Dandan Middle School’s U14 athletics team members pose with coaches Jeri May Tudela and Simon Necesito after winning the middle school division titles of the PSS-McDonald’s All School Athletics Championships on Saturday at the Oleai Sports Complex.
A Dandan Middle School student passes the baton to a teammate during the U14 4x100M relay event of the PSS-McDonald’s All School Athletics Championships on Saturday at the Oleai Sports Complex.
DANDAN Middle School’s girls and boys dominated the U14 division of the two-day PSS-NMA All School Athletics season finale at the Oleai Sports Complex.
The DMS U14 boys excelled in nearly every event to secure the overall title with a total of 112 team points.
DMS shined in the sprints with Christopher Cruz topping the 100M and 200M events.
Cruz finished first in the 100M distance with a time of 12.04 while Saipan International School’s Audiescott Iakopo came in second with a time of 12.44 and Agape Christian School’s Shulun He came in third with a time of 12.63.
Cruz also finished first in the 200M event with a time of 26.01 followed by Tanapag Middle School’s Abraham Falig (26.06) and SIS’ Iakopo (26.25).
Cruz aimed for his third top finish in the 400M race, but he fell short and placed second with a time of 29.95 behind SIS’ Moshe Sikkel who claimed first place with a time of 58.88. Grace Christian Academy’s Michael Miller came in third with a time of 1:00.71.
DMS also performed well in the throwing and long jump events.
DMS’ Kallan Seidler came in second in the U14 boys long jump with his best distance recorded at 4.7 meters. Francisco M. Sablan Middle School’s Changhwan Ryu was first with 4.79 meters.
In the javelin throw, DMS’s Zion Rogopes finished first with a distance of 28.15 meters followed by FMS’ Caleb Sablan (26.68 meters) and schoolmate Peyton Basa (26.39) meters.
Seidler bagged first place in the shotput throw with his best attempt of 9.42 meters while Tinian’s KyMani Nabors was second with 9.22 meters and Saipan Community School’s David Ye was third with 9 meters.
Rogopes collected his second gold in the discus throw with a distance of 26.56 meters.
100%
“Words cannot express how excited we are,” DMS teacher and coach Simon Necesito said. “It’s their drive that got them to where they are today. I asked them to give 100% and they gave 100% today. They did amazing throughout the qualifiers and the finals,” he added.
Second place in the overall standings were SIS and ACS who both garnered 68 points while FMS took third place with 61 points.
U14 girls
Dandan’s U14 girls team won the overall title with 100 team points.
They were not the strongest in the sprint events as Alyssa Mediola was the only DMS student to make the top three list in the 200M distance where she placed third with a time of 31.12. Tinian’s Ysabella Lenteja took first place (28.59) while SIS’ Aubrey White came in second (30.33).
DMS’ Addalee Taflinger, for her part, placed third in the 400M distance with a time of 01:09.18 behind Tinian’s Lenteja who finished first (01:07.89) and GCA’s Ella Hall (01:08.57) who came in second.
But in the mid- and long-distance events, DMS ruled.
Taflinger claimed the 800M distance with a time of 02:49.48 to beat SIS’ White who came in second (02:56.99) and ACS’ Barbara Wang who finished third (02:58.99).
Taflinger also placed first in the 1500M distance with a time of 06:02.69 followed by ACS’ Wang (06:22.48) and DMS’ Jian Chun (06:45.21).
Taflinger likewise dominated the 3000M event, finishing first with a time of 14:02.00. ACS’ Wang came in second (14:16.36) while SIS’ Faith Arriola was third (14:20.45).
The DMS girls placed first in the U14 girls 4X100M relay event with a time of 01:00.52 slipping past Tinian (01:00.92) and Chacha Oceanview Middle School (01:04.46).
“We have a lot of good talents here,” said DMS teacher and coach Jeri May Tudela. “All the intense training led to insane results. DMS girls, a lot of hard work went into this, and you believed in yourselves. You guys did great,” she told the athletes.
“We always had a strong faith in Dandan Middle School’s athletes,” Tudela added. “For the most part, I’ve been waiting for this because I’m very passionate when it comes to athletics. We were able to guide our students with what we got, but the students are the ones who put in the effort.”
