By Robert Balajadia
The 2021 All-Island Cross Country meet went down at Two Lovers Point Thursday evening with the Guam High Panthers sweeping both the boys and girls titles. Panther Alex Rink finished his senior season as the first place finisher for the boys while St. John’s Knight Jordan Baden topped the girls list.
Rink was in a battle all race long with last years All-Island winner in St. John’s Knight Alex Clark. Rink finished the final 400m of the race pulling away from Clark to take the top spot with a time of 18:16.08. After finishing as high as 10th in previous meets, coming in first while leading his team to a title was a special sendoff for his final year.
“Some people might say that this is a stress reliever, like having a big burden taking off your shoulders, but today was a chance to show everyone the four-year experience that I’ve had and what coach Joe Taitano had taught me,” said Rink reflecting on his performance.
Preparation for the big race started a week in advance for Rink to ensure that he and his team were able to perform to the best of their ability.
“We had to stay away from fast food and just listened to what coach was telling us. We drank water with high PH all week and we were tapering all week so our practices were easier because we didn’t want to spend any energy that we didn’t need to,” said Rink on All-Island prep.
The Panthers captured spots 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, and 10 to secure their victory in the boys division. The lady Panthers took key spots in 2, 3, 5, and 9 with their top finisher Keira Paz coming in a minute behind St. John’s Baden at 21:43.31.
Baden topped all female runners with a 20:52.68, leaving everything she had in the race. Baden was unavailable for post race interviews due to recovering from the run.
Final Team Standings
Boys
Guam High – 22
St. John’s – 48
FD – 75
Harvest – 98
Girls
Guam High – 32
St. John’s – 46
Harvest – 67
Academy – 77
FULL RESULTS POSTED BELOW PHOTO GALLERY
The boys division burst out the starting line in the IIAAG All Island Cross Country race. (Photo by Michael Blas)
GHS Panther Alex Rink leads at the midway point. (Photo by Michael Blas)
GHS Panther Anthony Pellosma crosses the midway point of the race. (Photo by Michael Blas)
GHS Panther runners pace themselves as they make the halfway mark turn. (Photo by Michael Blas)
HCA Eagle Elijah Dixon makes the turn at the half way mark of the race. (Photo by Michael Blas)
SJS Knight Jacob Jackson makes his way up the steady incline. (Photo by Michael Blas)
Runners begin making their move at the midway point of the race. (Photo by Michael Blas)
FD Friar Francis Pastones paces himself as he passes the midway marker. (Photo by Michael Blas)
GHS Panther Alex Rink celebrates crossing the finish line in first place. (Photo by Michael Blas)
SJS Knight Alex Clark finishes strong as he comes in second place. (Photo by Michael Blas)
GHS Panther Trayton Crandell sprints towards the finish line. (Photo by Michael Blas)
SJS Knight Alex Clark and company recover after a fast paced race. (Photo by Michael Blas)
GACS Starfish Reason Sanford makes his way on the final stretch of the race. (Photo by Michael Blas)
The girls division kicks off as runners blaze out the starting line. (Photo by Michael Blas)
SJS Knight Jordan Baden leads at the midway point of the race. (Photo by Michael Blas)
GHS Panther Keira Paz closes the distance at the midway point. (Photo by Michael Blas)
GHS Panther Avrie Farrington turns at the half way mark. (Photo by Michael Blas)
SJS Knight Franchesca Villagomez picks the pace up at the midway point. (Photo by Michael Blas)
