THE ATENEO Blue and Lady Eagles completed Day 1 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Track and Field tournament on Wednesday, February 17 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
The first day started off well with Henry Gonzales, Jose Vera Cruz, Jeriel Apelar, and JB Capinpin representing the Blue and White in the decathlon. Capinpin, who would be unable to finish in the men’s pole vault event later in the day, topped the 1oom dash. Gonzales closely followed him at second while Vera Cruz and Apelar finished at 11th and 13th, respectively.
In the second decathlon event, the long jump, Vera Cruz finished at second, with Capinpin close behind at third. Meanwhile, Gonzales and Apelar finished at fifth and tenth, respectively.
The shotput decathlon event saw Capinpin also finish first while Apelar, Vera Cruz, and Gonzales finished at fifth, eighth, and ninth, respectively. With such impressive performances, the Ateneo has momentum as they look forward to the second day of the tournament.
On the other hand, Blue Eagles Joseph Bautista and Vicente Cuevas were unable to qualify for the final 100m dash, as they finished 19th and 20th, respectively. To make up for their teammates’ performance, Maui Ramos, and Leo Valera finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 100m heats. In the final 100m event, Valera ran 11.48 seconds and finished in eighth place while Ramos’ 11.00 second-run garnered him a bronze medal.
As for the 100m heats in the women’s division, Lady Eagles Kim Zulueta, Martie Bautista, and Team Captain Georgia Martelino took part in the 100m heats where Zulueta placed second at 12.40 seconds. Unfortunately, Bautista and Martelino would finish at 18th and 19th, respectively. However, in the final 100m dash, Zulueta, who finished the same event last year in sixth place, took home a bronze medal with a time of 12.65 seconds.
Lastly, Brittina Caneta could not get past 1.45m in the women’s high jump and finished in seventh place in the event.
The Blue and Lady tracksters’ output in the opening day reflected the potential that both teams have. With their results in the 100m dash, the Eagles have already improved from their performance last year, when they were unable to land a podium finish.
The UAAP Track and Field tournament will be held from February 17 to 21 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
