PRINCE Joey Lee asserted his dominance in the local running scene, winning his second title in three weeks in the St. Ignatius Run 2019 at the SM City Cebu parking area on Sunday, July 21, 2019.
The ace long-distance runner of Spectrum Runners Club breasted the tape in 1 hour, 11 minutes and 19 seconds to win the men’s 21-kilometer title, a couple of weeks after ruling the Mega Wear Half Marathon last July 7.
Lee, a Computer Engineering graduate from the University of Cebu, finished a few seconds ahead of closest pursuer Azlan Pagay, who came in at 1:11:42 for second place.
Joseph Emia of Cebu City Rider Omega Team clocked 1:12:23 for third place.
The string of local races is part of Lee’s preparation for the upcoming 2019 Milo Marathon Regional Finals-Cebu Leg set on Sept. 29. The winners in various regional legs will qualify in the national finals.
It was the same fate for the Sultan Kudarat-native Ruffa Sorongon as she lorded it over in the women’s side by clocking in 1:31:42 in the race organized by the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Alumni Batch 1994.
Stephanie Cadosale snagged second place after clocking in 1:34:20 while Cherry Andrin settled for third place in 1:35:09.
The men’s and women’s champion went home with P5,000 cash prize each.
City of Naga’s Joan Alinsunod, on the other hand, stamped her class in the women’s 12K race with a time of 51:30. Alinsunod first rose to fame when she won the gold medal in the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (Cviraa) and represented Region 7 in the Palarong Pambansa.
Melody Perez finished second in 52:19 and April Flia took third place in 57:04.
Kenyan Eric Chepsiror won the men’s 12K race with a time of 40:10, beating Jemar Merales and Jerome Casinillo, who clocked in at 40:08 and 41:42, respectively.
In the 6K category, junior triathlete Moira Frances Erediano of Go For Gold/TLTG conquered the women’s side in 23:41. Princess Borneo came second in 25:22 and Mary Joy Castor finished third in 26:31.
Michael Largo was the fastest in the men’s division with a time of 19:58, followed by Jovan Sensig in 20:08 and Eduardo Mermeda in 20:39. (RSC)