NCR off to strong start as Little Olympics opens

LINGAYEN—Perlita Ynot Jra and reigning regional MVP Michael John Lanuza came up big Saturday as fancied National Capital Region asserted its dominance in athletics in the third Milo Little Olympics National Finals at the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center here.

Ynot Jra, 16, emerged as the brightest entry in the secondary division, ruling the girls’ long jump and finishing second in the 100-m sprint, while Lanuza, 15, bagged the gold in the secondary-boys long jump and placed third in the century dash.

Their combined exploits provided the Big City bets a rousing start in the three-day sporting spectacle.

“Long jumps’s really my event,” Ynot Jra said in Filipino after posting 5.07m in a tie with Kirstie Kaye Vinco of Visayas. Ynot Jra, however, had a better second jump of 5.01m.

A student of St. Francis of Assisi College, Ynot Jra also bagged the silver in the 100m, finishing seven-tenths of a second behind schoolmate Christine del Rio (13.13 seconds).

Lanuza of Immaculate Concepcion Academy, dominated his long jump rivals with a 6.48-meter mark, way ahead of Visayas’ Jersell Cabatino (6.15) and school buddy Eannoie Dumadag (5.92).

Lanuza also engaged the Visayan duo of Kenneth Monzon and Raul Perez Jr. in a thrilling 100-m race. Monzon won in 11.63 seconds while Perez finished second in 11.64 seconds, two-tenths of a second ahead of Lanuza.