GHS Panther Rebekah Stringham paces herself as she passes the midway mark. (Photo by Michael Blas)
Runners make their way up the steady incline. (Photo by Michael Blas)
Runners make their way up the midway point. (Photo by Michael Blas)
SJS Knight Jordan Baden sprints towards the finish line for first palce. (Photo by Michael Blas)
GHS Panther Keira Paz finishes second overall. (Photo by Michael Blas)
GHS Panther Avrie Farrington finishes third overall. (Photo by Michael Blas)
SJS Knight Franchesca Villagomez sprint towards the finish line for fourth place. (Photo by Michael Blas)
GHS Panther Rebekah Stringham celebrates with family after finishing in the top five. (Photo by Michael Blas)
SJS Knight Jordan Baden receives assistance after a fast paced race. (Photo by Michael Blas)
The boys B team make their way out the starting line. (Photo by Michael Blas)
The 2021 IIAAG All Island Cross Country Meet kicked off Thursday afternoon at Two Lover's Point. (Photo by Michael Blas)
The 2021 IIAAG All Island Cross Country Meet kicked off Thursday afternoon at Two Lover's Point. (Photo by Michael Blas)
The 2021 IIAAG All Island Cross Country Meet kicked off Thursday afternoon at Two Lover's Point. (Photo by Michael Blas)
The 2021 IIAAG All Island Cross Country Meet kicked off Thursday afternoon at Two Lover's Point. (Photo by Michael Blas)
IIAAG All-Island 2021 Boys
Name Yr Team Time Pts
1 Alex Rink 12 Guam High School 18:16.08 1
2 Alex Clark 10 St. John 18:24.44 2
3 Trayton Crandell 11 Guam High School 18:43.52 3
4 Anthony Pellosma Guam High School 19:10.88 4
5 Adam Cruz 12 St. John 19:25.54 5
6 Mitchell Westlund 9 Guam High School 19:40.75 6
7 Elijah Dixon 9 Harvest Christian Ac 19:45.55 7
8 Ronan Perry 12 Guam High School 19:51.47 8
9 Sean Muller 11 Guam High School 20:04.81 9
10 Hunter Zinz 9 Guam High School 20:14.83 10
11 Jacob Jackson 10 St. John 20:42.38 11
12 Francis Pastones 11 Father Duenas Memori 20:56.36 12
13 Bas Schils 11 Father Duenas Memori 21:00.42 13
14 Tim Hutapea 11 St. John 21:03.88 14
15 Christian Arriola 11 Father Duenas Memori 21:34.93 15
16 Bubba Sullivan 10 St. John 21:43.99 16
17 Breyton Sison 10 Father Duenas Memori 21:44.66 17
18 Cameron Arriola 9 Father Duenas Memori 21:47.84 18
19 Daniel Ohno 9 Harvest Christian Ac 21:54.33 19
20 Luca Flores 11 St. John 22:09.95 20
21 Jurien Limtiaco 11 Father Duenas Memori 22:17.78 21
22 Troyton Prins 9 Harvest Christian Ac 22:30.59 22
23 Ziah Afalgue 11 Father Duenas Memori 22:56.80 23
24 Tony Tran 9 Harvest Christian Ac 24:38.61 24
25 Joshua Chun 9 St. John 25:22.85 25
26 Qarmejlo Arciaga 9 Harvest Christian Ac 25:35.77 26
27 Dre Muna 11 Guahan Charter 26:07.64
28 Koren Espia 9 Harvest Christian Ac 26:55.43 27
29 Reason Sanford 11 Guahan Charter 28:51.94
30 Jesse Manglona 11 Guahan Charter 29:47.55
31 Charles Wei 11 Harvest Christian Ac 30:40.46 28
32 Noah Tabunar 11 Guahan Charter 36:39.60
IIAAG All-Island 2021 Boys Team Scores
Team Pts 1 2 3 4 5 (6) (7)
1 Guam High School 22 1 3 4 6 8 9 10
Total Time: 1:35:43 Average: 19:08.54 1-5 Split: 1:36
2 St. John 48 2 5 11 14 16 20 25
Total Time: 1:41:21 Average: 20:16.05 1-5 Split: 3:20
3 Father Duenas Memori 75 12 13 15 17 18 21 23
Total Time: 1:47:05 Average: 21:24.85 1-5 Split: 52
4 Harvest Christian Ac 98 7 19 22 24 26 27 28
Total Time: 1:54:25 Average: 22:52.97 1-5 Split: 5:51
IIAAG All-Island 2021 Girls
Name Yr Team Time Pts
Girls
1 Jordan Baden 11 St. John 20:52.68 1
2 Keira Paz 11 Guam High School 21:43.31 2
3 Avrie Farrington 9 Guam High School 22:11.95 3
4 Franchesca Villagomez 10 St. John 23:37.68 4
5 Rebekah Stringham 11 Guam High School 23:46.30 5
6 Shiyori Shibahata 9 Harvest Christian Ac 24:53.13 6
