THE ATENEO Blue and Lady Eagles had breakthrough performances in Day 3 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 80 Track and Field Championship on Friday, February 9, at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
Blue Eagles
The Blue Eagles opened Day 3 on a high note with rookie Nate Rosal winning a bronze medal in the Javelin Throw. Recording a distance of 49.66m, the rookie from La Salle Greenhills took home the men’s first medal of the season.
His fellow rookies also competed in the throw, with Sandi Siongco ranking 10th at 37.11m, Miggy Austria ranking 14th at 33.84m, and Carlo Ferrer ranking last at 31.72m.
The next event was the 4x100m relay, where veterans Maui Ramos and Leo Valera ran alongside rookies Miggy Villareal and Rafael Dylim. The four-man squad achieved a time of 44.32s, slightly slower compared to last year’s 43.56s, and ranked fifth behind Adamson University (AdU), who nabbed a 44.28s finish.
The Blue Eagles struggled to place in the 400m heats, where both Captain Che Guevarra (53.02s) and rookie Rafael Dylim (54.66s) failed to qualify for the finals, ranking 13th and 16th respectively.
In the 3000m steeplechase, Julius Yim was not able to finish and bowed out of the competition due to fatigue.
Much credit is due to the leadership and resilience of team captain Henry Gonzales, who had a gold finish in the Decathlon to accumulate a staggering 5,655 points across the 10-phase event and score Ateneo’s first gold of the season. Rookie Mark “Mackie” Operario also placed fourth in the Decathlon with 5,036 points.
Speaking about the improvement from last year’s 5,166 points, Gonzales was pleased but still looked forward to further development. “It’s definitely good, however, I still feel that there are some things I can improve on like my pole vault,” he shared. “Going forward next year, I’ll look to hit my target of 6,000 points.”
Lady Eagles
Sheila Patiño, the squad’s distance runner, competed in the 3000m walk. She maintained a steady pace, but eventually finished ninth overall with a time of 18:37.06s.
The main event of the day was the 4x100m relay, which featured former captain Vanessa Baguiwet, track star Kim Zulueta, junior Nika Crisostomo, and rookie Viah Mostoles. The quartet achieved a time of 50.01s and ranked sixth overall, indicating steady improvement from last season’s 50.30s finish.
Mostoles returned to action in the 400m heats, where she put on a standout performance, ranking second in her heat and fourth overall to qualify for the finals with a time of 60.17s. She eventually improved to 60.02s in the finals, missing out a podium finish at fifth place.
The story of the day, however, came through Vanessa Baguiwet in the Discus Throw. Clearing an astounding distance of 37.40m, the Lady Eagle ranked 3rd overall, just marginally trailing the University of the East’s (UE) Dianne De Jesus and her 37.47m distance.
Baguiwet clinched the women’s third bronze after a two-year absence from the UAAP. Lamenting at how close she was to silver, Baguiwet accepted her performance with an optimistic outlook. “At least I was able to make my coach happy and [I’m] satisfied naman kahit papaano (at the very least).”
Day four events
The Blue Eagles will return to compete in the High Jump, 5000m, and the Discus Throw while the Lady Eagles will test their mettle at the Shot Put. All events will be held on Day 4 of the UAAP Track And Field tournament on February 10 at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Day 3 results are currently unavailable as UAAP officials will finish tabulating on the morning of Day 4.
