NICOLE MARIE DEL ROSARIO of Cebu Province dug deep into her bag of tricks as she pulled off a surprise win in the girls’ 13-15 criterium race of the Batang Pinoy National Championships in Baguio City yesterday.

Del Rosario, 15, was the first to finish the race that covered five laps of a 2.2-kilometer course and one neutral lap en route to pocketing the gold medal—the biggest win so far on her young career.

Despite being a first-timer in the national sporting meet, the Grade 9 student of the University of San Carlos-Basic Education Department (USC-Bed) showed composure and strength as she gained control in the final lap.

“I’m very satisfied and happy with my performance. It’s totally unexpected for me since this is my first Batang Pinoy Finals and there were a lot of strong participants,” Del Rosario told SunStar Cebu in an interview after the race.

It was a sweep for Cebu in the girls’ 13-15 as Moira Frances Erediano of Lapu-Lapu City finished second and Catherine Uy of Cebu City settled for third.

Cebu extended its dominance in the girls’ 12-13 division with Jeanah Cañete of Cebu Province winning a gold medal. Julianna Loberanis of Cebu City bagged silver and Kendra Cabardo of Talisay City won bronze medal.

Cañete of Minglanilla, Cebu had an easy win as she broke away from the get-go.

“I’m happy to win this event and also to have a good performance on this route,” said the Grade 7 student of Talisay City Science High School. (RSC)