UAAP Season 77 Men’s Track and Field Day 2 Recap

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Two teams separated themselves from the rest of the pack. Only two universities were able to bring home the gold medals for the day. Reigning UAAP champions Far Eastern University brought home 2 out of the 4 gold medals to be contested for on the 2^nd day of competition for the UAAP’s 77^th season. Consistent 1^st runner-up to FEU’s 4-peat reign as champions was University of Sto. Tomas, as they brought home the other two gold medals for the day. Both schools know that they are well above the rest of the field in terms of the championship and this will be an even more interesting 3 days of competition as FEU’s lead over UST in the medal count isn’t too far of. On an individual level, the athletes weren’t to be outdone by their team’s overall performances as the day was highlighted with repeats by former champions, surprisingly poor performances of favorites, success stories, and even the passing of the torch.

Track Events

Clinton Bautista of FEU proved to be a strong bid for the season’s Most Valuable Player award for track and field as he collects his 2^nd gold medal in the 200m dash. He ran 22.24 seconds in an event which saw the top 6 finishers breaking the 23-second barrier. Coming in 2^nd was University of the Philippine’s Gabriel Soriano who clocked in at 22.46 seconds and bagged UP’s 2^nd silver medal on top of 1 bronze medal. What surprised some of the members of the audience were the sub-par performances of some of the top sprinters in the Philippines. Both Patrick Unso of De La Salle University and FEU’s Isidro del Prado Jr. ran poorly in the finals which could hint possible signs of fatigue, injury, or in some cases even a strategic move on the part of their coaches’ orders. Both athletes who ran below 22.70 seconds in the qualifying rounds didn’t run their usual races but look for their respective teams to pick up the slack as DLSU is still in the running to crack the top 3 while FEU holds a slim lead over UST.

Given that dethroning FEU is still a possibility, UST still keeps their championship hopes alive with strong showings from their top guns. Neri Elbren finally won the elusive gold medal in the 800m run with a time of 1:52.85 seconds, finishing 4 seconds faster than everyone else. After years of finishing 1^st runner-up to FEU distance running legend Christopher Ulboc, Elbren posted a clinic as he ran towards a personal best finish. Finishing in 2^nd place was FEU’s Jomar Angus only to be followed by DLSU’s Erwin Parcon. Angus and Parcon gave the crowd a treat with their head to head finish in the last 200 meters or so of the race. Angus 1:56.73 seconds only to be followed by Parcon who clocked in .43 seconds after Angus dove towards the finish line. For a middle distance event, 43 tenths of a second is fairly close. The event also saw a familiar surname in terms of track and field legends in the Philippines. Michael del Prado, the 2^nd son of the famed “Gintong Alay” athlete Isidro del Prado Sr. The younger del Prado, who was recently crowned as the 400m champion in this year’s Unigames in Iloilo, finished 7^th in the event but look for this trackster from DLSU to showcase his skills in his father’s and his bread and butter event; the 400m dash.

In the 10,000m walk, the team from España sandwiched a silver medal performance by Jong Penetrado from FEU by grabbing the gold amd bronze medals in the event. Gold medalist and UST trackster Dave Gumacal was the only athlete to finish the race in under 1 hour with a masterful 55:15.93 second finish while his teammate John Lamaclamac finished the race in 1:02:06.84 seconds.

Decathlon Update

Janry Ubas. After being crowned champion in 3 individual events last season, Season 77 UAAP Decathlon Champion Ubas shatters the old record by scoring 6,549 points. Ubas never let up as he already had a sizeable advantage over his training partner Mark De Los Santos even after 5 events. Prior to the pole vault, Ubas was only up by 530 points over De Los Santos. Prior to the 1500m run, Ateneo de Manila University’s Joseph Capinpin was 3^rd in the standings but was closely trailed by another trackster from FEU Rejohnn Gadian, and UST’s Rogue Lesondra. Prior to the 1500m run the standings were close for the 3^rd spot on the podium as all three athletes were just within striking distance of each other. Capinpin, Gadian, and Lesondra were all battling for it in the 1500m run but Lesondra’s conditioning paid off as he was able to ward off any advances from Capinpin and Gadian and took the bronze medal in what was a tightly-contested event.

FEU Clear First. Silver and Bronze finishes aren’t final yet

If the total medal count will be the only basis, then FEU will already be a shoo-in for the championship but since the overall basis would be the point total, look for UST to have 2 or 3 athletes at least in the top 8 in order for them to still snag the top spot from FEU. With 5 total medals, UST will rely on past champions to repeat their performances with several jumping events still to be decided. De La Salle University is not the school to sleep on as they are still in the running as well, with 1 gold medal and 2 bronze medals so far, they are heading into the days of competition where they are heavy favorites with the relays coming up. The boys from Taft are still banking on events where they are considered favorites such as the relays, the 400m hurdles, and the 400m dash. With the same medal count as DLSU, UP will have their hands full in chasing DLSU for that podium finish but with some of their top athletes still yet to perform in the past 2 days, expect them to make the next few days of competition exciting and closely contested.

Medal Tally after Day 2

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