Guam paddlers went into cruise control in the 11th Micronesian Cup outrigger canoe competition held over the weekend in the waters off Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan.

In the sprint races on Saturday, Guam's Poksai ruled both the women's 1,500 and 500m events. Poksai timed in two minutes, 88.7 seconds in the 500m race to beat fellow Guam teams Animun Tasi Metgot (2:89.2) and Animun Tasi Fote (3:15.3). Poksai also finished first in the preliminary race with a better time of 2:88.02, followed by Metgot (2:89.03), Mas Foksai (3:14:01), Fote (3:20.79), Taotao Galaide (3:21.30), and Saipan's Fatuul (3:32.32). Mas Foksai (3:16.44) settled for fourth in the finals and Galaide (3:22.06) and Fatuul ( 4:15.04) remained in fifth and sixth places, respectively.

Poksai, Metgot and Fote had a similar 1-2-3 finish in the women's 1,500m finals with the eventual champion timing in at 9:43.7. Metgot submitted 9:78.8, while Fote clocked in at 10:29.01. Mas Fokai was fourth with a time of 10:44.91, followed by Galaide (11:07.53) and Fatuul (11:09.96).

In the men's division, Animun Tasi Metgot finished the 1,500m race in 8:60.5, beating Saipan Outrigger Canoe Club (8:66.27) and Haggan (8:68.8). SOCC topped Heat 1 of the preliminary race with a time of (8:66.50), while Metgot prevailed in Heat 2 (8:61.4). Palau's Waterfall and Guam's Napu Haga, and Guatdan Tasi finished in the Top 2 in the repechages to advance to the final race.

SOCC broke Guam's streak in the sprint races on Saturday when it won the men's 500m event. The host timed in at 2:45.6 to down Haggan (2:48.3) and Napun Haya (2:32.3). Fote and Metgot finished only fourth and fifth with their times of 2:34:58 and 2:37.6, while Guatdan Tasi was last at 2:44.37.

SOCC was faster in the preliminary race in Heat 1, as it recorded 2:32.78, while Haggan had the fastest time in the qualifier with 2:29.02. Napun Haya, Metgot, Fote, and Guatdan Tasi made it to the finals after winning in the repechages.

In the mixed event, Metgot swept the 500m and 1,500m races. In the 1,500m race, Metgot timed in at 9:10.81to prevail over Japan's Ohana Hoe (9:68.3) and Hong Kong's Lantau (9:78.5). In the shorter 500m race, Metgot whipped Ohana Hoe anew, with the former posting 2:87.7 against the latter's 3:04.13.Galaide completed the Top 3 with its 3:02.9.

The 12-mile long distance races were scheduled yesterday with Metgot winning against 10 other participants.

Metgot completed the exhausting race that brought paddlers out of the reef in 1:33:39, beating home favorite SOCC (1:35:04). Haggan finished third (1:39:29).

The women's long distance race had a neck-and-neck battle with Poksai winning over Metgot. Poksai timed in at 1:37:28, reaching the finish line less than a minute ahead of Metgot (1:38:10). Fote was third with its time of 1:47:36, followed by Fatuul (1:49:26), Mas Poksai (1:49:25), and Lantau (1:52:12).

The mixed event in the 12-mile race was also scheduled yesterday afternoon, but results were unavailable at press time.