The Saipan Southern High School Manta Rays were the first to cross the finish line, while Hopwood Junior High School and Whispering Palms School topped their divisions as the teams conquered the 2006 All Schools Road Relay early yesterday morning.

Gary Camacho, John Pangelinan, Irwin Taitano, Lawrence Echon, and David Bautista were phenomenal for the Manta Rays, as the five tackled the 5.5-mile course in just 33:52 to finish ahead of everyone and win the high school division crown.

Finishing a close second place were Matt Manacao, Champ Untalan, Nate Mateo, Rezne Wong, and female Jacque Wonenberg of the Marianas High School Dolphins, as they combined for a sterling time of 34:06.

For their part, the Tinian Junior and Senior High School team will be returning home with something to be happy about as the team placed third after clocking in at 35:15. The crew comprised of Donnie Dosalua, Prince Evangelista, Craig Borja, Marton Conner, and Marvin Kiyoshi.

Also taking part in the high school division were Kagman High School (35:38), two other Manta Ray teams (37:18 and 45:46), and Saipan International School (47:36). Kagman had placed fourth despite suiting up only four runners, with Allen Moses running two miles instead of one. Other members include Francisco Dillay, Chris Santos, and Ben Kintaro.

Meanwhile, Hopwood Junior High School topped the junior high division by crossing the finish line in 42:12, while Whispering Palms School placed second in 50:26.

Whispering Palms School, however, had three teams compete in the elementary division, and all three finished ahead of other schools. Rules, however, state that only one team per school will place among top winners, and with that, the combination of Ilia Corella, Gabrielle Race, Ryan Baron, R.J. Knecht, and Amber Roberts were able to take top honors with a time of 41:15.

Whispering Palms also finished with the second and third best times (47:39 and 49:45). Members of the two teams include Michaela Grandinetti, Clay McCullough-Stearns, Jake Lee, Phalai Frink, Christian Miller, Crosby Schultz, Annalise Livingston, Kenyon Schultz, Ashley Northen, and Opal Northen.

Posting the fourth best time and receiving second place honors were Joshua Tured, Bo Barry, Andrew Johnson, Pedro Tenorio, and Angelo Jones of Saipan International School, who combined for a time of 50:30. Just a second back was Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School, which finished in 50:31 courtesy of Brandon Dela Cruz, Josiah Orlando, Richard Satorno, Randy Camacho, and Desmond Abraham.

Northern Marianas Athletics, which organized the event, also presented special prizes to Kagman Elementary School and Kagman High School for competing.

All first place teams received $100 gift certificates for school supplies, plus free safety inspection and $75 worth of service on fire extinguishers courtesy of Safety 1st Systems (Saipan) Inc. The Whispering Palms elementary crew also received an extra $25 for sweeping their division courtesy of anonymous donor.

Second place winners took home $75 gift certificates for school supplies, while third place winners won $50 gift certificates. The two Kagman schools were also presented with $25 gift certificates for competing.

In all, 80 runners took part in the relay, which began at Lower Base and concluded with a 500m run on the track and field oval at the Oleai Sports Complex.