Every student has their way of making college life exciting outside of getting papers and projects done. Activities involving physical challenges seem like a popular choice, at least for social work student Nathan Javier.

Expecting to graduate this semester, Javier uses the time he has engaging in powerlifting as a part of his schedule.

Powerlifting is an exercise that involves lifting heavy weights, usually with a barbell, in order to improve muscular strength and endurance. He spoke about the benefits of incorporating the gym into his routine.

“I feel a lot more energetic and a lot more disciplined in my school work. It’s like conditioning; go to gym, go to class, then do homework.” 

Javier has been powerlifting since August 2022 and aims to improve the amount of weight he can lift. 

“I’ve been wanting to work up to a two-plate bench, three-plate squat, and a four-plate deadlift. I would like to hit it before I graduate.” Javier mentioned. 

Although balancing school and fitness sounds difficult, Javier still manages to get quality training in between classes and a busy semester.  

“I know everyone’s time management is different and I know there are a lot of people that don’t like working out when they have more free time, but for me I like jam-packing it,” said Javier. “I like working out when I’m at my busiest, so when it’s the weekend, I have more time to myself.” 

However, it is not often that students can find the perfect opportunity to exercise. Nathan faces the challenges of juggling the demands of school work with the physical demands of the gym.

“Last semester was pretty hard. I could only work out for like three days on average for like an hour each,” he said.

With the pressures of midterms and presentations approaching, Javier values consistency over perfection.

“Consistency really is key, so if you work out once a week, as long as you keep going, you’ll get up there,” Javier mentioned. “Don’t let it discourage you when you don’t have that much time, just be as consistent as you can with everything going on in your life.”

The post Barbells and Bachelor’s Degrees appeared first on The Triton's Call.

The Triton Esports Chess Team was newly founded this semester and spearheaded by Triton Esports manager, Ken San Nicholas. Players with various levels of experience all found their way onto the team by applying through the Triton Esports website. 

So far, the team has competed against two colleges since the beginning of the year.

The team fell short to Fresno State University, but they managed to get their first win against Pepperdine University, with a score of 7.5-8.5.

Kaelan Arciaga, a junior at UOG and current member of the chess team, led the Tritons to their first victory of the season and shares his experience on his first collegiate win.

“[The matches] were really fun. I really enjoyed the times we had matches. Watching my teammates play, watching ourselves play, and looking at how we failed and how we succeeded–there are really amazing matches that I wish more people at UOG could have seen. Hopefully, we get to stream them so people can watch them,” said Arciaga.

What began as a simple board game for the players eventually evolved into an opportunity to develop their teamwork skills and represent their university on a national level. For Kaelan, it means improving and learning from each moment in the game.

“I thought I was going to lose heavily but during the second match, I saw the mistakes I made and the mistakes my opponent made. It created a challenging yet fun experience that I can do some more.”

The Chess Team practices every Saturday at 2pm, in conjunction with the Chess Federation of Guam. 

The post A New Year for UOG Chess appeared first on The Triton's Call.

Behind-the-scenes labor is equally crucial. and here at the University, the coaches and staff focus on preparing student-athletes for their futures both mentally and physically. This article discusses the importance of behind-the-scenes labor for student-athletes during and after training. 

How Do You Handle Class and Studying?

Student-athletes, like the rest of us, frequently wake up exhausted, but the most successful ones—like the Lady Triton’s Volleyball Team in this story— learned a few life lessons while attending the University of Guam. 

They discovered that cultivating a dynamic mentality is the key to finding the “balance” that our culture obsesses over in terms of life, education, hobbies, and challenges. 

Rebecca Salas, a middle blocker and outside hitter for the Lady Triton’s Volleyball Team, revealed how she achieves and maintains balance in her life. 

“I focus on school when I am not on the court. On motivated days, I study before, between, and after my classes. When I know my coursework for the following week, I space out my work to allow myself free time for leisure activities like social media, shopping, and more volleyball,” said Salas.

How Do You Take Care of Yourself?

When you are a student-athlete, it can be easy to get swept up in the excitement of training and competition. But even though their training sessions are exhilarating, they still need to push themselves physically and mentally in preparation for times when they need to perform at their best.

If they want to succeed, practice isn’t something they should only do when it is convenient or expected of them; it needs to be a regular part of their routine.

One vital aspect of behind-the-scenes work is taking care of their bodies. 

Georgette Mateo, a middle blocker for the Lady Triton’s Volleyball Team, gave us her take on how she incorporates external preparation alongside her required training sessions.

“I make a conscious choice to not indulge in unhealthy beverages or food, especially if I know that I’m going to be doing any training or workout. I make sure to drink a lot of water throughout the day and try to consume more electrolytes to keep myself hydrated,” Mateo said. “However, I feel that it’s important to have a healthy relationship with food and if I want to seek out a burger from Wendy’s or McDonald’s, I will not feel bad about it.”

