By CYRUS M. GARDE
STA. CRUZ, Laguna — Silay City native Aira Teodosio ruled in the secondary girls’ discus throw, saving the day for Western Visayas in the morning athletic event, during the 2014 Palarong Pambansa at the New Laguna Sports Complex in Brgy. Bubukal here yesterday.
Teodosio of Doña Montserrat Lopez Memorial National High School in Silay City heaved the iron plate to a distance of 34.75 meters, improving her last year’s record in the Dumaguete City Palaro of 34.11 meters.
However, her feat shied away from the Palaro record of 40.25 meters, set by teammate Maika De Oro in 2011 in Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte.
Central Luzon’s Dianne De Jesus settled for silver with 31.09 meters, while host Calabarzon’s Angeli Ann Din took the bronze with 31.02 meters.
Western Visayas also collected a silver medal through Lynch Mananquil of Bacolod City who clocked 25.4 seconds in elementary boys’ 200 meters.
The event was dominated by Bicol’s Edwin Requillas III with 25.3 seconds, while Nickson Maramag of Cagayan Valley settled for bronze with 25.6 seconds.
Mananquil also added a bronze in elementary boys’ 400 meters (956.6 seconds), the category won by Requillas by clocking 55.5 seconds. Rene Caro of Socksargen settled for silver with 55.6 seconds.
Joneza Mae Sustituedo of Lambunao, Iloilo, gifted Region 6 with a bronze medal in secondary girls’ 3,000 meters by clocking 10:49.1.
She was the event’s record holder before Guimaras’ Joida Gagnao broke the Palaro record in Dumaguete City last year.
The event was won by Northern Mindanao’s Jie Anne Calis (10:26.6), last year’s silver medalist, while silver went to Davao Region’s Mae Gey Adiliaan (10:32.2).
Gagnao failed to defend her title after suffering from a hamstring spasm in the right thigh following 1,500 meters.
Meanwhile, Elrica Anne Guro of Iloilo took the bronze in secondary girls’ 200 meters (26.5 seconds), the category dominated by Leah Joan Creer (25.8 seconds). Creer’s teammate in Leyte Sports Academy, Karen Janario, clocked 25.8 seconds, too, but won silver due to tenths of seconds of difference.
On Thursday, Louielyn Pamati-an of Bago City secured a bronze in secondary girls’ 400 meters (59.9 seconds). Creer won with 59.3 seconds. Camevale Acopiado of Zamboanga Peninsula settled for silver.
RECORD-BREAKER
National Capital Region’s (NCR) Jomar Udtohan of San Sebastian College emerged as the most bemedaled runner for breaking three events in a row.
He clocked 21.8 seconds in secondary boys’ 200 meters, eclipsing the 1998 Palaro record of Ronald Caluanan of Cagayan Valley of 22.19 seconds; 48.7 seconds in 400 meters, resetting Calabarzon’s Reneboy Tanuan’s 49.4 seconds in 1997; and 10.8 seconds in 100 meters, breaking Caluanan’s 10.9 seconds in 1998.
Western Visayas was favored in the secondary girls’ 4×100 and 4×400 relay final in the afternoon after topping the heats in both events in the morning yesterday.
It also won semifinal matches in secondary girls’ volleyball, beating NCR, and in elementary boys’ after its win over Ilocos Region.
The defending champion in elementary girls’ volleyball from A. Montelibano Elementary School in Brgy. Villamonte, Bacolod City, with reinforcement for Iloilo, bowed to host Calabarzon in a deciding set, 25-18. The secondary boys’ volleyball also lost to NCR in two sets.
Both secondary girls’ and elementary girls’ softball advanced to the final.
The defending champion in secondary girls from Domingo Lacson National High School in Bacolod City made mincemeat of their opponent Central Visayas, 10-0, in regulation, while the elementary girls from Iloilo also beat their counterpart.
NCR also beat host Calabarzon, 5-3, in the other secondary girls’ matchup./PN
