THE ATENEO Blue and Lady tracksters gathered 18 medals in the 2017 Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) annual tournament that formally ended on Sunday, December 10 at the ULTRA-PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

The Lady Eagles brought home 13 medals after the final tally. Co-captains Kim Zulueta and Kayla Yao acquired two silvers and a gold, respectively. Zulueta displayed her top-notch speed in both the Women’s 100m and 200m events, timing in at 12.45 and  25.70 seconds, respectively. Yao, on the other hand, grabbed a gold in the Women’s Pole Vault achieving 2.60m; fellow Lady Eagle Martha Capistrano finished with the same distance.

Although both were awarded gold medals during the ceremony on Sunday, December 10, Yao and Capistrano were listed as having won gold and silver, respectively, according to PATAFA’s official tally released on their Facebook group on December 14. The GUIDON reached out to a member of PATAFA, but no reply has been received as of writing.

In the U20 Girls Pole Vault event, sophomore Jia Kawachi took home the bronze with 2.70m, eclipsing even Yao’s and Capistrano’s records. Junior Nika Crisostomo grabbed the bronze in the U20 Girls 200m with 27.60s, but ranked 4th in the U20 Girls 400m event. Brittina Cañete also took the bronze medal in the Women’s High Jump with 1.55m—the distance that landed her the gold last year.

Former Captain Vanessa Baguiwet brought home a bronze in the Women’s Shot Put, achieving a distance of 10.9m; Baguiwet also tested her mettle in the Women’s Discus Throw, ranking 4th at 33.17m.

A number of rookies also stepped up to add to the medal haul. Viah Mostoles achieved a bronze in the Women’s 100m with a time of 13.12s. Kate Gohoc then brought home the silver in the U20 Girls High Jump with 1.35m. Freshman Isabella Artuz also claimed silver (2.90m), besting her teammate Kawachi in the U20 Girls Pole Vault.

Alex De Los Reyes competed in the U20 Girls Discus Throw, finishing at 6th. Meanwhile, Marga Delos Reyes competed in two U20 Girls events, winning bronze in the 1500m event with a time of 6:03:64 and striking gold in the 800m event (2:35:20).

After an outstanding performance from the Lady tracksters, Yao commented, “It’s not something that just comes out of nowhere; it’s just the result of our hard work as a team.”

Zulueta saw their results as a reason for optimism in the upcoming University Athletic Association of the Philippines season, especially with “a great set of rookies as well as the veterans improving.”

Meanwhile, the tracksters from Ateneo Men’s Track and Field garnered a total of five medals, four of which coming from rookies. Sandi Siongco finished with a silver at 1.85m in the U20 Boys High Jump while Miguel Villareal also took a silver with 11.3s in the U18 Boys 100m event. The team added another medal to the tally as Andrew Castañeda finished bronze in the Men’s 100m, clocking in at 11.27s. Mark Operario won the team’s only gold medal in the U20 Boys Pole Vault (3.80m).

Paolo Laxamana competed in both the U20 and U18 Boys Discus Throw, ranking eighth with 32.25m in both events. Hugh Chua also competed in both events and ranked 11th in both with a distance of 30.70m. Laxamana again suited up for the U20 hammer throw, ranking fourth (24.50m).

Sophomore Nate Rosal was the lone veteran to win a medal, finishing with a bronze (25.79m) in the U20 Boys Hammer Throw, while ranking 7th (43.50m) in the U20 Boys Javelin Throw.

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