As they both bid adieu to their UAAP years, Ateneo tracksters Mike Mendoza and Zek Valera share with us the sport that they love, and their gold medal moment.
Mike Mendoza
The sound of a gunshot sent hopefuls zooming for the race of their lives at the 110m hurdles event. And in a matter of 15.04 seconds, a man had triumphantly gone down to his knees with a victory prayer at the end of the finish line.
That decisive moment culminates the decade-long track and field career of senior Mike Mendoza as he sealed his three-year reign of the said event.
“[For me,] that was the meaning of victory,” Mendoza says on his gold medal performance. “[It is] when you ask for nothing more.”
Mendoza’s entrance into the world of track and field was a serendipitous accident. Back in his elementary days in La Salle Greenhills, his athleticism was initially committed into being a midfielder for his school’s football team.
Consequently, at a PRADA (Private Schools Athletic Development Association) football match in 2000, Mendoza’s potential for being a reputable track and fielder was a spectacle before the very eyes of LSGH coach Winston Narvaez.
The coach wasted no time and invited Mendoza to be part of the track and field team. Fortunately, Mendoza obliged.
He was no instant superstar at the start of his venture into track and field. Aside from his initial impression on the new sport as boring, Mendoza claims that he was even the slowest member on the team. Yet that did not dishearten him from continuing the sport. Mendoza’s talent was evident; he had even landed atop the podium in his very first tournament.
As one medal led to another, so did his love for the sport. “My hesitance for the sport turned into an obsession—then eventually turned into love,” Mendoza says. “That is why I was able to let go of football and other affiliations.”
Due to his speed and endurance training in football, Mendoza was initially a long distance runner. However, his former team required more sprinters to secure a podium finish in the NCAA. Mendoza, being long-legged, proved to be an advantage as he was recommended by national record holder, coach Unso Renato, to be included in the sprinting trainings. Astonishingly, Mendoza turned out to be a stark sprinter and later, a notable hurdler.
Straight out of high school and into his first ever UAAP competition, Mendoza was yielded a spot in Ateneo’s hurdling roster after its best bet had undergone a severe injury. Right then and there was a priceless UAAP moment.
“After a positive intake of pressure and hard work, I won a silver medal. That medal was for all the succeeding gold medals I won,” Mendoza shared. “I learned that, ‘To be number one, you have to think and train like number two.’ “
Since then, Mendoza has been an all-around force in the oval; having excelled in hurdles, sprints and relays. He also holds the national hand time record for the 110 meter high hurdles set in PATAFA (Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association) at 14.56 seconds.
“I can say that I have left them with the confidence that the track team is here to stay,” Mendoza relays.
Mendoza’s years on the Ateneo track team may have come to an end but he has left his team and the Ateneo community a mark of hard work and greatness that he will take as he embarks on a new chapter of his life in med school.
“[Being in track and field has taught me to] never settle for second place,” Mendoza points out. “I want to leave a legacy not only through medals but with a message to all Ateneans that athletes like us feel honored to be recognized because we truly are motivated by all of you.”
Zek Valera
Before having a tight grip on the pole, Zek Valera was holding a basketball. Like any other sport enthusiast, being part of the Ateneo junior team had appealed to him. Unfortunately, he never made it past the tryouts. His last year in high school also meant that it was his final chance to actualize his dream. Yet it still did not end up the way he had wanted it to be.
“My dad told me that maybe this was not the right sport for me,” Valera says. “So I tried track and field.”
The sport was seemingly made for him as his high school coach immediately saw his potential for the pole vault event. With proper training and guidance, Valera acquired the event’s fundamentals and began experimenting on his own.
“In less than a year, I was winning medals, so I thought that maybe this is where my talents lie,” he narrates.
As he moved to the collegiate level of competition, coach Mick Perez made sure that Valera focused on the pole vault. And the rest is history.
Prior to his successful campaigns, Valera was medal-less. Under his belt were only silver medals from pre-UAAP tournaments. Driven by his hunger for the gold, Valera claimed Season 71 despite entering the competitions at a disadvantage.
Season 72, however, was a different story. About a month before the competition, Valera had sustained an injury from a bad fall in training and lost two precious weeks of conditioning.
“When I returned, I only had less than two weeks left. I did what I could, however,” Valera says. “Yet I came to the competition feeling less confident than I should be, but I did not show it to my teammates, lest they be disheartened as well.”
As UP’s Javier Gomez cleared the 4.00 and 4.10 m bar with no difficulty, the stadium resounded with a nervous cheering from the Blue-and-White crowd. For the second consecutive time, defending pole vault champion Valera was on the brink of elimination.
Onto his third attempt, Valera was not going to let such pressure get to him. The audience clapped their hands in support of him and held their breaths as he took off. Valera flew over the bar, landed safely on the cushion, and looked behind him. The bar remained unscathed.
As Gomez had failed to maintain his seemingly impeccable streak at the 4.20 meters, Valera seized the opportune moment for a sweet, hard-earned victory.
“I looked to the crowd and saw the people screaming,” he proudly says. “The tides have turned once more; I won the event.”
With that spectacular victory, team captain Zek Valera says good bye to his UAAP years. Hopefully, the leadership, strength of character and achievements he has displayed will set his team and alma mater to greater heights.
