MANILA – Southeast Asian Games relay champion Frederick Ramirez led Jose Rizal University (JRU) to its third consecutive title in the NCAA Season 99 track and field competition, held on Saturday (08 June 2024) at PhilSports in Pasig City.
Ramirez, aged 26, secured three gold medals, setting new records in the 400m and 200m events. He also contributed to a gold in the 4x400m relay and a bronze in the 800m.
Ramirez clocked an impressive 46.95 seconds in the 400m, surpassing his previous record of 48.03 seconds set last year. He dominated the 200m with a time of 21.43 seconds, breaking the six-year-old record of 21.93 seconds held by fellow Heavy Bomber Russel Galleon.
Other athletes who set new records include Eugene Bongalos of Arellano University (pole vault), Leonard Grospe of Mapua University (high jump) in the seniors’ division, Randy Degolacion of JRU (800m), and John Kervy Dianito of Perpetual Help (javelin) in the juniors’ division.
National team member Leonard Grospe also achieved a remarkable feat by winning three golds in the long jump, triple jump, and high jump events. He excelled in the long jump with a mark of 2.05m, surpassing the previous record of 2.04m set by Mapua’s John Paul Sale, Christian Dave Geraldino, and JRU’s Adonis Cordero.
“We could have achieved a five-peat if it weren’t for the pandemic,” remarked head coach Jojo Posadas, who guided JRU to its 10th overall title.
JRU amassed a total of 826.5 points, with Mapua (584 points) and Arellano University (540 points) finishing in second and third places, respectively. Perpetual claimed the juniors’ title with 804.5 points, followed by JRU with 657.25 points and Arellano with 503.5 points.
(el Amigo/mnm)