At the End of the Day, Why is it Important to Enjoy the Behind-The-Scenes Process?

As a student-athlete, it is important to remember that success is not just about winning or achieving your goals. It is also about taking pride in every step while you are endeavoring behind-the-scenes and embracing the process. If you can enjoy the journey and the fruits of your labor then you will find fulfillment in being an athlete.

The post Behind-The-Scenes: Lady Triton’s Volleyball Team appeared first on The Triton's Call.

The Tritons faced off against Team MIBBC in the night’s first matchup. The Tritons took the initiative in the first half of the game, ending the first quarter 18-8 and continuing the double-digit lead to the end of the half at 37-20 according to a press release.

The Tritons doubled the score in the third quarter, ultimately shutting down MIBBC 80-34.

Cori-Nicole Paulino led the Tritons in scoring with 22 points, most of which came within the three-point arc. Tar Takasy led MIBBC with 14 points.

Acdavate took on BallHers in an action packed second game of the night. Acdavate ended the first quarter with a 22-9 lead against Ballhers. However, Ballhers answered back in the second quarter, ultimately taking the lead 36-31 ending the first half of play.

The second half saw Acdavate regain the lead in the third with multiple lead changes happening during the fourth quarter. Acdavate came out on top with the final run of the match, winning over Ballhers 66-60.

Jia Peters led Acdavate with 22 points while Angelique Sahagon scored 17 points for the BallHers.

Acdavate and the Lady Tritons are tied for second place in the Global Learning Super League with matching 5-2 records.

The post Lady Tritons, Acdavate tie for second in Global Learning Super League appeared first on The Triton's Call.

The Tritons started the day off strong in their first game against the Outbackerz; going 44-10 in the first half. Tristan Valdes of the Tritons led the team in scoring, generating 14 points to help give the team the 75-34 victory.

The team lost to Dosidos in their second game of the day, taking a lead at half-time 22-15 according to a press release. Dosidos started the second half strong, cutting the Triton’s lead down to 22-21, ultimately taking the game and eliminating the Tritons 41-37.

The Tritons’ Logan Hopkins led the team in scoring with 16 points, with the team ranking fourth place of eight teams with a 2-2 record.

The post Tritons fall to Dosidos, ending “Take It To The South 3” tournament run appeared first on The Triton's Call.

This year’s Super Bowl LVI had the Los Angeles Rams competing against the Cincinnati Bengals for a shot at the Lombard trophy. Hard work and training were displayed by both teams in preparation for the game. Both teams had a somewhat successful last week of the regular season.  

The Rams were sitting at the top of their division with a record of 7-2, while on the other hand, the Bengals had a record of 10-7 to finish the regular season. When discussing a strategic offense, the Rams come to mind with their powerhouse of offensive players.  

Matthew Stafford was a vital key for winning the Super Bowl as he read the defense play by play and was able to execute offensive plays. Aaron Donald on the defense was breaking through the line giving the Bengals a hard time  gaining yardage. Although the Rams’ head coach, Sean McVay, was mainly calling run plays, Stafford was still able to make big plays by getting the ball in the air. 

Many experts asked if Joe Burrows could handle the pressures of the Super Bowl. Maxon William, a communications major, stated, “ Stafford probably has more pressure on him as he has been in the game longer, but I believe Joe Burrows works better under pressure.” The Rams’ offensive line has Brian Allen, Andrew Whitworth, and Tremayne Anchrum Jr., who give Stafford enough time to get the ball out. Odell Beckham Jr. and Cooper Kupp worked well together, but sadly Beckham tore his ACL late in the second quarter, which had him benched for the rest of the game. 

Roland San Nicholas, a UOG librarian, stated, “Cooper Kupp is the best wide receiver in the NFL, hands down. He won the triple crown of WRs with the most catches, yards, and TDs. He will be almost impossible to cover if Matt Stafford is on.” San Nicholas predicted that the score would be Rams, 30-27, but the final score ended with 23-20, Rams. 

The post A Look into Super Bowl LVI  appeared first on The Triton's Call.

The beginning of the year has been quite eventful for the organization so far. Under the new management of Latte Esports president, Ken San Nicolas, the months to follow look good for the organization and those involved, with many events planned for the semester.   

“It’s a busy year, and there’s a lot to do moving forward. The first two years of the program was kind of more of an orientation. We were trying new things to what sticks- now that we’re a few years in, we have a clear direction on where we want to go, and now it’s just trying to make it to the finish line for the goals we’ve set.” San Nicolas explained.  

