BANTAY, Ilocos Sur—As more records fell on a scorching summer day, two teenagers showed the way in setting a higher standard in athletics on Day 2 of the 2018 Palarong Pambansa here.
Seventeen-year-old Eliza Cuyom of Region IVA and Ann Katherine Quitoy of Region VI had big marks in the secondary 100-meter hurdle heats and the javelin throw after they surpassed a pair of national junior records.
The impressive performances came as a total of five games’ records fell, including one in the secondary girls’ javelin throw, the secondary boys’ 2,000-meter walk and the 30-meter distance in secondary girls’ archery.
Cuyom, an 11th grader from Sampaloc 1 in Dasmarinas, Cavite, finished the heats in 14.73 seconds at the Quirino Stadium, and with her effort, she broke the 14.9 second mark set by Michelle Pastasha in 1996.
Even better and with track officials using a standard 896 cm barrier in their hurdles, Cuyom went on to eclipse the hand-timed clocking of 15 seconds that Julie Anne Forbes set during the 2000 National Open.
“Kabado po ako. Una, binilisan ko. Saka na ako bumagal,” said the 5-foot Cuyom, who beat Ella Sirilan of the National Capital Region and will try her luck in the finals today.
Earlier, Quitoy, who is from Bacolod, hurled the standard 600-gram spear to a record-smashing distance of 45.72 meters on her second attempt in the secondary girls’ javelin throw at the University of Northern Philippine fields in Vigan City.
She surpassed the existing national junior mark of 45.74 meters that Fil-Heritage athlete Cerah Moren did last year in a United States track meet in San Mateo, California.
Her effort also shattered defending champion Sylvan Faith Abunda’s gold medal-winning feat last year.
Abunda, who is from Northern Mindanao and held the games record last year at 42.85 meters, settled for the silver medal.
Kassandra Hazel Alcantara, a 12th grader from the University of the East, broke a 26-year-old meet mark in the secondary girls’ javelin throw four times, with her highest heave at 11.88 meters set on her fifth try.
This erased Marites Barrios’ 11.2-meter mark set in 1992. Alcantara also holds the UAAP mark at 11.96 meters.
Jamela de Asis of Western Visayas also broke the meet record at 11.26 meters for the silver.
In the 2000-meter walk, Region 1 bet Francis San Gabriel led the way as five participants set new best times, with Gabriel finishing in nine minutes and 33.01 seconds, a clocking that’s faster than the 10:11.33 submitted by Bryan Oxales last year.
Oxales, who is from NCR, was second, followed Peter Lachica of Region XI.
Region VII’s Phoebe Amistoso shot a 339 in the 30-meter of the secondary girls’ archery meet, bettering the 334 feat of Femi Bajado last year.