Run Saipan hosted an awards ceremony for the age group winners of the 3rd Annual Grotto 10K last Tuesday at the Oleai Sports Complex.
Not only were Top 3 overall in the men’s and women’s division were awarded, but age groups of the U18, open, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, and 65+ were awarded as well.
Takeru Jim was the fastest in the 18U men’s division with a time of 46:11; Samuel Zhu was right behind at 47:50; and third went to Yong Jun Lin at 49:11. In the U18 women’s division, Lovel Spaeth was first at 1:17:20, while Janika Fernandez was second at 1:48:06.
Jordan Ruiz was first in the men’s open division with a time of 47:17. Philip Santos was second at 55:32, and Dominique Keiffer was third at 59:37.
In the women’s open division, Jove Taman was the fastest at 1:17:31, while Angelina Philips placed second with 1:30:13. Tanya Timbas was third at 1:41:06.
For the 35-39 women’s age group, Kerri Bauer led with her time of 1:02:33. Samantha Pua was second place with 1:29:57, and third was Lucinda Johnson with 1:30:13.
In the 40-44 men’s age group, Travis Spaeth was first with his time of 59:50, while Toby Watson was second with 1:20:54. In the female division, Sheila Isla claimed first place with a time of 1:05:26, followed by Ali Nelson at 1:07:45, and Robyn Spaeth at third with 1:09:24.
In the 45-49 men’s age group, Paul Manglona was the fleetest afoot at 59:52. Jess Gariguez was a far second place at 1:18:35, and Steve McKagan was third with 1:19:37. In the women’s division, Rosemarie Chisato was first with her time of 1:00:52. Qiuxiang Chen was second place with 1:23:53, and Lorraine Ada was third at 1:37:45.
Chong Jun Gao finished first in the 50-54 men’s age group with a time of 51:21. James Abuy came in second at 54:22, while third place was Raymund Tolentino at 57:12. In the women’s division, Kimiko McKagan’s time of 1:07:46 landed her in first place. Mei Hua Jin was second with 1:10:15, and Rebecca Wiggins was third at 1:18:57.
In the 55-59 women’s age group, Jin Zi Wen was first place with her time of 1:06:40. Guijie Sun Kilileman was second with 1:29:45, and Zhenyu Quan came in third with 1:17:34. Marie Sablan was the lone runner in the 60-64 women’s age group and came in at 1:21:54.
In the 65+ men’s age group, barefoot runner Chong Nam Lee was first with his time of 53:58. Paul Khang was second at 1:04:40, while another barefoot runner, Changhwan Jang came in third at 1:23:52. In the women’s division, Jennifer Retsinas was first at 1:11:56, and Juanita Fajardo finished second with 1:45:34.
Run Saipan race director Simon Necesito was the main organizer of the event as Run Saipan president Edward Dela Cruz Jr. is the team official for the NMI in the 2024 Oceania Athletics Championships in Suva, Fiji.
Necesito said of the race, “This event was definitely was a test of my role as a race director. Out of all the races I’ve done so far this was one of the hardest. What made it challenging was the fact that we had more runners participating in this event compared to the previous years. But I see this as a good problem because more people in the community get to see that Run Saipan encourages all people of different ages and skills, whether or not you run or walk.”
He then thanked Dela Cruz for having the confidence in him and assisting him throughout the process. “I am for certain that if not for the experience that I’ve had running alongside him in the operation side of things I wouldn’t have been able to run this as smoothly as it did. I also want to thank OneTime for being able to assist us in ensuring that our races went smoothly and that our runners get accurate times for their records,” said Necesito.
The sponsor of the race was AP Group LLC., which includes DreamPlay, Napu Brewing Co., Tapped Out, AP Energy, AP Solutions, NF-Xpress, along with IT&E and Run Saipan partners Northern Marianas Athletics and Saipan International School.
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