(Northern Marianas Sports Association) — Team Marianas got off to a good start on the opening day of competitions in the 2025 Pacific Mini Games in Palau, as NMI swimmers and wrestlers advanced to the medal round of their respective events Monday morning.
In the wrestling competition at the Ngarachemayong Convention Center in Koror, Vincent Palacios saw action in the 60kg weight class, freestyle event and claimed a silver medal. He defeated Kane Tarkong of Palau and the Marshall Islands’ Tyson Hedmon to move into the medal round in his weight category.
Miles Borja and Seth Sablan were in contention for bronze medals in the 86kg and 71kg class, respectively. Complete results of the medal rounds in the wrestling competitions were unavailable at press time.
In the swimming competitions at the Palau Swimming Pool in Meyuns, six NMI swimmers reached the finals to boost Team Marianas’ chances to earn medals on Day 1 of the Mini Games. NMI swimmers are also in medal contention for two relay events. The finals/medal round races were scheduled to start 5:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. Saipan time) and results were unavailable at press time.
As expected, Isaiah Aleksenko was among the finalists in Monday’s races. He topped the 50m backstroke prelims races with a time of 24.36 seconds to lead against five other qualifiers from Tahiti, Fiji, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia. Aleksenko also had the best qualifying time in the 100m individual medley at 56.86 seconds and was scheduled to battle swimmers from Cook Islands, Fiji, Tahiti, and Samoa for the gold medal.
Also in the hunt for individual medals in the swimming competition were Kean Pajarillaga, Justin Ma, Kouki Watanabe, Frances Raho, and Maria Batallones.
Batallones and Watanabe entered the finals of the women’s and men’s 200m breaststroke event. Watanabe clocked in at 2:25.18 to qualify in the finals, while Batallones made the grade with her time of 2:56.47.
In the women’s 50m backstroke, Raho checked in at 31.02 second to join swimmers from Tahiti, Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and New Caledonia in the finals. In the men’s 400m freestyle, the NMI has two finalists in Pajarillaga and Ma, who submitted 4:14.29 (second best in the heat) and 4:27.63, respectively.
In the men’s 400m freestyle relay, the NMI was ranked second in the qualifier to make it to the finals. Pajarillaga, Ma, Aleksenko, and Michael Miller completed the race in 3:34.38. In the women’s 400m relay, Raho, Batalllones, Maria Guerrero, and Shoko Litulumar reached the finals after timing in at 4:13.76.
Baseball opener rescheduled; 3×3 basketball starts today
Due to the inclement weather, the baseball opening day matches at the Nippon Baseball Stadium have been canceled and will be rescheduled at a later date. The defending champion NMI was set to challenge host Palau in the main event of the opening day double-header, so with the cancelation, the former will have its first game today, Tuesday, against the Federated States of Micronesia.
In basketball at the Palau High School Gymnasium, the NMI men’s and women’s squad will face FSM for their first game at 3:55 p.m. and 4:20 p.m., respectively. For its second match, the NMI women’s will collide against the Solomon Islands at 6 p.m., while the NMI men’s will duel Samoa at 6:25 p.m.
In women’s fast-pitch softball, the NMI’s game against PNG was still a go, but results of the 4:30 p.m. match were still unavailable.
In va’a, the NMI’s Carter Calma placed second in the repechage in the men’s V1 500m, but missed the medal podium. In the women’s V1 500m, Ashley Pangelinan was ranked fourth in the repechage and fell short in her finals bid. In the mixed V12 500m, the NMI lost to Fiji in the repechage.
Team Marianas’ participation to the 2025 Pacific Mini Games is supported by the Office of the Governor, Saipan & Northern Islands Legislative Delegation, Joeten Daidai Foundation, Northern Marianas Sports Association, ASC Trust, Triple J, Tan Holdings, Altanx, E-Land, Quality Distributors, IT&E, Mobil, McDonald’s, Chinese Association, GPPC, Marianas Press, Matson, Bank of Guam, First Hawaiian Bank, Laolao Bay Golf & Resort, Dial-Rent-To-Own, NMI Local Peace Corps Reunion Committee, Y.K. Corporation, Shell/AFE Marianas, LLC, Wushin, I Love Saipan, BC Corporation, Zoom Chicken, and Artman.
Vincent Palacios, second right, joins his teammates and coach Rick Bauer, right, in the training session in Palau. Palacios won the first medal for Team Marianas after securing a silver in the 60kg freestyle wrestling.
Marianas Press via NMSA
From left, Kouki Watanabe, Isaiah Aleksenko, and Kean Pajarillaga, reached the medal round of their respective events on Day 1 of the swimming competition in the 2025 Pacific Mini Games in Palau Monday morning.
Marianas Press via NMSA
Team Marianas swimmers pose for a photo before plunging into the pool in Palau for their training session for the 2025 Pacific Mini Games last week.
Marianas Press via NMSA
