ISLANDERS SWEEP CROSS COUNTRY ALL-ISLAND

By Derek Mandell

Green and gold reigned supreme through the winding trails of the Guam International Raceway in Yigo. The John F. Kennedy Islanders ran away with the top accolades of the 2014 IIAAG All-Island Cross Country Championships by capturing both boys and girls team trophies, as well as winning both individual All-Island titles. The Islanders capped-off a perfect season and finished their second consecutive year of winning both boys and girls team championships.

JFK’s girls had all five scoring runners in the top 10 to finish with an impressive 23 total points.  In fact, four JFK runners finished in the top five individual placings. The Guam High Panthers girls also had three runners in the top 10 to help them come away with the second place trophy with 43 points. The Okkodo Bulldog girls earned their first cross country trophy in their school’s history by finishing third with 88 points.

The Islander boys placed three runners in the top 10 to secure their place on the podium, finishing with 35 points overall.   The Panthers had their strongest race of the season and shocked the league by finishing in a second place with 71 points. The Panthers were defeated against Sanchez, FD, Okkodo, and JFK in the regular season, but managed to race well in the final race of the year. The Sanchez Sharks earned third place with 85 points and have become one of the top teams in the league for the second year in a row. The Sharks were also third for the boys in 2013.

JFK’s Robinson and Bowman win Individual Races

JFK senior Alison Bowman finished off her final high school cross country race with her first individual title, with a time of 21 minutes and 34 seconds. Bowman did not run cross country in 2013 and played volleyball instead. In 2012, Bowman finished second overall at the All-Island meet while representing Guam High.

Bowman was in a tight battle throughout the race with the runner-up, Jessica Buckwalter of Harvest, but pulled away in the final mile to finish on top.

“It’s such a mental battle and there’s just so many times that I just wanted to stop so bad, but you can’t,” said Bowman. “This whole team, we’re so mentally strong and there’s no way I was just going to let this go, no way.”

Buckwalter (22:04) held off JFK’s Maria Ollet (22:07) in a sprint to the finish to round up the top three.

“I think with a course like this, you have to stay strong and (Buckwalter) definitely scared me,” said Bowman. “I knew that I wasn’t going to let it go because I worked too hard during the season and just had to stay calm. It definitely was scary, but I think I handled it well.”

“I’m so proud of my team. Words can’t even describe how happy I am and how much credit I give to my team. We pushed each other this whole season and it really showed today,” Bowman added.

On the boys side, Andrew Robinson crushed the field my over 40 seconds to cruise to victory with a time of 18 minutes and 17 seconds. Robinson is a sophomore attending Guam Adventist Academy and competes for JFK.

“This is my first time (competing in the IIAAG league). I’ve been running for a couple of years, but I was real impressed by JFK’s coaching staff and teammates,” said Robinson. “It was fun and they really trained me and prepared me for this race.”

“The course was fun and challenging, I enjoyed it,” said Robinson. “It was a good race…I felt that once we got to the gravel area I tried to open up my stride and dig in a little bit to get away.”

The start of the race saw a number of runners taking off fast, but after around the ¾ mile marker, Robinson had separated himself from the field and steadily pulled away. When Robinson rounded the final turn, the second runner, JFK’s Karl Almoite (19:00) was nowhere in sight. Guam High’s Leon Bamba (19:06) was third.

““The course was fun and challenging, I enjoyed it,” said Robinson. “It was a good race…I felt that once we got to the gravel area I tried to open up my stride and dig in a little bit to get away.”

“I just want to thank God for the race and the outcome,” Robinson added.

Team Results

Boys/ Girls

• 1. JFK35 pts/ 1. JFK23 pts
• 2. Guam High71 pts/ 2. Guam High43 pts
• 3. Sanchez 85 pts/ 3. Harvest 88 pts

Individual Boys/Individual Girls

• 1st – Andrew Robinson (JFK) 18:171./ Alison Bowman (JFK)21:54
• 2nd – Karl Alomoite (JFK)19:002. /Jessica Buckwalter (Harvest)22:04
• 3rd – Ledn Bamb (Guam High)19:063. / Maria Ollet (JFK)22:07
• 4th – Jonah Jones (Harvest)19:124./ Quennie Agtarap (JFK)22:21
• 5th – Alfred McGuire (Guam High) 19:215./ Genina Criss-Piolo (JFK)22:24
• 6th – Aaron Castro (Sanchez)19:246./ Emma Sheedy (Guam High)22:26
• 7th – John Conducto (JFK)19:257./ Taloani Atoigue (Guam High)22:34
• 8th – Anthony Castro (Sanchez)19:268./ Kana Day (Harvest)23:14
• 9th – Takumi Simon (St. Johns)19:279./ Danielle Atoigui (Guam High)23:35
• 10th – Albert Linder (Southern)19:3110./ Lorraine Milan (JFK)23:36

PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

Islanders mascots taking a victory lap after both meets. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

The team gives a big hug to coach and athletic director Jay Antonio. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

Panthers Daniel Atoigue edges out Islanders Lorraine Milan at the finish line. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

(photo by Robert Balajadia)

Harvest Eagles Jessica Buckwalter finishes strong to grab 2nd place in the girls finish. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

Islanders Alison Bowman powering through the final stretch of the run. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

The JFK Islanders girls command an early race lead. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

(photo by Robert Balajadia)

Islanders Karl Joshua Almoite grabs 2nd place to give JFK a big standings lead. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

Islanders Andrew Robinson gives his team 1st place honors. (photo by Robert Balajadia)

(photo by Robert Balajadia)

The official start of the 2014 Cross Country All-Island Meet. (photo by Robert Balajadia)