Batangas leads Mercedes kayak winners

MANILA, Philippines - Visiting teams from Mabini, Batangas, and local squads split line honors at the recently concluded Kayak Explore Kadagatan Festival kayak surfing races hosted by the fishing town of Mercedes, Camarines Norte.

The tandem of SEA Games silver medalist Reneric Moreno and Harold Madrigal ruled the 15K kayak marathon while Daet mountaineers Ruel Sentelices and Rey Campita Jr. emerged champions in the 5K novice race.

Moreno and Madrigal took the early lead after taking off from Caringo Island, the outermost island in the Mercedes Group, and finished first in 1:54.05.

The other Batangas team of John Reyes and Ralph Napenas, also members of the national windsurfing team, finished second in 1:55:02.

Moreno, 30, and his partner pocketed P6,000 even as they capsized in the surf upon reaching the finish line due to the Pacific swells.

In the 5K race, local people headed by Sentelices and Campita Jr. finished first in 26:12, beating Reyes and local Angelito Morales (27:46) and third-placed Alex Cabangon and Mia Antonio (29:28).