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U.P. Newsletter
february 2012 Photo by Fred Dabu
UPIS scores three-peat in UAAP track and field Celeste Ann Castillo Llaneta
Photo courtesy of Jun Potenciano
UPIS team scores three-peat in UAAP track and field The UP Integrated School Track and Field Team scored a three-peat performance by winning the championship in the 74th Junior UAAP Track and Field Championships held last February 12 at the University of Life Track Oval in Pasig City. James Mejia earned five gold medals in the 110-meter hurdles 400-meter hurdles, 200-meter dash, 4x100 relay and 4x400 relay, plus one silver medal in the 400-meter dash and a bronze medal in the 100-meter dash, garnering a total of seven medals in all seven events. Coach Jun Potenciano said that the UP Senior Track and Field Team also did well, placing eighth in the overall tally. After capping 2011 by bagging the second top spot with a total of four silver and one bronze medal at the Milo Little Olympics National Championships held last November 18 to 20 at the Narciso Ramos Civic and Spots Center, Lingayen, the team is gearing up once again for a year of triumphs leading up to the upcoming 75th UAAP Season in July. The team won first place during the City Schools of Quezon City Division Meet 2011, accumulating a total of 7 points in the individual events and 10 points in the 100- and 400-meter relay. Grade 8 student Jaime Immanuel Mejia also earned two gold medals for the 200-meter dash and the 400meter low hurdles, and a silver medal for the 400-meter dash. The other top performers of the UPIS Track and Field Team are Grade 10 student Joseph Bautista, who earned a gold medal for the 100-meter dash; Grade 10 student Franco Lorenzo Abenojay, who earned a gold and a silver for the high jump and the long jump, respectively; Melvin Ariel Sangalan, who won a bronze medal each in the 100-meter and 200-meter dash; Justin Philip Abraham Monje, who won a gold in the 110-meter high hurdles; Carl Bryan Morales, who earned a silver medal and a bronze medal in the 800-meter run and 15000-meter run, respectively; Earl
Christopher James Mandapat, who earned a gold medal and a silver medal in the long jump and triple jump, respectively; and Ryann Remo Bugarin, who won a silver medal and a bronze medal in the 3000meter run and 5000-meter run, respectively. The team members who competed in the 100-meter and 400-meter relay—Bugarin, Sangalang, Morales, Bautista and Mejia— also reaped gold medals for both events. Top performer Mejia credits past experiences as well as the rigorous training and practice sessions established by their coaches as key to their achievements. This is not to say that the thrill of competing has waned for Mejia, who won two silver medals and one bronze medal during Milo Little Olympics National Championships despite running at less than full capacity due to an injury. He admits to still feeling “excited and nervous” before every event. “Baka kasi di ko makayanan, pero laging sinasabi ng mga coaches namin na tamang application lang [ng training] sa bawat event… Tinitigan ko [rin] mga previous runs ko, at sinasabi ko na kakayahnin ko ito, kasi nakaya ko naman.” The UPIS Track and Field Team is also strengthened by the bonds among its members. “Masaya kami kasi we’re getting stronger, kasi yung training naming fini-fit kami sa pagdating ng competition. At tsaka very close po yung bawat member,” he said, adding that he and the rest of the team play games on their PC tablets and generally just kid around and hang loose in between training sessions. This camaraderie and team spirit is spreading from the UPIS Track and Field Team to the UP Diliman varsity track team. Potenciano has decided to train the two UP teams together in preparation for the 75th UAAP Season and, for the UPIS team, the upcoming Palarong Pambansa 2012, the Philippines’ biggest annual scholastic athletic competition for elementary and high school students. The two teams not only undergo a thorough, balanced training regimen based on scientific principles. “Our aim is [for UP] to become overall champions,” Potenciano says. “So we are
UP Diliman Chancellor Caesar Saloma discusses the campus security system with student leaders in light of the February 1 stabbing and robbery incident in Vinzons Hall. The victim, UP student Lordei Hina, spent nine days at the hospital’s intensive care unit and is in the recovery room as of press time.
