Chantal new track queen; UAAP sizzles

Cebu's pride Chantal Balani crowned herself queen of the tracks yesterday when she completed a sprint double with a record-setting run in the 200-meter dash yesterday in the CHED National Games at the PhilSports Complex in Pasig.

One day after winning the 100-m dash over arch rival Marestella Torres, the 17-year-old Balani turned in a 25.3-second clocking in topping the 200-m dash, shattering the three-year-old record of 25.78 seconds set by Elizabeth Doringo.

Balani's feat took some luster from the rampaging UAAP team with Far Eastern U's Torres finally winning her first gold in her favorite event, the women's long jump, which she ruled with a jump of 5.65 meters, another record which erased the previous best of 5.64 meters established by teammate Percela Molina three years ago.

Like Torres, Ana Nattad and Manolito Fuentes won a gold each to hike UAAP's haul to 29 with victories in the women's heptathlon and the men's 3,000-m steeplechase wherein Fuentes broke the 10:05.3-second record of Rene Herrera of Region 6 with a 9:36.6 clocking.

Diminutive Percela Molina eclipsed the meet's women's 100m hurdles mark to become the event's second double gold medalist as the UAAP bets continued to dominate the field after three days of action.

Molina, a lean but determined 24-year-old heptathlete who won the women's triple jump gold the other day over a fast-rising Torres, shattered the two-year-old mark of 15.31 seconds by Sheena Atillano of Region 6, also the eventual silver medalist in the same event, after clocking 15.0 to spearhead UAAP's 26-gold haul, most of which coming from athletics.

UAAP's four other golds on Day 3 came from the men and women 4x100m relay, the women's 800m run and the women's javelin throw.

Rhea Ann Barcena seized the gold in the 800-m run with a time of 2:27.30 over Blessy Pairat of Southern Tagalog Higher Education Sports Association (STHESA) (2:27.31) and Ma. Jailyn dela Torre also of UAAP (2:28.2) while teammate Rosie Villarito stamped her class in the women's javelin throw, heaving a distance of 37.32 m to outclass Ailyn Allan of Cordillera Administrative Region Tertiary Education Sports Association (CARTESA) (24.98) and Day Escaber of STHESAA (22.25).

But despite the spectacular showing by the UAAP athletics team, Orlando Male of National Capital Region-Private School Athletic Association (PRISAA) and Sean Guevarra of Iloilo Tertiary Sports Athletic Association (ITSAA) made a show of their own following record-breaking feats.