Davao's Mary Jane Pagayon secures National Prisaa girls 3K gold medal
After her silver and bronze medal finishes in the Palarong Pambansa in Cebu recently, Mary Jane Pagayon finally clinched a gold medal for Davao Region in the youth girls 3,000-meter run of the National Prisaa (Private Schools Athletic Association) Games athletics competition held on Tuesday, July 23, in Legazpi City, Albay.
"Happy kaayo ko (I'm so happy, Ma'am)," the 11th grader at Emar Human and Environmental College said in a Messenger interview with SunStar Davao late Wednesday afternoon, July 24, following their bronze performance in the junior girls 4X100-meter relay event. The team included fellow Emar Athletics mainstays Princess Luardo and Janel Cabiles, and Jehiah Bless Estella of Cor Jesu College of Digos.
She said, "Unang-una po, Ma'am, gusto nako pasalamat si Lord kay iya gyud kong gi guide ug wa gyud ko pabay-i sugod sa Palaro hantod nag-Prisaa ko nga naa koy mauli na medal (First of all, Ma'am, I want to thank the Lord because he really guided me and never let me down from the beginning of the Palarong Pambansa until I went to Prisaa to bring home a medal)."
Pagayon said winning the gold was unexpected as she knew of the strong competition, considering it's a national event.
Earlier, another Emar runner, John Rods Bongcayat, delivered Davao Region's first gold by dominating the youth boys division with a time of 13:07.3.
He outpaced Jay Roben RaƱaque of Bicol Region (14:39.3) and Alexander Ungos of Central Luzon (16:04.6), who claimed the silver and bronze, respectively.
As of 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 24, Davao Region was in sixth place in the youth division, garnering seven golds, four silvers, and two bronzes, and 11th in the senior division with four silvers and eight bronzes. MLSA