The Blue and Lady Tracksters started the 73^rd UAAP Track and Field Championships strong, garnering five medals on the first two days of competition.

Held in the Ultra Oval in Pasig this year, instead of the traditional Rizal Memorial Track Oval, the UAAP had a different feel to it. Aside from the change in venue, changes with regards to scheduling were also made.

The tournament is usually held from Thursday to Sunday in early February. This year, however, the competition was scheduled a few weeks early, giving athletes a day of rest between the second and the third days, as opposed to the usual three consecutive days of competition.

Despite this, the level of competition remained high in all six schools—minus NU and Adamson, who do not field Track and Field teams.

The Blue Tracksters began their medal tally with a gold medal finish by Soy Soriano who clocked 10.78s in the 100m dash. Soriano, who won his first gold in the UAAP 100m dash shares, “It feels very good. I’ve been working three years for this,” he adds, “Nagstart ako sa bronze, last year silver, this year gold. Sobrang overwhelming.”

Unfortunately, sophomore Franco Imperial, who qualified in the 100m finals with a time of 10.9s only managed to finish sixth in the finals, although not without controversy.

Imperial originally placed fourth in the finals but was tied with three other sprinters who all clocked 11.2s. But after investigation of the race video—which was later on, taped over by the officials—his fourth place finish was overruled, and Imperial found himself slide down to sixth place.

As of the moment, there is no final word about this matter by the board of officials.

In the men’s javelin throw, Paco Razon climbed his way from a fifth place position into a third place finish with his final throw, registering at 48.54m.

The Lady Tracksters on the other hand were led by their captain, Mica Sibayan, who won silver in the women’s shot put with a throw of 10.07m. Sibayan, who won the gold in the event two seasons ago, had her hands full as she faced a far bigger thrower from UP.

But even if Sibayan won the only medal for the Lady Tracksters during the first day, new personal bests were earned in the women’s 100m hurdles, 1500m run, 100m and 5-km walk.

Day 2

In the second day of competition, Soriano continued his dominance in the sprints. Bursting out of the blocks, he blazed past the rest of the pack, winning gold in the 200m dash and tying the UAAP hand time record of 21.8s.

Decathletes Zek Valera and Chert Chu fought well in their grueling two-day, 10-discipline event. The decathlon started on the first day and was concluded with the 1500 run late in the second day.

Valera, who specializes in the pole vault, came just a few points short of a third place finish. He will compete again, alongside Chu in the pole vault on Monday.

One of the highlights of the competition was sophomore Jeremy Esguerra’s bronze medal finish in the 5000m walk. He finished the race in 25:52. Competing with a sore right abductor, Esguerra still managed to finish in a close race for second. But to avoid fouling, he maintained his form and won third—one of the best finishes of Ateneo in the walkathon.

Esguerra will compete again on Monday, together with teammate Rex Reyes in the 10-km walk.

The UAAP Track and Field Championship resumes on January 29 at the Ultra Oval; among the events to look forward to are the men’s shot-put, 400m dash and the women’s discus.

Editor’s Note: Paco C. Razon is a member of the Ateneo Track and Field team.