Ramirez powers JRU to three-peat in NCAA track and field

The JRU track and field team. Handout

MANILA -- Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Frederick Ramirez set two new league records to power Jose Rizal University to a third straight title in the NCAA Season 99 track and field over the weekend at the PhilSports Complex oval in Pasig City.

In his final season, the 26-year-old Ramirez broke the 200m and 400m records en route to three gold medals in the three-day meet.

Ramirez clocked 46.95 seconds in the 400m to erase the 48.03 mark he set last year and then timed in 21.43 in the 200m to eclipse the 21.93 standard Russel Galleon of JRU registered six years ago.

He added a gold in the 4x400m relay and a bronze in the 800m

Four other new records were set by Arellano's Eugene Bongalos in pole vault, Mapua's Leonard Grospe in high jump in the seniors, and JRU's Randy Degolacion in 800m and Perpetual Help’s John Kervy Dianito in javelin in the juniors’ side.

JRU has now won ten track and field titles in the NCAA. Their latest crown came in dominant fashion, as they tallied 826.5 points -- way ahead of Mapua (584) and Arellano (540).

Grospe shared the spotlight with Ramirez, a fellow national team mainstay, as he swept all three jumping events—long jump, triple jump and high jump.

It was in high jump though where he drew most of the attention as he destroyed the old mark of 2.04 meters shared by John Paul Sale of Mapua, Adonis Cordero of JRU and Christian Dave Geraldino of Mapua by leaping to 2.05m.

UPHSD, meanwhile, reigned supreme in the juniors’ side and ran away with the crown with an 804.5.

JRU finished second with a 657.25 while AU third with a 503.5.