LUNA, APAYAO – Swimming athletes of Baguio City joining the 2019 Cordillera Administrative Region Athletic Association (CARAA) Meet have swept 20 gold medals as of 12 noon of March 1, 2019 to ensure the defending the swimming championship title from the other six provinces and one city of the Cordillera.
Leading the gold medal haul is Juleana Megara Conlu with tripple gold together with Maenard Batnag and Luis Balagtey, both with double gold medals, respectively.
Conlu finished gold in the Elementary Girls 6-12 years old 200LC meter Individual Medley category in 2:51.96 clocktime; 100LC meter Backstroke category at 1:18.93, and 50LC meter Butterfly category at 34.47 seconds.
Balagtey on the other hand earned his double gold in the Elementary Boys 6-12 years old 100LC meter Backstroke category with 1:21.38 colcktime and the 200LC meter Freestyle in 2:38.19.
In the secondary division, Batnag fastly gained double gold finishing the Boys 13-16 years old 200LC meter Butterfly category at 2:27.54 while he clocked in 2:24.35 in the 200LC meter Individual Medley category.
As of 12noon of March 1, 2019, Baguio City have garnered 59 gold, 37 silver and 28 bronze medals based on the record of the Department of Education Cordillera.
The host province of Apayao surprised other provinces as it played homecourt advantage with 24-18-16 medal haul easing out perennial second placer Benguet from its rank which now has 12-20-22 score.
Tailing on the fourth place is the province of Abra with 9-11-26 medals followed by Tabuk City with 3-10-5 at the far end together with Mountain Province having 3-7-5 medals while Kalinga have 3-2-3 score.
Last year, Baguio City swept 222 golds, 102 silvers and 61 bronze medals while Benguet placed second as it hauled 38-88-62.
Apayao Province welcomed over 7,000 delegates to the CARAA with Baguio City, Benguet and the host province sending the most number of athletes.
By Jessa Mardy Polonio-Samidan/PIO
