SAIPAN International School and Agape Christian School continued their battle for the top spot in the fourth qualifier of the NMA-PSS All School Cross Country series Saturday at the Airport Field.
In the elementary school category, SIS ruled the boys and girls divisions.
In the boys division, SIS’ four runners made the top 10 list to secure first-place for their team. Quido Jambor finished first with a time of 00:07.33 while Ezra West came in sixth, and Jake Duenas and Gabriel Walsh finished eighth and ninth to give SIS a total of 24 team points.
Cross country is similar to golf in that the lowest score wins.
Brilliant Star School finished second with a total of 50 points followed by Agape Christian School in third with 61 points.
SIS also ruled the girls division by garnering 16 team points.
Leilani Ruszala took the spotlight as she was the first to cross the finish line with a time of 00:07.54 while Scarlett Burrell came in third at 00:08.26. Windsor Gross finished fifth with a time of 00:08.54 while Naveah Arriola was seventh at 00:09.03.
In the middle school category, SIS claimed the girls division while ACS ruled the boys division.
In the boys division, ACS’ Raffy Cai finished third place with a time of 00:13.07, James Fan YQ came in fourth with a time of 00:14.15, Daniel Song was fifth at 00:14.29, and Daniel Yang finished seventh with a time 00:14.41.
The ACS boys topped their division with 19 team points followed by Dandan Middle School with 27, and GCA with 63.
In the girls division, SIS’ Elizabeth Culp finished fourth at 00:17.37, Beatrice Gross was fifth at 00:17.49, Faith Arriola was sixth at 00:18.22, and Kate Manglona was seventh at 00:18.36 for 21 team points.
The ACS girls came in second with 22 points, followed by Tanapag Middle School with 59 points.
In the high school category, ACS topped both divisions.
The ACS boys performed well with Samuel Zhu finishing first with a time of 00:19.21 while Jireh Wang was third with a time of 00:20.14. Enoch Zhuang came in fourth at 00:20.15 while Daniel Li was fifth at 00:21.13 to give ACS a total of 13 team points.
Marianas High School took second place with 42 points followed by Saipan Southern High School in third with 63 points.
In the girls division, ACS’ Esther Zhaung led her team to the top with a second-place finish at 00:26.23 while Eunice Wu was fifth with a time of 00:26.45, Serina Cheng was sixth at 00:26.58 and Katherin Lin was seventh at 00:27.07 for a total of 20 team points.
SIS was second with 30 points while SSHS was third with 48 points.
The high school division participants take off during the fourth qualifier of the NMA-PSS All School Cross Country series Saturday at the Airport Field.
