CAPAS, TARLAC — Records fell left and right at the New Clark City Sports Hub here as the UAAP Season 88 Athletics and Swimming Championships kicked off with a bang on Thursday, with standout performances coming from both the Athletics Stadium and the Aquatics Centre.
Azaneth Serat led the charge among the new record holders, successfully defending her title in the women’s 5,000-meter racewalk in spectacular fashion. She smashed a 16-year-old record previously held by Far Eastern University’s Florida Gonzales.
Serat set a new mark of 26:04.63, more than a minute faster than Gonzales’ 27:27.73, and comfortably ahead of the University of the Philippines duo of Juliana Talaro (27:44.80) and Julianne Bayola (29:21.33).
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Another Thomasian, Jayvee Ceballos, shattered a decade-long record in the boys’ hammer throw, sending the implement 43.22 meters — surpassing Ateneo’s Matt Crespo’s 41.18 meters set on July 12, 2012, at the Philsports Track and Football Stadium.
Alessandro Nieto of Ateneo (40.55) and Tayshaun Donasco of UST (40.35) claimed silver and bronze, respectively.
Adamson University’s Abdul Saud and Palarong Pambansa standout Sep Placido also made their mark in the racewalk events, winning the boys’ 5,000 meters and girls’ 2,000 meters, respectively.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Saud upgraded last season’s silver to gold with a new time of 23:55.35.
He smashed the previous mark of 25:59.95 set by University of Santo Tomas’ Gabriel Cervantes on November 22, 2023. National University Nazareth School’s Ken Odato (24:34.82) and Rain Mabelin (24:49.27) also finished on the podium, both surpassing the old record.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Placido, who previously won the same event at the National Open in the juniors category, crossed the finish line at 10:03.19, erasing her previous mark of 10:15.39 set on November 17 last year.
Fellow Junior Lady Warrior Meljane Dano took silver at 10:03.77, while Adamson’s Iralea Dumaguin claimed bronze at 10:14.68 — both times also surpassing Placido’s Season 87 record.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Meanwhile, at the Aquatics Centre here, last season’s Rookie of the Year Liv Florendo of the UP Integrated School opened her campaign with a new UAAP record in the girls’ 800-meter freestyle, clocking 9:45.72 to break former De La Salle Zobel standout Raven Alcoseba’s 9:49.91 mark.