7 Annabel Taylor 11 Harvest Christian Ac 24:57.89 7
8 Olivia Hughes 9 Harvest Christian Ac 25:28.64 8
9 Genevieve Nelson 11 Guam High School 25:33.53 9
10 Maeva Conroy 10 St. John 25:53.97 10
11 Taylor Santos 10 Academy of Our Lady 26:07.06 11
12 Rian-Anne Guzman 12 Academy of Our Lady 26:27.40 12
13 Kaila Castro 10 Guam High School 27:04.64 13
14 Raylene DeBenedictis 9 St. John 27:10.35 14
15 Veronica Fernandez 11 Academy of Our Lady 27:12.00 15
16 Alexandria Levy 10 Guam High School 27:40.08 16
17 Kasey Xu 11 St. John 27:58.25 17
18 Catalina Perez 10 Guam High School 28:39.18 18
19 Phoebe Pangelinan 10 Guahan Charter 28:43.61
20 Tyra Duenas 9 Academy of Our Lady 29:15.03 19
21 Nierra Ubaldo 12 Academy of Our Lady 29:15.70 20
22 Lola Martin 12 Academy of Our Lady 29:50.88 21
23 Alicia Murday 9 Harvest Christian Ac 29:59.01 22
24 Bailey Cepeda 12 Academy of Our Lady 30:29.62 23
25 Sanford Trinity 9 Guahan Charter 31:05.04
26 Kaley Gutierrez 9 Harvest Christian Ac 31:13.31 24
27 Melody Moyer 9 Harvest Christian Ac 31:30.34 25
28 Rhianalynn Rivera 9 Guahan Charter 32:38.36
29 Clara Arcilla 10 St. John 33:34.19 26
30 Zoe Ayala 11 St. John 34:29.99 27
Girls IIAAG All-Island 2021 Girls Team Scores
Team Pts 1 2 3 4 5 (6) (7)
1 Guam High School 32 2 3 5 9 13 16 18
Total Time: 2:00:20 Average: 24:03.95 1-5 Split: 5:22
2 St. John 46 1 4 10 14 17 26 27
Total Time: 2:05:33 Average: 25:06.59 1-5 Split: 7:06
3 Harvest Christian Ac 67 6 7 8 22 24 25 -
Total Time: 2:16:32 Average: 27:18.40 1-5 Split: 6:21
4 Academy of Our Lady 77 11 12 15 19 20 21 23
Total Time: 2:18:18 Average: 27:39.44 1-5 Split: 3:09
IIAAG All-Island 2021 B
Name Yr Team Time Pts
Girls
1 Madeline Musser 10 Guam High School 29:06.36
2 Chloe Matro 9 Guam High School 29:25.43
3 Eden Van Orman 9 Guam High School 29:34.29
4 Katrina Padayhag 11 Guam High School 30:07.12
5 Lulu Shao 11 St. John 45:13.97
Boys
1 Yadiel Figueroa 10 Guam High School 20:34.60 1
2 Aidan Puga 10 Guam High School 21:19.93 2
3 Judah Alcantara 9 Guam High School 21:51.21 3
4 Evan Flanagan 10 Guam High School 21:57.89 4
5 Ryan Douglas 10 Father Duenas Memori 22:02.46 5
6 Landon Brewster 9 Father Duenas Memori 23:20.32 6
7 Dane Santos 10 Guam High School 23:34.96 7
8 Landon Alegre 12 Father Duenas Memori 23:51.12 8
9 Ian Gaza 9 Father Duenas Memori 23:52.26 9
10 Zachary Diaz 12 Father Duenas Memori 24:09.20 10
11 John Austria 10 Father Duenas Memori 24:46.54 11
12 Tristan Mendiola 12 Father Duenas Memori 25:12.12 12
13 Jordan Guzman 9 Father Duenas Memori 25:25.67
14 Luke Taisipic 12 Father Duenas Memori 25:38.35
15 Ryan Marutani 9 St. John 26:48.21
16 Mark Wang 11 St. John 27:18.50
17 Jared Anulao 12 Father Duenas Memori 28:08.78
18 Jeremey Tang Father Duenas Memori 29:23.95
19 Alphius Dela Rojo 11 Father Duenas Memori 29:43.49
20 Mike Zhu 11 St. John 30:13.70
21 Elijah Dungca 9 Harvest Christian Ac 30:18.31
22 Kaleb Duvall 9 Harvest Christian Ac 33:03.36
Boys IIAAG All-Island 2021 B Team Scores
Team Pts 1 2 3 4 5 (6) (7)
1 Guam High School 17 1 2 3 4 7 - -
Total Time: 1:49:19 Average: 21:51.72 1-5 Split: 3:01
2 Father Duenas Memori 38 5 6 8 9 10 11 12
Total Time: 1:57:16 Average: 23:27.08 1-5 Split: 2:07
Volleyball
SHARKS DROWN GECKOS TO STAY UNBEATEN
Volleyball
SHARKS DROWN GECKOS TO STAY UNBEATEN
Running/Track
PANTHERS GIRLS DOMINATE, SAKAGUCHI SHINES
COMING SOON …
QUICK HITS
Our Guam women’s national rugby team took 3rd place in the Asia Rugby Emirates Tournament 22-19 over Indonesia in Nepal.
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Keith and Kent Espinosa, aboard the Jernie III, won the biggest prize in the Ambros 75th Anniversary Fishing Derby. Their 175-lb. marlin won them $7500.
