Mark Operario wins gold in pole vault at Palarong Pambansa 2015!

Last Friday, May 8 2015, incoming Ateneo de Manila Grade 11 student Mark Matthew Morillo Operario won a gold medal in the pole vault event of Palarong Pambansa 2015, which was held in Tagum City, Davao del Norte from May 3 - 9. Competing for the NCR Athletics Team, Mark won first place in Palaro with a jump of 3.60 meters. His gold medal for the pole vault was one of the eventual 98 gold medals won by the NCR at the tournament. The NCR was named overall champion of Palarong Pambansa for the 19^th straight year.

Mark is one of the AHS Track and Field Team's consistent podium finishers. At the UAAP Season 77 Athletics Championship, he won a silver medal for the pole vault and a bronze medal for the triple jump. At the 2014 AAPS Track and Field Meet (a qualifier for Palarong Pambansa 2015), Mark won two gold medals (pole vault, 4x400m relay) and a silver medal (triple jump). 

Per Wikipedia, a total of 26 sports disciplines were contested during Palaro 2015: 17 of them as regular games, five as demonstration games, and four as special games for athletes with special needs. More than 10,000 student athletes from public and private elementary and secondary schools from each of the Philippines' 17 regions competed at Palarong Pambansa 2015.