Kenya finish second in E. African games
Kenya took second position in the Federation of East Africa Secondary Schools Sports Association (FEASSSA) games that ended over the weekend in with five gold, 12 silver and three bronze medals.
Uganda emerged the overall champion having amassed a total of 18 gold medals, 10 silvers and 13 bronze medals.
Hosts Tanzania had one silver and five bronze while Rwanda had two gold and silver apiece with 4 bronze.
Debutants Highway Secondary School breezed past 13th champions St. Mary’s Kitende 1-0 in the semis, lost 2-0 against Kubali Secondary school of Uganda in the finals.
Both teams will represent the region at the CAF champions school games to be held later this year.
The team manager Eric Wandavusi could not hide his excitement despite missing on the team’s set target; the title.
“We are proud of our boys for the far they have come. We come out of this tournament with our heads held high. We knew our target was to bring the title home after such a long time, and we did come close,” Wandavusi stated.
Highway carried the country’s name after the national champions Ebwali Secondary were eliminated in the group stages as they finished third following three defeats with just a single win.
Tough outing
In the girls’ category, it was a tough outing for Kenyan teams as five times regional champions Wiyeta Girls could not reclaim the title they won in 2017 after they lost 2-1 to Noa Girls of Uganda.
Wiyeta stormed into the knockout stage with an unbeaten record, even beating the final winners Noa 3-1 along the way. They beat a familiar opponent in Dagoretti Mixed secondary 3-0 in the semis before falling to the eventual winners.
Dagoretti Mixed were also defeated 2-1 against Kawepe of Uganda in the playoffs match to finish fourth.
In the volleyball category, it was all jubilation and celebration as both the Kenyan boys and girls category won gold.
Cheptil recovered from a set down to beat defending champions Standard High School of Uganda 3-1 in a thrilling final. Cheptil had lost 21-25 in the first set but made a comeback to win 25-19, 25-22, 25-23.
Cheptil have now claimed the regional volleyball gold for the third time. They also won in 2011 and 2012.
In the girls’ category, it was an all-Kenyan affair as Kwanthanze saw off compatriots Kesogon Mixed Secondary School 3-0(25-23, 25-22, 25-17) to win their fourth successive title taking their total to six titles.
Kwanthanze beat Kesogon in straight sets of 25-23, 25-22 and 25-22 to retain the title they won in 2019. Kesogon once again failed to get one over Kwanthanze who had beaten them 3-1 in the national games final at Nakuru High School two weeks ago.
In hockey, Trans Nzoia Girls lost 3-1 to Kakungulu Girls of Uganda while Friends School Kamusinga were beaten by Tanzania’s Arusha Meru.
Burundi will host next year’s school games edition.
