Schools shift focus to national games
Upsets, records, stiff competition and disqualifications characterised the Regional Term One Secondary Schools Games that ended on Saturday in different venues across the country.
The games resumed proper after the three-year disruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
After four days of bruising battles, the eight regions- Nairobi, Central, Eastern, Coast, Nyanza, Western, Rift Valley and North Eastern have selected their teams that will represent them at the national championships scheduled for April 24-29 in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County.
The biggest upset was the elimination of national rugby 15s champions Kakamega High School and girls’ hockey winners St Mary’s Tachasis Secondary School at the Western and Rift Valley regional games respectively.
Five-time Kenyan champions Kakamega, fondly referred to as the Barbarians, will watch the nationals from the sidelines after they failed to go past the preliminary stage after finishing third in their pool behind eventual winners Butula Boys High School and Vihiga Boys School.
National rugby sevens champions Koyonzo Boys Secondary School were disqualified for fielding an ineligible player.
Tachasis will also not be able to defend the girls’ hockey crown they won in Nakuru last year after a disappointing show in the Rift Valley Games. Daniel Kibaba’s charges fell at the knockout stage, nine months after winning their maiden national title.
“There were better teams than us this year and it disappointing because we are the national champions and we had set the target of trying to defend our crown. It is learning curve and we promise to come back stronger next year,” said coach Kibaba.
Qualified for nationals
The national winners of the other disciplines safely booked their tickets to Eldoret, led by Dr Aggrey Secondary School (boys’ basketball), Kaya Tiwi High School (girls’ basketball), St Anthony’s Boys High School, Kitale (boys’ hockey), Moi Girls Secondary School, Kamusinga (girls’ handball) and St Albert Kamito High School (boys’ handball).
The games also witnessed new winners crowned as giants were slayed by newbies who showed grit to walk away with the titles. Almost half the schools that will be in Eldoret will be making their debuts underling the competitive nature of these championships.
Our Lady of Mercy Secondary School (Nairobi), St Patrick’s Iten High School (Rift Valley), Clay International Secondary School (Eastern), Afraha High School (Rift Valley) are just a few of the new names that will grace the national stage.
There were also a number of records achieved during the championships with St Joseph’s Girls High School, Kitale winning three title- (basketball, hockey and handball), while Ofafa Jericho High School made it a memorable double after claiming the rugby 15s crown in Nairobi region, adding to their rugby sevens gong.
“This success is a result of years of sacrifice and a good support base from many people. Hopefully this can be the start of a dominant period. The lads should savor this victory before we embark on preparations to the nationals," Ofafa coach James Kaili said.
At the Coast Region Games, thirteen new athletics records were set at Kwale Boys High School. Yusuf Abdalla of Kwale Boys broke the 12-year record in boys’ 110m hurdles after clocking 16.64 seconds, beating the previous time of 17.7 points set by Kassim Seif. BY DAILY NATION
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