Henry Dagmil is touted as the long jump king after having won three Southeast Asian (SEA) Games gold medals in 2005, 2007, and 2013. The South Cotabato native had also bagged two silvers and one bronze in the biennial meet.
In 2008, he reached a historic feat by making it to the Beijing Olympics while also joining a number of Asian Games editions, where unfortunately he was unable to finish at the podium.
But among these accomplishments, there was not one that got him more nervous than his matches in the NCAA.
“The games that really made me nervous were my games in the NCAA,” Dagmil, a legendary product of Mapua University, said on 'Rise Up Stronger: The Road to NCAA Season 96'.
“Because during the NCAA, games are very crucial and the games in college are way different because you did not know who you’re going up against.”
Presently, Mapua University is the most decorated school in the track and field competition.
The school’s success is highlighted by four titles in juniors ranks and 26 championships in the seniors level, making them the winningest team in the country’s oldest collegiate league.
That’s why Dagmil said continuing this winning culture was what made his NCAA stint the most memorable one.
“It’s really different when you’re fighting for your school,” he said.
Aside from Dagmil, there were also other famed track and field standouts that Mapua had produced like Claro Pellosis, member of the 1936 olympic team; Rodelio Santos, a winner of five gold medals in the NCAA; and Miguel White, an olympic bronze medalist in the 1936 Summer Games.
Watch GMA Synergy's 'Rise Up Stronger: The Road to NCAA Season 96' every weekday (2:45 p.m.), Saturdays (4:30 p.m.), and Sundays (5:05 p.m.) on GTV.
—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News
