04/11/2025
Congratulations Ellen Balangiao! We are so proud of you. ๐๐๐ซถ๐ป
๐๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ฎ๐ผ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ง๐ฆ โ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐๐๐ต๐น๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐
Soaring to new lengths in the sandpit with finesse, Ellen May Balangiao of the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) Cats Athletics Team soared to a silver medal finish in the Womenโs Long Jump event of the MASTS 2025 Athletics Tournament on October 27 at Asenso Misamis Occidental Provincial Athletic Complex (AMOPAC), Oroquieta City, Misamis Occidental.
Balangiao registered a best jump of 4.92 meters, earning her a solid second-place finish among Mindanaoโs top jumpers. Despite falling short of the Magic 8 in the Triple Jump, she displayed consistency, form, and spirit that lifted the morale of the Cats delegation.
When asked how she felt after landing her medal-winning jump, Balangiao said it was a moment sheโll never forget. โ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฅ 9? ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ด, ๐ถ๐ฏ๐บ๐ข ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ข ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ต๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ, ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ๐ถ๐ฏ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฑ๐ข ๐ซ๐ถ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ๐ด ๐ด๐ข ๐ฑ๐ข๐จ-๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ, ๐ช๐ด ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ข๐บ๐ฐ,โ she said.
Balangiao shared that her journey to the podium was no easy feat, especially while juggling academics and training. After finishing her duties at 5 p.m., she squeezes in her academic activities, allowing her to focus on her training without any distractions. With her school nearby, she can quickly change and hit the track, proving her time management skills and dedication to her sport.
Competing at a Mindanao-wide level also came with pressure. โ๐๐ถ๐ญ๐ฃ๐ข, ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ [๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ] ๐๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ฐ-๐ธ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ข ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐บ ๐ณ๐ข ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ๐ด ๐ด๐ข ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ,โ she admitted. Still, she kept her head in the game. โ๐โ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ช๐ญ๐ช ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ข ๐ด๐ข ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฃ๐ข ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐จ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ด. ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ๐ธ๐ข๐บ๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ข๐บ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ [๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ] ๐จ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ,โ she added.
She also revealed how she faced a tough call when two of her eventsโthe long jump and the walkathonโoverlapped, forcing her to choose between the two. After consulting with her coach, she was advised to prioritize her main event, the long jump, as it was where she was more trained, although the final decision was left to her. In the end, she decided to heed her coachโs advice, proving her commitment to her strongest field.
Meanwhile, Arkin Roy Sanchez, who also represented the MSU-IIT Cats in the Javelin Throw and Long Jump, put up a commendable effort in both field events. Though failing to make it into the Magic 8, Sanchezโs performance and determination embodied the Catsโ fighting spirit throughout the tournament.
Both Balangiao and Sanchez manifested the true essence of the MSU-IIT Cats: resilient, passionate, and proud to represent ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ช๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ด๐ข๐ฏ. Their achievements not only brought honor to the team but also inspired fellow Cats to pursue excellence, proving that dedication and heart can propel anyone to soar beyond limits.
Report by Reema Taher
Proofread by Emmanuel Barabar and JB Earl Tan
Graphics by Kristoffer Neyo Senyahan
