Del Rosario, Raagas score IronKids repeat

SUBIC – Fil-Am Peter del Rosario and Celinda Raagas sustained their form coming off resounding victories in Vermosa, Cavite two weeks ago, ruling the premier 13-14 division of the IronKids Philippines Subic Bay in ideal conditions here Saturday.

But while Raagas matched her emphatic win in the girls’ side, del Rosario had to go through some anxious moments before overcoming Darell Bada and a couple of rivals’ fierce challenge as the duo swept the season's last two events of the junior version of the IRONMAN organized by Sunrise Events, Inc.

Del Rosario, who foiled Bada by almost two minutes at Vermosa, edged his rival this time by mere 22 seconds in the 400m-swim, 8km-bike, 3km-run event ushering in the big triathlon weekend culminating in today’s staging of Alveo 5150 Subic Bay.

The rising Laguna star, who turned 13 last month, came out of the opening swim leg in joint fourth with Red Reyes in 05:35 but, like in his Vermosa romp, he used his superb riding skills to top the bike stage in 17:03 before ruling the closing run part in 13:33 for a total clocking of 36:11.0.

Bada, the Cebu IronKids winner, clocked 05:31 in swim but failed to match del Rosario’s kicks and strides in the last two stages, settling for another runner-up finish in 36:33 with leg times of 17:09 in swim and 13:53 in run.

Carron Cañas topped the swim leg in 5:06 but slowed down in the bike with a 17:23 clocking before finishing in 14:32 in the run for third in 37:01.

Del Rosario, who seeks to become a member of the national youth triathlon team and dreams of joining the IRONMAN someday, started competing in tri-sports at age 8, winning his first IronKids in Cebu in the 11-12 group last August. Home-schooled under a US curriculum who trains under coach Doray Ellis of Get Coach'D Academy, he transitioned to 13-14 category at Vermosa and is expected to dominate his age group next year.

Prince Clark also struggled after an impressive 05:30 time in swim, submitting a 19:37 clocking in bike and 15:35 in run to drop to eighth in 40:42. Wincy Pagnanawon placed fourth in 38:04 (5:40 swim, 17:44 bike, 14:40 run) while Rojan Perez timed 38:48 for fifth while Reyes and Miguel Angeles ended up sixth and seventh in 39:02 and 39:55, respectively.

Placing third in swim (06:23), Raagas, a Grade 9 student at Columban College in Olongapo, took control in bike (19:57) before unleashing another blistering run (16:19) to reign again in 42:39, beating Zebelle Eugenio, who topped the swim in 06:10 but timed 20:50 in bike before finishing in 19:32 in the run for a total clocking of 46:32.

"I was inspired to join (multi-sports) to have a memorable experience in sports, to travel and to meet new friends. It is also a goal-setting and I get physically and emotionally fit," said Raagas.

Princess Ilio also made a good start with a 06:15 time in swim but could only post a 21:21 clocking in bike before winding up 20:56 in run for third in 48:32.

Other winners in the event, which also served as venue for families to bond, were Nathan Arellano and Christy Ann Perez (11-12 age group), Pio Latonio and Alaina Bouffaut (9-10 category) and Chris Lacuna and Athena Masadao (6-8 class).

Arellano posted a big lead in the swim to cushion the impact of Diego Dimayuga’s strong fightback in the bike and run, escaping with a thrilling split second win in 27:53 (03:46, 13:30, 10:37).

Dimayuga timed 04:11 in swim but made his move in bike (13:10) and run (10:33), only to finish a second short in 27:54. Miro Habana placed third in 28:33.

Perez also made up for her 04:01 clocking in swim by topping the next two legs (14:23 and 11:34), posting a total time 29:58 to thwart Kyla Bulaga, who clocked 30:52 with leg times of 03:41, 15:08 and 12:03. Samantha Hodges came in third in 31:22.

Latonio, who also won at Vermosa, dominated the 11-12 class in 26 minutes (02:44, 14:49, 08:27), beating Joeffrey Arellano (28:43) and Ayejae Queja (28:53) while Bouffaut rallied from third in the swim to claim the crown in 30:01 (03:01, 17:18, 09:42) over the 300m-swim, 6km-bike and 2km-run distance.

Lacuna led from start to finish to win in 17:21 in the 100m swim, 2km bike and 1km run race with Enzo Gabito and Matteo Carino placing second and third in 18:37 and 19:53, respectively, while Masadao clocked 19:52 to foil Isabela Marquez (20:20) and Pia Gito (22:21).