THE UST Female Tracksters successfully defended their UAAP crown this year and they could not have done it without stellar performances from their prized recruits.
Blue-chip recruit Karen Janario bagged this season’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) plum after being hailed as Rookie of the Year in the recently concluded athletics competition at the Philsports Arena in Pasig last Feb.17-21. She aced the short distance events and took home four gold medals in the four events she participated in.
“Siyempre sobrang happy ako kasi ‘yung mga time na gusto kong makamit talagang natupad siya so amazing talaga si God. Hindi niya ako pinabayaan,” the 16-year-old runner said.
For Janario, entering UST was a decision based on what the university could offer in terms of academics and in its sports program.
“Noong pagpasok ko sa UST, ‘yung performance ko na high, bumaba kasi nanibago ako sa training. Pag high school [kasi], morning and evening ang training pero sa college kailangan balanced ‘yung training at academics,” she said.
Janario was one of the 30 students from Leyte Sports Academy (LSA) who trained at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex for two months after the Philippine Sports Commission rescued them in the aftermath of typhoon Yolanda which devastated the Philippines last November 2013.
Despite the calamity, the rookie-MVP still managed to notch five gold medals and the MVP plum later in January in the Batang Pinoy National Championships in Bacolod.
“Thankful [ako] kasi walang masamang nangyari sa amin [at] walang namatay. Talagang hindi kami pinabayaan ni God, [kahit na] nakaranas kami ng sobrang hirap, nakabangon parin,” she said.
This prized recruit has been consistently collecting medals in different running events, including two gold and two silver medals in the 2014 ASEAN School Games and four gold medals and a silver in the 2015 Palarong Pambansa held in Davao del Norte.
Janario also made a scene in the fifth edition of the Philippine National Games where she contributed four gold medals in the Tiger Tracksters’ 54-medal haul.
Tracksters head coach Manny Calipes, who had foreseen Janario’s bringing home of the Rookie-MVP awards, said their conditioning sessions are not only meant for the UAAP but also for national level. “Talagang pinu-push ko sila to excel,” Calipes said.