Among the many events planned for this semester, the most significant is a month-long series of weekly tournaments to be held in March to celebrate the 70^th Anniversary of the University of Guam. The tournaments will be open to all and will be free to enter, encouraging everyone interested in joining to participate. Along with the tournaments, Fridays are also scheduled to showcase games to promote the organization’s athletes by competing in exhibition matches against some of the island’s best players.  

Prizes for tournaments are still to be announced, but San Nicolas hinted that they will be big and definitely something to look forward to.  

The new National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) season has also begun, and the University of Guam’s varsity esports teams will be competing in Counter Strike, Smash, and League of Legends. With Valorant not being one of the games this season, some of the members of last semester’s Valorant team switched over to CSGO but they are set to transition back to Valorant in about two months, said San Nicolas.  

Now that the organization has pushed its teams to compete full-time at NACE, competing at the collegiate level can be intimidating. 

 It is usually the first few games of the season where nerves are at an all-time high.  

According to Jonah Hermosilla, “It was a surreal experience for me since it was my first time competing against another collegiate team. We ultimately lost due to nervousness and not enough confidence.”   

Although the League of Legends team did not win their first game of the season, they still has their heads high and are doing a lot to improve their game moving forward.  

“The team’s plan moving forward is to improve continually each week both in-game and as student-athletes in our respective communities.” League of Legends team captain, Ivan Rosell said.  

The athletes are looking forward to another semester of competition and enjoy the challenges that competition brings.   

The post An Exciting Semester Ahead for Triton E-Sports   appeared first on The Triton's Call.

Only 25 racers at a time can enjoy the race using GPS to keep record due to Coronavirus safety guidelines. 

The difficulty of this 20.62-kilometer course depends on where racers ride. 

“It is easy to ride near flat and grassy trails,” federation president Eric Tydingco said. “But rocky areas with steep drops have a small margin for error.” 

Some  racecourses can be walked, depending on racer level, particularly the rocky Channel 10 trail, according to Tydingco.

Tydingco also mentioned that new members almost doubled during the pandemic, and sponsoring bicycle shops have seen a high rise in sales while  keeping up with the demand. 

“One of the reasons is that people not utilizing a gym to keep social distance have started mountain biking,” Tydingco said. “Mountain bike riders can get more private space without cars and people.”  

Each participant gets an event shirt with their $15 fee. People can contact the federation home page to register and preview the racecourse. 

Online registration will close at 10 a.m. on Feb. 28.

The post Virtual Blackjack Mountain Bike Race will be held Feb. 20-28 appeared first on The Triton's Call.

The triathlon was the first off-road XTRAIL challenge in five years.

James Sardea, owner of Urban Fitness and organizer of the event, works to keep Guam moving and active in spite of the pandemic. 

“People really miss it,” Sardea said, regarding the experience of participating in challenges like the triathlon. 

He emphasized how the experience was different compared to those that were not restricted by the pandemic. The allotted number of participants was kept low to maintain social distancing guidelines.

The event was split into two categories: 10 competitive personal goal participants and 10 recreational personal goal participants. 

Athletes dove head-first into the event, starting with a 1000-yard swim at the Lotte Triangle by Tumon Beach. 

They then made their way up to the Two Lovers Point Trail, circling two laps around the northern part of the track. 

After returning to the starting point at Lotte Hotel transition parking, participants ran from Gun Beach to Ypao Beach, finishing off by running the road back to the start.

First place finisher of the challenge and longtime triathlon competitor, Cameron O’Neal, enjoyed another experience of challenging himself and pushing the limits with familiar faces.

“There’s a lot of support too,” O’Neal said. “I’ve got friends that weren’t in the race, but still came out to support. That’s the goodness of a tight-knit community like this.”

The triathlon started at 6:30 a.m., but participants finished to their own accord.

Each one received a finishers medal, an SMG BOCO endurance hat, an Urban Fitness Sports towel, and a UGM race pack for completing the challenge.

The post A Natural Cycle: Local athletes join the XTRAIL Triathlon Challenge appeared first on The Triton's Call.

Southern Mountain Gear is a company founded by Daniel and Aaron Holmes, providing quality hiking and adventure gear for long time or beginner hikers. 

An event that began 14 months ago has prospered through the pandemic, despite the condition of the island and the social distancing rules mandated by the government.

“Really just a sense of community and get fit kinda exercising,” Aaron said. 

This event is geared towards the individuals who feel trapped at home and are looking for a sense of escape to focus their minds on other things.

“I think that sense of community is super helpful for people right now.” Aaron said. “We really wanted to do everything we could to still proceed with that.”

After the 5k, runners socialized and drank cold beverages near the Guam Museum, in front of their shop, while they followed social distancing protocols. To stay up to date with their latest announcements and events, you can visit their Instagram page @southernmountaingear or visit their website at https://www.southernmountaingear.com/.

The post Get Ready, Get Set, Go!: 5k Run Night appeared first on The Triton's Call.