THE ATENEO Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams capped off their respective University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81 campaigns in similar sixth place finishes on Sunday, December 2, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
Lady Eagles
After putting up an impressive silver performance in the women’s heptathlon the day before, standout Viah Lyca Mostoles tested her mettle in the Long Jump and achieved a distance of 5.13m to rank 14th. Sheila Talja, who bagged a silver medal in the women’s Triple Jump, placed fourth in the Long Jump after she managed a distance of 5.63m.
The last event for the Lady Eagles was the highly touted 4x400m Relay. The event featured the quartet of Sheila Patino, Millefagne Matchino, and graduating seniors Nika Crisostomo and Kim Zulueta. The squad achieved a time of 4:03.92 minutes to rank fifth on the board.
Zulueta, who ran her last lap for Ateneo in the 4x400m relay, ended Season 81 with two medals to her name: a bronze in the 100m and a silver from the 200m. The Queen Eagle reflected on her five-year UAAP journey and how it all culminated on the final day saying, “I never expected anything coming into college but I told myself in everything I do, I’ll do my best and I’ll do it for God.”
The squad finished Season 81 with 113 points; higher compared to their Season 80’s 83.5 points. En route to this improved output, the women’s team finished with a total of six medals; Zulueta’s silver and bronze, Talja and Mostoles’ silvers, Jia Kawachi’s gold, and Bella Artuz’s silver in the women’s pole vault.
Meanwhile, Coach Riezel Buenaventura was satisfied with the team’s performance as well as their grit. “Tumaas yung standings namin at yung medals. Sana sa susunod na UAAP mas higitin points namin.”
(We went up in the standings and the medal count. Hopefully, in the next UAAP our points start to rack up.)
Blue Eagles
Starting and ending day 5 for the men’s team was former Team Captain Henry Gonzales and rookie Madjid Tiblani. Fresh from his bronze in the decathlon two days prior, the graduating senior ran in the 110m Hurdles. Gonzales ranked 16th overall as he clocked in at 17.29s while Tiblani followed him at 17th with 18.17s.
The squad ended their season 81 run with a total of 76 points, trailing behind De La Salle University’s (DLSU) 80-point tally. They ended with three medals to their name: one pole vault bronze from Mark Operario, a high jump bronze from Sandi Siongco, and Gonzales’ decathlon bronze.
Team Captain Carlo Ferrer expressed his satisfaction with the team’s performance after their five-day effort this season. “I’m really happy for them and this is just the start. Next year maraming medals ‘yan,” he said. “Most of us broke our personal bests and next year podium na ‘yan.”
