By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Bacolodnon Mico Villaran made a strong case to join the national athletics team that will compete in the 2023 Asian Youth Athletics Championships slated from April 27 to 30 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Villaran drew attention from the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) after capturing three golds in the Philippine Sports Commission’s Batang Pinoy National Championships in Ilocos Sur’s Vigan City recently.

Villaran, a standout from Romanito Maravilla National High School, captured the gold medals in the 100-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter hurdles in his one-and-done Batang Pinoy stint.

The 15-year-old Villaran, who was being guided by head coach Miguel Arca, said he was grateful and thankful to be considered for the national athletics squad.

“Ang goal ko talaga is mag-compete sa Southeast Asian Games at international tournaments na malalaki,” Villaran said, who got into running when his bid to make the school’s badminton and volleyball teams failed.

Actually, Villaran was only one of the two 2022 Batang Pinoy standouts that PATAFA is eyeing for the national squad, aside from Leonelyn Compuesto of Masbate.

Compuesto copped the 100-meter dash gold in 13.11 seconds, beating South Cotabato’s Schenley Ombid (13.11,109 seconds) and Capiz’s Angel Villagracia (13.47 seconds).

Compuesto also led the Masbate Sports Academy relay team that captured gold in the 4×400-meter relay with a time of 4:14.96 to beat Calamba (4:29.30) and Biñan (4:35.77).

“Based on their strong performances, they are at the top of the shortlist,” PATAFA secretary general Edward Kho said.

“They only need continuous guidance and encouragement. Itong mga batang ito, they had been held up for at least two years, but nakakagulat nga na may magagandang performance. We need to further help them and be the future national athletes,” he said./ASC, WDJ