(NMSA) — The Northern Marianas Sports Association has announced the first recipients of the monthly awards for athletes for 2023 with three individuals making it to the honor roll.
Young weightlifter Jaden Andrew led the list of the February awardees after his impressive debut in the Guam National Youth/Junior/Senior Championships held at the Guam Army National Guard Readiness Center in Barrigada on Feb. 25. Andrew is awarded the Crown Plaza Resort Saipan-NMSA Male Student Athlete of the Month (for February) following his runner-up finish in the 55kg of the competition, outclassing several lifters who are twice his age. The 14-year-old and newcomer in the sport had a best snatch of 62kg and 82kg in the clean & jerk for a total of 144kg.
Another participant in the Guam competition, Leo Apelo, is recognized for his notable performance in the off-island event. He competed in the open 81kg weight class against three other lifters from Palau and host Guam and won the gold medal with his best snatch at 120kg and 145kg for clean & jerk for a total of 265kg. For this feat, the 13-year veteran is named the NMSA Male Athlete of the Month for February.
Rounding out the February honor roll is athletics’ Tania Tan, who represented the NMI to the World Athletics Cross Country Championships held in Bathurst, Australia and had record runs in collegiate races. Tan is named NMSA Female Athlete of the Month (for February) for resetting the NMI indoor record in the 3,000 race, as she clocked 10:18:81 in the Boston University David Hemery Valentine Invitational that took place in New York last Feb. 10 and 11. In the Atlantic 10 Indoor Track and Field Championships held last Feb. 25 and 26, the Fordham University student submitted 18:02.04 in the 5K event to reset the NMI mark anew. Before the Atlantic 10, Tan donned the NMI colors in the world championships in the Land Down Under last Feb. 18, raced against the world’s best runners, and timed in at 44:51 in the 10K event.
With Tan, Apelo, and Andrew earning the February honors, they are now qualified for the NMSA yearly awards in their respective categories. The NMSA also awards Female Student Athlete of the Month and Team of the Month and recognize the top performer of the year in its annual awards banquet. Last month, Isaiah Aleksenko and Zhimin Jin were named 2022 Student Athletes of the Year, while Tan, tennis’ Colin Sinclair and weightlifting’s Angel San Nicolas, David Barnhouse, Raymond Santos, Jason Limes, and Joey Colisao took the Athletes of the Year plum. The NMI baseball, tennis, and weightlifting teams were the Team of the Year.
NMSA-member federations nominate candidates for the monthly awards and they also select the winners per category.
Jaden Andrew
Leo Apelo
Tania Tan
