THE BLUE and Lady Eagles of Ateneo Track and Field added two medals to their tally on day 2 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81 Athletics Championship on Thursday, November 29, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
Ateneo’s two medals of the day came from Team Captain Kim Zulueta in the women’s 200m and Rookie Sheila Talja in the women’s triple jump.
Women’s 200m
Zulueta opened the second day for the Lady Eagles alongside fellow Lady Eagles Nika Crisostomo, Sheila Patino and Carmela Dublin. Zulueta started hot, ranking second in the heats with a time of 25.73s. The fifth-year powerhouse eventually took the bronze in the 200m final with a time of 25.46s.
The remaining three fell behind in the heats as Crisostomo (27.31s) ranked 17th while Patino (27.52s) ranked 19th. Dublin followed Patino in 20th with a time of 27.54s.
Women’s Triple Jump
Talja leaped to new heights in her UAAP debut as she won the silver in the triple jump. Talja took a distance of 12.09 to propel her as the Lady Eagles’ fourth medalist of the tournament.
“Siyempre masaya naman kasi first time rin. Kahit di ko nakuha yung PB (personal best) ko, okay na.“
[I’m definitely happy. Even if I did not get my PB, I am alright]
Viah Mostoles also impressed by making the top 8 at eighth with her distance of 11.49 m while Kate Gohoc ranked ten places down at 18th with a 10.48m jump.
Men’s 200m
Jonathan Talbot was a bright spot for the Blue Eagles as he narrowly made it to the 200m final ranking eighth in the heats with a time of 22.65s. He came close to the podium in the final ranking fourth with a faster time of 22.40s. Talbot was also set to compete in the men’s long jump but the strain from the 200m proved too much for the Blue Eagle.
The 200m heats also saw action from Miguel Garrido, Yuhei Go and Rafa Dylim. The trio did not make the final, however, as Garrido (22.75s) ranked 10th while Go (23.16s) and Dylim (23.68s) ranked 19th and 25th respectively.
Decathlon
The gruelling decathlon had three Blue Eagles competing: Henry Gonzales, Mark Operario and Matteo Crisostomo. Season 80 gold decathlete Gonzales led the pack, finishing with 3109 points to end the first half of the decathlon in third place. Following him was Operario with 2974 points at fourth, while Rookie Crisostomo put up a commendable 2683 points as he stayed in ninth.
Gonzales, Operario and Crisostomo will be completing the second half of the decathlon on day 3 of the Athletics Championship. The second half will consist of the 110m hurdles, the discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw, and the 1500m run.
