THE ATENEO Blue and Lady Eagles completed the fifth and final day to conclude the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Track and Field tournament on Sunday, February 21 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig. The teams finished sixth and seventh place, respectively, in the overall tally, but managed to meet their personal goals and, thus, have kept positive about their UAAP performance.
Blue Eagles
Henry Gonzales and Miguel Guevara, together with last year’s 4x400m relay gold medalists Co-Captain Joel Magturo and Michael Ruiz, represented the Blue and White in the 4x400m relay and placed in fourth with a time of three minutes and 24 seconds. The record was not enough, however, as they missed out on a podium finish by two full seconds.
Despite failing to defend his 4x400m relay gold medal, Magturo was grateful that he extended to a fifth playing year. “I had my ups and downs, but it was really worth it to stay for another year—for my teammates, for my coaches, for the team,” he said.
Magturo also acknowledged the role of the new coaches in their improved performance. He also commended the efforts of Jeriel Apelar, Jose Vera Cruz, JB Capinpin, and Henry Gonzales, who participated in the men’s decathlon. In the overall tally, Capinpin and Gonzales placed second and third, respectively, with their performance contributing to almost half of the Blue Eagles’ total tally.
Meanwhile, in the 5,000m walk, Co-Captain Jethro Alba was struck by fatigue in the latter parts of his walk—a crucial handicap to overcome because of the event’s strict emphasis on form. Nevertheless, Alba was able to gut it out and place fourth in the event.
Lastly, rookie Julius Yim took part in the 5,000m and 1,500m distance runs, where he placed 12th and 15th, respectively.
Despite missing a podium finish, the Blue Eagles remain positive about what they have achieved. “We’re quite satisfied with [our overall performance],” said Head Coach Mick Perez. He also noted that the Men’s team doubled their overall point tally from last season.
Lady Eagles
The fifth day saw the Lady Eagles’ 4x400m relay team, composed of Dominique Crisostomo, Team Captain Georgia Martelino, Julia Sucgang, and Nicole Florendo, finish last in the final Women’s event of the tournament.
Prior to the start of the tournament, Martelino said that the target of the team was on their individual performances rather than on a specific overall position. This goal materialized through Kim Zulueta’s third place finish in the 100m dash, which ended the Lady Eagles’ medal drought.
The Blue and White ended the tournament with 17.5 points, good for seventh place at the conclusion of the tournament. Although they may not have improved their standing from last season, Martelino was proud of her team’s overall performance. “It was all heart,” she summed up.
Perez noted the improvement in the girls’ performance this time around, but acknowledged that there is more work to be done. “I’m taking two years to build this up,” Perez said.
One debilitating factor for the Women’s team was the fact that they were only composed of seven players, compared to a usual track and field team of 20. Due to this shortage, the team was only able to participate in six events out of the possible 25.
With a team full of rookies, Perez’s aim was simply to build on their experience from this tournament. Nevertheless, standout athletes like Zulueta are a sign of the team’s potential. “There’s definitely a lot of promise,” said Martelino.
The next tournament for the Blue and Lady Eagles will be the Philippine National Games on March 7, where they hope to continue building up their program in preparation for Season 79.
https://storify.com/TheGUIDONSports/tracksters-show-promise-to-end-season-78
