GENERAL SANTOS CITY — Team South Cotabato snatched its fourth gold medal via athletics on Thursday morning in the ongoing 2018 Batang Pinoy national championships in Baguio City.
Runners Jeshrel Van Ombid, Peter Lachica, Remart Abdul, and Ryan Jay Pedrogoza topped the 4×400-meter relay finals held at the Baguio City National High School Track oval to give the province another gold medal.
It was the third gold medal for South Cotabato in athletics and fourth overall in the ongoing national games.
Ombid won the athletics team’s first gold last Tuesday in the 800-meter run and was followed by Lachica’s dominating win in the 2000-meter walk on Wednesday.
The province, which has racked up five silver and seven bronze medals so far, entered the gold medal column in the opening day via archery.
Athletics coach Rahim Abdul said he is satisfied so far with the team’s overall performance and hopes for more medals in the final two days of the competition.
He credited their improved showing in this year’s Batang Pinoy to the intensive training prior to the games.
“This is already good enough. We achieved our target in most of the events,” he said in an interview.
Adbul, however, admitted the team has a lot of work ahead if it wants to effectively compete in competitions like the Palarong Pambansa.
After the games, he said they will immediately prepare for the upcoming provincial meet and the Batang Pinoy Mindanao leg in Cagayan de Oro City in November.
“The training should be continuous. Our athletes should not stop or else they will start all over again,” he said.
Abdul, who is a former Palaro gold medalist in athletics, has been collaborating with former Olympian Henry Dagmil for the training of his wards.
Dagmil, head trainer of the South Cotabato delegation, manages a year-round training program for the province’s athletes. (Hydee Templonuevo/PNA)
