Two more golds for Tayco, Casidsid bags 200-meter dash crown

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

Jasmin Tayco of Numancia, Aklan capped her brilliance in elementary girls' athletics competition by snaring two more golds at the penultimate day of this year's edition of Palarong Pambansa in Dapitan City for public elementary and high school athletes.

Tayco carried the colors of Western Visayas in 4 x 100 m relay in 53.34 seconds along with teammates Cyra Shane Casidsid (Aklan), Rhea Castellano and Shara Mae Caballero to outsprint the athletes of National Capital Region (54.38 seconds) and Mimaropa (54.78).

The barefoot athlete from Navitas Elementary School later added in the day the gold medal in 4 x 400 m relay. Western Visayas trackters - Joneza Mie Sustituedo, Casidsid, Caballero and Tayco - clocked 4:18.34 to take the gold from tracksters of National Capital Region (4:20.42) and Northern Mindanao (4:25.01).

Overall, Western Visayas ruled the elementary girls' athletics with nine golds out of 15 events - 200- meter-dash (Cyra Shane Casidsid of Aklan), 800-meter run and 1500-meter run (Joneza Mie Sustituedo of Iloilo), 400 meters hurdles (Rhea Castellano of Negros Occidental), high jump and long jump (Jasmin Tayco of Aklan), triple jump (Kimberly Natan of Negros Occidental), 4 x 100 m relay and 4 x 400 m relay.

The region captured the six silver medals in 100-meter dash (Jasmin Tayco of Aklan), 400-meter dash (Shaira Mae Caballero), 800-meter run (Anjelica de Josef of Aklan), 100-meter hurdles (Rhea Castellano), long jump (Kimberly Natan) and javelin throw (Cherry Ann Patricio).

For the elementary girls division, Western Visayas bagged the crown with 122.5 points followed closely by the National Capital Region with a total 120 points and Southern Tagalog with 77 points.

In the distaff side, Western Visayas also reigned as champion in elementary boys' athletics with golden haul in 400 meters hurdles (Rofrey Gilva), javelin throw (Lanz Jeremy Halongong) and 4 x 100 m relay (Clyde Besley Lim, Gilva, Skejie Martir and Jeric Premaleon).