By Dennis Abrina/PNA
IMUS CITY, Cavite — Perpetual Junior Altas athletics team finally emerged overall champion since it joined the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) in 1984.
The young Altas tracksters brought home 11 gold, 8 silver and 4 bronze medals for a total of 1,044 points to rule the NCAA Season 94 junior division athletics competition at Vermosa Sports Hub in Pasong Buaya here on March 14.
Perpetual bested Emilio Aguinaldo College and San Beda which settled for silver and bronze with 392.5 and 384.5 points, respectively.
Jerick Arzaga spearheaded Perpetual with three golds in 400m and 110m hurdles and 4X100m relay and a bronze medal in 200m run and cornered the best athlete award in the junior division.
Other gold winners for Altas are Russel Ricaforte (discus throw and shot put), Warren Villaroza (long jump), Jommel Gonzales (steeple chase and 1,500m run), Ernie Calipay (high jump), Paul Sarmiento (javelin throw), and Jerimiah Cortez (100m dash).
Aside from Arzaga, other members of Altas’ 4x100m team that won gold are Villaroza, Mark Vincent Quiambao and John Paul Pagatpat.
The Altas junior team also celebrated new records set by Ricarforte in discus throw (42.89 meters), Villaroza in long jump (6.88m), Gonzales in steeple chase, Calipay in high jump (1.98m), and Sarmiento in javelin throw (65m).
Perpetual’s silver medals came from Villaroza (200m run), Gonzales (800m run), Emmanuel Medrano (long jump and high jump), Pagatpat (400m hurdles), Mark Vincent Quiambao (100m run), Aljohn Rabina (triple jump), and James Ceballos (400m dash).
On the other hand, bronze medalists are Arzaga (200m), Medrano (triple jump), Cortez (400m), and Lexmar Cupin (javelin throw).
“I am grateful that finally we got the championship in the NCAA juniors. I’m very proud of my athletes. This is the fruit of hard work in our trainings every day,” Junior Altas athletics team coach Trece Academia said in an interview with Philippine News Agency.