UP Mountaineers launch ‘Green is Good’ talks Jo. Florendo B. Lontoc
The UP Mountaineers launched last January 13 the “Green is Good” (GIG) forum which the organization expects to hold regularly to feature the expertise of its members on various environmental issues and to encourage the audience to take on an environmental advocacy. The first GIG talk was held at the College of Architecture and featured five presentations and one performance in honor of slain UP botanist and UPM member Leonard Co. Anthony Arbias (UPM Batch 2010) of the Native Plants Conservation Society talked on the importance of conserving and promoting native plants instead of exotic ones; Dennis Lopez (2004) of the
UPM Search and Rescue Team talk was on the team’s new mandate to include urban settings in its search and rescue efforts; Lei Mangubat (2007), a Physical Education teacher and Pedala bicycle messenger, talked about her experiences in bike commuting and messenger service; Tope Ordoñez (2006) of the UPM Education and Research Committee talked about environmental infrared photography; and Prof. Nicolo del Castillo (1989) of the UP Diliman College of Architecture talked about green architecture. Bullet Dumas (2009), a teacher in Miriam College, presented a song and guitar number accompanying an audiovisual presentation honoring the late Leonardo Co.
boosting every member of the team, from the weakest to the strongest. The stronger ones will pull the weaker ones up so that they meet somewhere in the middle.” For Potenciano, it is essential that team members regard track and field as a team sport, despite the fact that most of the events are individual events. “The system is the same: team sport pa rin,” he says. Potenciano believes that, given the skills of the individual team members, with proper training the UPIS Track and Field Team, as well as the UP college varsity team, are more than likely to clock another good year. In order to achieve the vision of another year full of triumphs for the UPIS and UP Track and Field Teams, Potenciano is appealing to alumni and friends of the university to support UP athletes. “One of our biggest problems now is the lack of uniforms for the athletes,” he says. The UP College of Human Kinetics had given the teams a budget of P200,000, which was used to purchase high-
quality running shoes for the athletes. The teams are in further need of funding not only to purchase uniforms, but also to fund the psychological development arm of their training regimen as well as the simple things such as equipment for training, food after practice sessions, and transportation to and from competitions. Support has also come from the parents of the athletes. Dr. Agnes Mejia of the Philippine General Hospital, mother of Jaime Mejia, has offered her help in treating the injuries of both the UPIS and UP college athletes and in facilitating their rehabilitation at the PGH. Potenciano has also formed the Maroons Parents Alumni Association (MAPAA), an SEC-recognized organization established by Potenciano consisting of the parents of UP athletes who work together to support the activities of the athletes. Interested members and friends of the UP community may get in touch with the MAPAA through its Facebook page ( http://www.facebook.com/pages/
Mapaa-Maroons-Parents-Alumni-Asso ciation/308589952515387). Fo r M e j i a , w h o e m b o d i e s t h e determination to win despite the odds, the future is undeniably promising, beginning with his dream to continue to run for the UP varsity team after high school. And does the Philippine national team beckon after college? “Kung maganda po performance ko,” he says.
UPIS Track and Field Team member Jaime Immanuel Mejia hurdles through the Quezon City Division Meet 2 with flying colors.
U.P. NEWSLETTER PROF. DANILO ARAÑA ARAO Editor-in-Chief JO. FLORENDO B. LONTOC Managing Editor PROF. LUIS TEODORO Editorial Consultant ARBEEN ACUÑA, FRED DABU, ANDRE ENCARNACION, CELESTE ANN CASTILLO LLANETA, JO. FLORENDO B. LONTOC, KIM QUILINGUING, ARLYN VCD P. ROMUALDO Writers BONG ARBOLEDA, MISAEL BACANI, JONATHAN MADRID Photographers ARBEEN ACUÑA Layout OBET EUGENIO Editorial Assistant TOM MAGLAYA Circulation The U.P. NEWSLETTER is a monthly publication of the UP System Information Office, Office of the Vice-President for Public Affairs. We welcome contributions from the faculty, non-academic staff, REPS and students. Please send your contributions to: THE EDITOR U.P. Newsletter Mezzanine Floor, Quezon Hall, UP Diliman, Quezon City 926-1572, 436-7537 e-mail: upnewsletter@up.edu.ph upsio@up.edu.ph