Indang, Cavite -- Navy cadets pocketed nine golds in swimming and five in athletics in Day 3 to claim the top spot in the overall championship with 22 gold medal hauls in the 2024 Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) National Championships at the Cavite State University-Main Campus here.
Swimmers Kirk Dominique Reyes and Kyla Janelle Chua of De La Salle-Taft settled three gold each on Wednesday to hike their gold medal to five apiece Navy’s showed dominance at the De La Salle Aquatic Center in Dasmarinas, Cavite.
Only Air Force cadet Phil Jabez Alejandro of PHILSCA-Fernando Air Base Campus, Lipa City, denied the Navy's sweep following his victory in the men’s 200-meter freestyle in 2:20.23.
The 18-year-old Reyes added the men’s 100-meter butterfly (1:02.69) and the men’s 50-meter breaststroke (32.38- seconds) to his collection. He won three golds on Tuesday. Chua, also 18- years old, reigned supreme in the 50-meter breaststroke (40.30- seconds) and the women’s 100-meter butterfly (1:10.20 seconds). She also garnered three golds the other day.
Navy teammate Francine Shane Lugay also won three golds yesterday, topping the women’s 200-m freestyle (2:33.43), 100-m backstroke (1:14.14), and 200-m backstroke (2:51.14). Other winners for the Navy were Marvic Iguidez in the men's 100-meter backstroke (1:10.32) and 200-meter backstroke (2:40.35).
In athletics at the CAVSU track oval, Guhan D. Garcia and Geremae Domalanta ruled the men’s and women’s 200-m dash, respectively as the 20-year-old Garcia of Virgen Milagrosa University Foundation, Inc. in San Carlos City, Pangasinan outraced two Air Force cadets – Romeo de la Cruz Ojeno and Peter Mines Molina of West Visayas State University in Iloilo City in the last 10 meters to pocket the gold in 21.6 seconds.
Ojeno and Molina finished just a split of a second behind, with identical 21.7 seconds.
Army Cadets claimed two golds in the arnis competition after Crystal Jill Bowman of Cebu Normal University triumphed in the women’s Forms Non-Traditional Single Weapon. Likewise, his teammate Mark Julius Joring claimed the arnis’ men’s non-traditional single weapon.
The inaugural staging of the Raiders Competition showed West Visayas State University-Lambunao Campus winning the crown. The 9-man crew of the Air Force bravely topped the five hardest challenges: tire flip, one rope bridge, 5km team run, and truck pushing to garner the highest record of 33.53 minutes.
Jenny Legario led the cast along with Mary Love Dongor, Anabella Faith Caro, Romnick Pregua, Karl Adrian Subaldo, John Kenneth Guilaran, Rogen Caspillo, John Salvaloza, and Christian Doney Casten to become the first champions of the annual games.
