THE ATENEO Blue and Lady Eagles competed in day 5 of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 79 Track and Field Championship. The competition itself was held on Sunday, February 12 at the Philsports Arena (Formerly ULTRA). This was the final competition day of UAAP Season 79 Track and Field.
Blue Eagles
On the last day of their UAAP campaign, the Blue Eagles competed in both the 110m hurdles and the 4×400 relay events. Henry Gonzales suited up for Ateneo in the 110m hurdles and achieved a time of 16.90s, ranking 14th in the heats.
Blue Eagles Che Guevarra, Maui Ramos, Rabbi Villanueva and co-captain Mikee Ruiz participated in the 4x400m relay to end the season. The squad wrested a time of 3:24.52 mins, missing the podium finish by ranking 4th overall behind bronze medalists University of the Philippines (UP), who clocked 3:23.89 mins. After Guevarra ran his last lap for the Blue and White, the men’s team gave a sigh of relief knowing the battle was done and was fought with all their capability.
Captain Gab Vera Cruz expressed that: “We were undermanned, but I believe we still stuck through it with speed and aggression. We’re only 7 people on the team; I didn’t know if we could get a podium finish but it’s a good start.”
Lady Eagles
Competing on the last day of the tournament for the Lady Eagles was Danica Coronel in the long jump event. Coronel achieved distance of 4.32m and ranked 19th; only a smidge away from UP’s Villarosa’s 4.34m.
Like their male counterparts, the Lady Eagles also competed in the 4x400m relay event. The quartet of Nika Crisostomo, Shiela Patiño, Betty Margulies and standout Kim Zulueta ran the event and ranked 5th with a time of 4:05.85 mins.
Following an exhausting season, the Lady Eagles maintained that they were contented with their performance. Captain Vanessa Baguiwet expressed her delight with the team and conveyed: “I am beyond proud of my girls, the guys’ team and the coaches. I’m sure they’re proud of seeing their performance and seeing how training has benefitted them in this competition.”
Coach Riezel Buenaventura expressed the same sentiment: “Masasabi ko lang malakas na kami ngayonat sisiguraduhin ko na mas malakas kami sa susunod na UAAP! (All I can say is that we’re definitely stronger now and I’m going to make sure we will get even stronger next UAAP season!)”
Looking to the future
The Blue Eagles ranked 5th in the overall standings with a total of 38 points. The men’s team were not able to receive a podium finish, but achievement of personal bests and better times marked improvement for the team. The same can be said about the Lady Eagles, who also ranked 5th with a total of 44 points.
Head Coach Mick Perez commented on both teams’ performances saying “I’m proud of the way they fought for the finish line, what really matters is yung puso na pinapakita dito.” Perez also spoke of what lies ahead for the team: “We’re now in our rebuilding process and next season we’ll see even better performances compared to this year.”
Ateneo Medals: Kim Zulueta (Bronze-Women’s 100m dash) & Henry Gonzales (Bronze-Men’s Decathlon)
UAAP Track and Field 79 General Standings
MEN’S
Champion: FEU
1st Runner-up: UST
2nd Runner-up: DLSU
WOMEN’S
Champion: UST
1st Runner-up: FEU
2nd Runner-up: UP
Ateneo Blue and Lady Eagles take home two bronzes from the whole season.
https://storify.com/TheGUIDONSports/uaap-season-79-track-and-field-day-5
