The changing of the guards expected at this year’s Milo Little Olympics Visayas Regional Finals will have to wait a little longer…..if it happens at all.
Seventeen-time secondary defending champion University of Cebu opened its bid for an 18th straight overall title on a blistering note by hauling 12 gold medals yesterday, leaving in its swath of athletic destruction the team touted as the Webmasters’ heir apparent—the University of San Carlos.
The Webmasters quarried heavily in their traditional gold mine: swimming and athletics to erect an eight-gold lead over last year’s runner-up USC which collected four first place finishes in the first day of the two-weekend meet at the Cebu City Sports Center.
Ten of UC’s 12 gold medals were harvested by UC’s vaunted swimmers including five from star swimmer Michael Ichiro Kong.
Kong won the 400-meter freestyle, 200m back stroke, 200m freestyle, 100m butterfly and was part of the 4x50m medley relay team.
He capped his strong showing with a record-breaking performance in the 400m freestyle, where he shattered Jose Ronel Dizon’s 17-year old record with a time of four minutes and 41.34 seconds erasing the latter’s old 4:44.59 clocking.
Karen Mae Indaya also put up a sizzling show by contributing four gold medals for UC in the 200m individual medley, 400m and 200m freestyle and the 4x100m freestyle relay. Daniel Mae Ballesteros added a gold for UC by ruling the 200m breast stroke.
“I am so happy right now because we did not just harvest gold medals today but also broke a record,” said UC swimming coach Rolando Alvarez.
UC’s tracksters Shantel Tanucan and Jan Moses Estrada completed UC gold-medal haul by topping the high jump and shot put events, respectively.
USC, meanwhile, anchored its four-gold haul on Regina Emperio’s first place finish in the 400m freestyle, the boys 4x100m freestyle relay, Stephen Pekit-pekit (high jump) and Ivan Miguel Santos (5000m run).
Both UC and USC are the teams to watch in the secondary division. USC almost dethroned UC last year by tallying 161.5 points against the latter’s title-clinching 176.25.
USC LEADS ELEMENTARY RACE
USC came up strong again in the elementary side with five gold medals, three silvers and three bronzes.
The Warriors bagged golds in the swimming competition via the boys and girls 4x100m freestyle relay teams and tracksters Mary Joy Loberanis (1500m run), John Patrick Parantar (400m hurdles) and John Joseph Berdin (shot put).
The Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles have two gold medals, two silvers and three bronze medals to trail USC.
Highlighting yesterday’s competition were a couple of record breakers from different schools. Aside from Kong’s record, also submitting new marks were Silliman University’s Louis Gil Chee, who set a new mark of 2:44.49 in the secondary division 200m breaststroke which eclipsed the 2:45.13 time of Cebuano Cynthjune Goden established in 2012.
The Magis Eagles’ newly recruited 12-year-old Korean leaper, Byoung June Jeon, also erased the 2004 record of Cebuano Dharl Pitogo (1.35m) in the elementary high jump with a new record of 1.42m.
“We discovered him last June in our P.E program. He’s a stand-out student in our P.E class, which made me decide to train him,” said SHS-AdC athletics coach Presing Capangpangan. “We were all surprised when he broke the record. I think this boy will improve and excel more because he has talent.”
Also among yesterday’s highlights was the performance of 12-year-old Maria Therese Gardose of Danao City’s Guinsay Elementary School. Gardose won the first gold medal of the meet after topping the elementary division shot put event with a distance of 6.22m.
What made the feat sweeter was the fact that it was the first gold of her career. She did not win last year and also failed to win a gold in the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA) meet last year in Dumaguete.
“I am very happy right now because I’m already included in Team Visayas,” said Gardose. “I’ll train harder for the National Finals.”
ILONGGOS STRUGGLE
While there were great performances yesterday, others seemed to have bad starts.
The Western Visayas-based teams had difficulty keeping up with the Cebuanos yesterday, even though they had podium finishes in swimming and athletics.
Tracksters from the Iloilo National High School almost dethroned UC last year but failed to make a mark on opening day.
Iloilo National High School’s Juneiza Mae Sustentido was the lone gold medalist in track and field after ruling the 1,500m run. Her teammates settled for two silvers and a bronze medal.
Saint John’s Institute of Bacolod also had one gold medal after Luis Vicente Evangelista beat Kong in the 200m IM while the rest of its tankers got silver medals.
But all is not lost for the resilient Ilonggos who are known for last minute wins. Their taekwondo bets are also still competing as of presstime.
Meanwhile, participants from the Antique Province managed to bag gold medals in taekwondo.
Nicole Frances Remegio and Jan Kenneth Rafols of the Delegate Angel Salazar Jr. Memorial School won the gold medals in category two.
Cebu’s Don Vicente Rama Memorial Elementary School’s Patrick Keith Nacorda and Mary Jocelyn Syllanto topped categories six and one.
Other gold medalists in elementary taekwondo were Adrian Philip Amihan of Education and Training Center School, Francisco Entiero of Asuncion Lizares Elementary School, Dineson Wilrej of Saint Thomas Aquinas School, Leo Dominic Zaragosa of Santa Rita Academy, Cha Nyah Labiste of Guadalupe Elementary School Cebu, Camille Andrea Miraflores of University of Saint La Salle Bacolod City and Shaira Isabel Garbanzos of La Consolacion School.