By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The West Visayas State University-Main Campus taekwondo team made waves during the Philippine ROTC Games National Finals from August 21-22, 2024, held at Cavite State University.
Leading the way for the WVSU jins is April Joy Gabayoyo, who won the silver medal in the welter-heavyweight division.
Despite the result in the grand finals, Gabayoyo became the standout and the crowd favorite during the taekwondo event of the ROTC National Finals.
Collecting the last three medals for WVSU is the trio of Nicole Lyndly Aspera, Jodi Anne Valenzuela, and Hannah Jay Hinguillo.
Aspera managed to have a podium finish in the most prestigious stage of the ROTC Games in the bantamweight division while the duo of Valenzuela and Hinguillo turned heads in the featherweight and lightweight divisions, respectively.
The quartet played under the Philippine Air Force branch after reigning supreme during the Visayas Leg several months ago.
To reach the National Finals, the jins must conclude their Visayas Leg outing with a positive result, which they did after winning the Philippine Air Force branch.
Gabayoyo, Aspera, Valenzuela, and Hinguillo took down WVSU Janiuay, Bago City College, Carcar Cebu, and the other participating schools to reach the National Finals.
Mentoring the WVSU-Main Campus jins is Dr. Richard Gabayoyo, assisted by renowned taekwondo coach Lawrence Diasnes.
