Iloilo City – Fatima Mitra, MMSU’s bet in shot put, bagged the first gold medal for Region I in the 2012 National State Colleges and Universities Athletic Meet held here Feb. 19-25.

Mitra’s 9.41m record broke the league’s all-time best of 8.85m posted last year by Region IV. The third year agricultural engineering student also won bronze in discus throw, the event where she captured Ilocos Region’s sole gold medal in last year’s edition held in Isabela.

Other Region I delegates who clinched medals as of this writing (Feb. 23, 9 a.m.) are: Jeffrey Gaspar (MMSU) – silver and bronze in swimming (100m flyweight) and 50m backstroke, respectively, Gaspar, Rhody Espiritu (MMSU), Marc Louie Barut (MMSU), and Leo Robillos (DMMMSU) ­– silver, 4x50m freestyle swimming relay; Marlon Marasigan (MMSU) – silver, high jump; Herna Rigucera (UNP) – silver, shot put; Ernesto S. Nieveras Jr. (DMMMSU) – silver, taekwondo flyweight division; Kernell Hansel Padre (UNP) – silver, taekwondo middleweight division; and Karla Jean Mendoza (PSU) – bronze, taekwondo finweight division.

The opening program held Feb. 19 at the Iloilo Sports Complex had Sen. Franklin Drilon, a native of Iloilo City, and CHED Chair Patricia Licuanan as special guests. Sixteen regions participate in the annual event hosted this year by SUCs in Western Visayas. MMSU President Miriam E. Pascua, PASUC Region I chair and vice president for Luzon, joined over a hundred SUC presidents in the kick off rites.

The SCUAA Region I delegation is billeted at the La Paz I Elementary School, the alma mater of Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago.