It was oh so close, but on Friday night UP-Tuks kept a proud tradition going when they won the first Varsity Athletics meeting on their home track. 

Since the inception of the Varsity-series in 2013 UP-Tuks has never lost at home equally impressive is the fact that they now have won 12 of the 14 Varsity meetings. 

Friday’s meeting was a nail bite affair. Before the women’s 4x100m-relay it was fought that Northwest Pukke had done enough to ensure an overall victory, but then Valeska Nel, Megan Phillips, Ria Moloi and Taylon Bieldt snatched a victory out of the proverbial jaws of defeat by winning in 45.64s.

On hearing that their heroics secured an UP-Tuks victory, an ecstatic Moloi said: “It is fantastic. Nothing beats winning.”

Danie Cornelius (UP-Tuks athletics manager) praised the relay-team.

“It was the first time they raced together in a relay team. According to statistics, they should not have won. There were teams with faster times, but the Tuks team kept their cool and won. It was an incredible, gutsy performance.

“In spite of us having a young team we won because every athlete was driven to perform at their best through pure passion," Cornelius concluded.

Cornelius admitted that the athletes will have to dig deep again on 23 March in the second Varsity Athletics meeting if they want to retain the title they won last year. 

As things stand at the moment UP-Tuks has only got a 46 point lead on Northwest Pukke. As it is UP-Tuks’s centenary year the meeting is also at home.

Constant Pretorius who is representing South Africa at the Commonwealth Games won the 400m-hurdles in a time of 50.16s which equated to being the best performance by a male athlete at the meeting.

Bieldt was UP-Tuks top female athlete winning the 100m-hurdles in a time of 13.73s which is a season’s best for her.

Thembo Monareng continued UP-Tuks’s proud tradition in the 100 metres winning in a time of 10.33s. It means he has improved his previous best time by 0.01s. 

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