THE UST Tracksters weathered eligibility problems in their off-season roster and finished second and third in the women’s and men’s open-age group divisions, respectively, of the 23rd Colgate-Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (PATAFA) weekly relay finals last November 22 and 23 at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
UST’s runner-up finishes came on the heels of the disqualification of some members’ from the open-age bracket where the men’s and women’s teams competed. Tournament organizers ruled that some members of the UST contingent were eligible to play only in the junior category.
“We registered in the open age-group because the level of the competitions was much higher compared to the juniors’ division,” coach Manny Calipes told the Varsitarian.
The weekly events that started last August served as the tournament’s qualifying phase where the Lady Tracksters collected 185 points to comfortably bolt ahead of third-placer Ateneo Athletic United which amassed 96 markers. Far Eastern University (FEU) topped the women’s division with a whopping 680-point aggregate.
Meanwhile, the Male Tracksters tallied a third-best 168 points behind eventual men’s champion FEU (579 points) and second-placer De La Salle University-Dasmarinas Cavite (205 points).
Unigames double-gold winner Benigno Marayag shone as UST’s lone individual champion, topping the meet’s triple jump event.
During the finals’ curtain-raiser, Male Tracksters Jordan Billones, Edgar Bardel and Junrey Bano won silver medals in the 800-meter run, 2000-meter walk and 400-meter dash, respectively while tournament rookie Ernie Sabiduria took the bronze in discuss throw. Bardel also placed third in the 10,000-meter walk time trials.
“Winning the finals was not really the target of our team,” Calipes said. “Our main purpose in joining this tournament was to build a training program that will gauge the abilities of the players and that will discover new talents.”
The tournament served as a training opportunity for the UAAP-bound Tracksters, who will troop to the same venue for the upcoming Season 71 Track and Field hostilities. As a consolation, the teams were able to save P28,000 to P35,000 in fees by using the venue for practice.
