By: Aianna Xyril Monsod, Aishah Jimenez
Photo from: Aishah Jimenez /The LANCE
Colegio de San Juan de Letran kept up with what they had started in the previous season, grabbing numerous awards in different categories in both juniors and seniors divisions of the NCAA Season 100 Swimming Tournament from December 10-13 at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
Junior Aquaknights guaranteed a podium finish after placing 2nd-runner-up, just behind the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde and champions San Beda University. Senior men likewise earned similar distinction and were a little short also from DLS-CSB and SBU. Both had 14 medals apiece.
The Aquaknights started their impressive performance on the second day of the tournament, with strong showings in the 800-meter freestyle events.
In the seniors division, Jianne Avena Daniel dominated the women’s race with a first-place finish, clocking 11:05.00. Meanwhile, Latrell Batingan claimed second spot in the men’s event for the same distance.
Aariz Israfeel Obrero and Arvin Cedri Cantil also made waves in their respective heats for juniors under 800 long course meters. Obrero placed second in his heat, while Cantil topped the final heat with a seed time of 9:40.00
In the juniors classification, Ashton Clyde Jose hacked two golds in the 400-meter individual medley and the 200-meter breaststroke and one silver in the 200-meter individual medley. Besides Jose, Arbeen Miguel Thruelen also finished strong with two silver in the 200-meter butterfly and 50-meter butterfly and one bronze in the 100-meter butterfly.
Letran also bagged third spots in quartet events such as the 200-meter medley relay which was led by Kian Paratagos, Dave Miranda, Jose, and Thruelen, and the 400-meter medley relay in the presence of Arvin Ced Cantil, along with again Miranda, Jose, and Thruelen.
In the seniors men category, on the other hand, Franco Garcia appears to have established his name, topping the 800-meter freestyle and eventually setting a new NCAA record after finishing the course in 8:59.27 seconds and 400-meter freestyle and securing three silver medals in the 200-meter individual medley, 400-meter individual medley, and 200-meter freestyle. Additionally, Eirik Judiel Rivera emerged triumphant in the individual category after finishing silver in the 100-meter butterfly.
The senior Aquaknights also reaped two bronzes in the 200-meter medley relay with Garcia, Rivera, Kayel Alferos, and Jo Lander Molina; and the 400-meter medley relay with Garcia, Rivera, Alferos, and Cesar Iligan.
Coach Rommel Alcantara on Letran’s overall 2nd-runner-up finish in Juniors and Seniors Men
Letran claimed a lot of wins during the season, but head coach Rommel Alcantara revealed that there have been issues finding a suitable training location and schedule for the athletes. Additionally, the Colegio's swimming roster has not yet been finalized in comparison to other teams, so they even lacked representatives when the league added new swimming events.
“Sa training, mahirap humanap ng venue at compatible na schedule para sa mga bata. Nagpapasalamat na lamang ako na nakuha ko yung Dapitan Sports Complex kung saan allowed ako na mag training ng mga bata sa umaga at hapon. Sa competition naman, hindi solid yung swimmers ko gawa nang kulang sa bilang. At saka, nagdagdag pa sila ng events, so tayo kulang talaga sa tao,” Alcantara said.
Still, improvements can be seen as compared to their last season where the juniors acceded to a 2nd-runner-up while the seniors men and women settled for fourth, respectively. The consistency of Letran’s swimming program, however, requires review as several athletes in the juniors and seniors category, who were podium-finishers are already graduating, thereby calling for better recruitment.