Jericho Cruz was unanimously chosen during the NMASA meeting at the Gilbert C. Ada Gym last Thursday as the December male athlete of the month.
Cruz played with G-Stars in the recently held 5th Annual Christmas Hoopfest hosted by the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs’ Division of Youth Services, Division of Sports and Recreation and Saipan Mayor’s Office.
Throughout the sport fest’s three-day preliminary games, Cruz led his team scoring an average of 11.3 points per game helping G-Stars become undefeated in pool play.
During the championship game against Rollers A, Cruz scored 33 points to help G-Stars win the crown. This earned him the most valuable player award.
In the entire Hoopfest, Cruz was the sixth highest scorer with a total of 78 points.
Cruz also gained the title of October male athlete of the month after competing in the 2008 Oceania Youth Tournament on Guam, leading the CNMI Junior National team averaging 23 points per game.
Grace Kimball who swam in seven events at the 2008 Guam International Swim Meet in Dec. 26 and 27 was selected December female athlete of the month.
She won seven gold medals in the 13 and 14 age group in the 50-meter back stroke, 50-meter free stroke, 100-meter breast stroke, 200-meter free stroke, 100-meter free stroke, 100-meter back stroke and 400-meter free stroke.
Fourteen-year-old Kai Staal of Saipan Swim was named December student male athlete of the month.
Staal competed in the 2008 Guam International Swim Meet, where he won two gold medals, four silver medals, and a bronze medal setting three new CNMI age group records.
Staal was also the March student make athlete of the month winning every event he joined at the SSC International Meet.
He won his age group at 2500-meter in the 30th Annual SSC Ocean Swim. He was the third male and fifth overall swimmer out of the water at the Xterra Triathlon, and fifth male and eighth overall out of the water at the Tagaman Triathlon.
Mount Carmel School’s Roxanne Duenas was selected December female student athlete of the month.
Because of her basketball skills that are ahead of her age group, Duenas played with Lady Knights’ 18-and-under girls division in the 5th Annual Christmas Hoopfest and turned out to have led her team during the preliminary pool games scoring an average of 17.3 points per game.
During the championship game against the Lady Ayuyus, Duenas scattered 24 points in the court to help her team win the tournament crown and earned her the MVP award.
