24-gold haul pushes CV on top of Prisaa Games

Host Region VII (Central Visayas) finally showed its visiting rivals who’s the boss.

The Ceevies drowned the opposition yesterday by capturing 24 gold medals to climb on top of the team standings after two days of the Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) National Collegiate Games held in various venues here.

As of 5 p.m. yesterday, Region VII collected 30 golds, 8 silvers and 16 bronze medals mostly from its swimming and athletics squads to overtake first day leader Region IV-A (Calabarzon) which dropped to second with 15 golds, 14 silvers and 16 bronzes. Region VI is in third spot with a 9-11-12 tally.

Region V is in fourth place with a 6-3-6 tally while Region XII is in fifth spot with a 5-19-15 haul.

“We are very glad of the second day outcome because we did not expect our swimmers and tracksters to deliver such a solid performance,” said PRISAA project director and Region VII head Bernard Ricablanca. “But we still have to be very cautious because Region IV-A and Region VI are also strong in other sports. We just hope that we will perform just as well in the ball games,” Ricablanca added.

University of San Carlos’ (USC) star swimmer and triathlete Loren Dale Echavez led the region’s second-day charge as she collected three more golds yesterday to pad her total to five. She won in the 800-meter and 100-meter freestyle while anchoring the women’s 200m freestyle relay to the gold along with her younger sister Ara Denise, Abegail Sakib and Lorenz Goyenechea.

Teammate Seth Melendez also won a gold medal in the 200m backstroke while John Pete Guno won silver medals in the 200m and 50m backstrokes. Claudine Candia and Edgar Jarina won silver and bronze medals respectively in the 100m butterfly.

Sakib also added a silver medal in the 50meter backstroke while Goyenechea earned a bronze in the 100m freestyle.

Central Visayas also struck heavily in track and field with Southwestern University’s (SWU) ace runner Mary Joy Tabal ruling the 5,000m run in 19 minutes and 4.4 seconds. Dharl Pitogo also collected gold in 400m hurdles while Irin Baluran made up for her dismal showing in the women’s high jump final the other day where she only finished third, by topping the long jump event.

John Paul Tomarse added a gold to Region VII’s harvest by topping his division in taekwondo while teammates Jesset Paglinawan and Kevin Dale Limbaga each collected a bronze.

Meanwhile, Region VII tennis team advanced to the semifinal round while in boxing which kicked off yesterday, SWU’s Ian Refuela collected a gold after beating CAR’s Reynaldo Yator in the 46-49kg division.

The 2012 PRISAA National Collegiate Games, which attracted 16 regions this year, is expected to end this Friday.