Far Eastern University’s Edna Magtubo sets a new UAAP record in the women’s 5000 meters. UAAP Media
MANILA -- After a thrilling opening day, the action continued to heat up in both the UAAP Season 88 Athletics and Swimming Championships, as new league records were set on Friday at the New Clark City Sports Hub in Capas, Tarlac.
Far Eastern University’s (FEU) Edna Magtubo led the charge at the Athletics Stadium, setting a new UAAP record in the women’s 5000 meters to spark the defending champions’ resurgence after trailing the University of Santo Tomas on Day 1.
The second-year standout clocked 17:59.13, narrowly breaking the 13-year-old mark of national track legend Mercedita Manipol (17:59.22) by just nine milliseconds.
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National University’s (NU) Jesse Roda came in a close second with a time of 17:59.50, just 37 milliseconds behind Magtubo, while FEU’s Nicole Diloy completed the podium with 18:03.01.
Over at the Aquatics Center, Ateneo de Manila University’s Miguel Martinez matched the long-standing UAAP record of former Blue Eagle Rian Tirol in the boys’ 50-meter breaststroke, clocking 51.04 seconds during the morning preliminaries.
The Lady Tamaraws, aiming for back-to-back titles and their 26th women’s athletics crown overall, also struck gold in the women’s javelin throw, where Ana Espenilla unleashed a best throw of 48.00 meters — a dominant margin ahead of University of the Philippines’ (UP) Chrizzel Lanipa (38.08 meters) and University of the East's (UE) Janice Nemi (37.18 meters).
Meanwhile, NU finally broke through with its first gold of Season 88, thanks to Rico Jay Patanao, who pulled off the tournament’s biggest upset so far in the men’s 10,000 meters.
The one-and-done Bulldog outlasted reigning MVP Alfrence Braza of FEU, finishing with a time of 32:44.72 against Braza’s 32:52.39. UP’s Roy Laudit wasn’t far behind, taking bronze with 32:56.66 after pushing last year’s top student-athlete to the limit.