Booters from Unit 1 (light blue) and Unit 6 face-off in the elementary division football event of the 26th Cebu City Olympics at the CCSC field. (CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO)
Secondary division defending champions University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters continue to pack in the gold medals and pull away from the rest of the field in the penultimate day of the 26th Cebu City Olympics held in various venues around the city.
The Webmasters upped their haul to 27 gold medals from 11 on Friday. These include 18 golds in swimming and nine in athletics which were both held at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC).
Last year’s runner-up the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors remained in second spot with 12 gold medals including five from swimming and seven from track and field.
DepEd officials have yet to release the meet’s official medal tally as of press time yesterday.
The Webmasters added eight more gold medals in yesterday’s final day of the swimming competition.
Karen Mae Indaya led the Webmasters’ searing campaign in the pool by collecting eight gold medals including four more yesterday by dominating the girls 100m butterfly, 200m freestyle, girls 4×100 medley relay and the record breaking performance in the girls 4x100m freestyle relay.
UC also swept the girls and boys 4x50m freestyle relays and also got golds from Mai Kawabata and Jobert Indaya in the 200m backstroke and 100m breast stroke, respectively.
From a paltry solitary gold on opening day, UC’s tracksters surged to the top of the standings by hauling eight gilts yesterday.
UC’s gold medalists in track and field were Josie Inemedo (400m hurdles), John Rafols (long jump), Jhuvan Jhem Baculot (girls long jump), Martin Ablanque (3000m steeple chase), Elyzza Mae Salinas (100m hurdles), John Paul Apilan (110m hurdles), Kim Obuta (discus throw) and their girls 4x100m relay.
Meanwhile, USC’s gold medal winners in swimming include Gil Anton Talisaysay who broke the 2014 record of Kirk Ebon in the 100m butterfly by clocking 10:29.65 besting the old record of 10:32.72. USC’s boys secondary 4x100m medley relay team also won gold.
USC’s tracksters finished the second day of hostilities with three gold medals courtesy of Mary Joy Loberanis in the 800m and 3,000m run and Jan Dean Durano in boys discus throw.
Seven records fall
Meet records continue to tumble with a day left in the meet.
Unit 6’s Mariel Estreba shattered two more records in elementary girls swimming yesterday with dominating swims in the 400m frestyle and 100m butterfly.
Estreba broke Lyh Ann Navarro’s 2009 record of 5:57.12 in the 400m freestyle by clocking 5:34.80. She also bettered Trina Caneda’s 2008 mark in the 50m back stroke by clocking 35:87 agaainst Caneda’s 36:28.
Another Unit 6 tanker entered the record books when Edward Andrew Ybañez timed 5:27:97 to eclipse Michael Ichiro Kong’s 2009 record of 5:53.23 in elementary boys 400m freesstyle.
A total of seven new meet records have been established so far.
In softball, Abellana National School crushed St. Theresa’s College (STC), 11-0, to win the secondary girls softball title, while Punta Princesa beat STC in the elementary final.