.
In the long jump, Grace Christian Academy’s Soleil Lamar took first with a distance of 3.91 meters followed by ACS’ Ruth Zhang with 3.9 meters, and SSHS’ Casey Cruz with 3.79 meters.
Zhang also came in second in the shotput throw with a distance of 7.31 meters followed by SSHS’ Jasmine John with 7.31 meters.
Zhang earned another silver in the discus throw with a distance of 21.02 meters while MHS’ Kina Rangamar placed first with 23.54 meters.
Hard work
ACS Pastor Kok H. Pang was satisfied with the ACS athletes’ performances. “Their hard work paid off. We always tell our students you reap what you sow. So, no shortcuts, just hard work consistently.”
Pang added, “It’s also about teamwork. Of course, being an individual is important, but at the same time, when you come together as a team you will achieve a lot.”
Pang thanked God, the Public School System and its athletics program, Northern Marianas Athletics, Run Saipan, McDonald’s and all those involved in organizing the athletics championship.
