UST Junior Tiger Trackster Jhobie Rosario dominated the 2026 Palarong Pambansa, winning five gold medals and establishing a new pole vault record in the athletics competition held in Agusan del Sur.
Rosario, the UAAP Season 88 girls’ athletics MVP, dominated the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 4×100-meter relay, 4×400-meter relay, and pole vault, where she established a new Palarong Pambansa record after clearing 3.15 meters.
The achievement served as a fitting finale to Rosario’s final Palarong Pambansa campaign before moving up to the collegiate ranks with UST.
“Sobrang proud ako sa sarili ko. Sulit lahat ng pagod, sacrifices, sakit ng katawan at oras na inilaan ko sa bawat training,” Rosario, who is coached by Tiger Tracksters mentors Manny Calipes, Aya Andrade and Emerson Obiena, told the Varsitarian.
“Hindi po naging madali ang pinagdaanan ko. Maraming beses akong nahirapan pero lahat ng iyon naging worth it. I chose to keep going, trust the process and work hard every day. Kaya sobrang saya at thankful ako sa kung ano man ang na-achieve ko ngayon.”
Rosario first secured gold in the 200-meter dash on Monday after posting a time of 24.79 seconds to top the field.
On Tuesday, she recorded 12.01 seconds in the 100-meter sprint to claim her second gold medal. She narrowly defeated fellow Thomasian Lhynette Libranda, who settled for silver with a time of 12.16 seconds in the final.
Rosario then teamed up with fellow Junior Tracksters Liana Ascan, Rica Clavel and Libranda to win gold in both the 4×100-meter and 4×400-meter relays.
On Friday, Rosario capped her campaign by breaking her own Palarong Pambansa pole vault record of 2.75 meters, clearing 3.15 meters.
“There were times na sobrang down ako at napapaisip kung kaya ko pa ba pero hindi ako tumigil,” she said after nearly suffering a major upset against Bicol’s Lyka May Ramilo, as Rosario almost failed to clear 3.05 meters in the final before cruising through her next two vaults.
In November, Rosario capped her UAAP high school campaign with four gold medals for the UST girls’ team in Season 88, setting new meet records in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. She also ruled the 400-meter run and pole vault events to complete her golden haul.
