•Last year’s national as well as regional secondary school sports games saw some of the usual favourites maintain their dominance whereas others resurrected after a considerable period of lacklustre performances.
•Moreover, the championships were marked by the emergence of certain schools that caught the eye with impressive performances worthy of recognition as far as the schools category is concerned.
Image: ABABU NAMWAMBA/X
St Anthony’s Kitale, Koyonzo and Laiser Hill are among the teams short-listed in the boys’ category for next week’s Sports Personality of the Year Awards.
Others on the shortlist are Nyanza's Onjiko, Namwela, Butula, Hospital Hill, Mbooni High, Musingu High and Ruthimitu.
Last year’s national as well as regional secondary school sports games saw some of the usual favourites maintain their dominance whereas others resurrected after a considerable period of lacklustre performances.
Moreover, the championships were marked by the emergence of certain schools that caught the eye with impressive performances worthy of recognition as far as the schools category is concerned.
St. Anthony continued their dominance as the kings of football at the school level, beating Dagoretti High School 2-0 in the national finals.
Their great showing as well as an umpteenth appearance at the East Africa Games in Huye, Rwanda—was the perfect springboard for the careers of several star players including Aldrine Kibet, Amos Wanjala, Joseph Omuse and Allan Kasavuli who went on to play for the national under-18 team at the Cecafa U-18 Championships in November.
Not only were they dominant in football but were also imposing in hockey, where they qualified for the Rwanda Games and finished third after beating Uganda’s St Mary’s Kisubi 2-0.
In 5x5 basketball, Rift Valley’s Laiser Hill compensated for missing out on the national title in 2022 by pipping Dagoretti High School 45-43 to clinch their ninth national crown in 17 years. At the regional games, a fourth place was the best they could muster after losing 76-44 to Rwanda’s LDK in the third-place playoff.
Kakamega’s Koyonzo were peerless in rugby 7s at the national and regional level, walking away with both titles after virtuoso performances.
Their impressive run in the group stages of the national championships, where they scored 108 points without conceding a try, was the clearest evidence of a well-oiled machine that sweeps any opponent in their path.
Elsewhere, Hospital Hill School from Nairobi exhibited the mentality of a champion when they recovered from an opening day loss to St Albert’s Kamito to successfully defend their national title via a 16-15 win over Mbooni High. The East Africa Games were not so forgiving though as they finished fifth after accumulating a paltry three points.
In hockey, Musingu High dethroned defending champions St, Anthony’s Kitale to collect the national crown courtesy of a solitary strike.
They continued to display their pedigree in Rwanda, where they clinched silver – producing the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) in Isaack Wanjawa along the way.
Another giant slayer was Shanderema who came to the national games as the football champions of the Western region, having upset the Scorpions of Musingu in the county finals. They were not overawed by the big stage as they breezed through to the semi-finals after topping their pool with seven points.
Shanderema then recovered smartly from their semi-final loss to St. Anthony to wallop Nyanza’s Agoro Sare 5-1 in the third-place playoff and clinch the final ticket to the regional games in Rwanda.
Last year also marked the birth of giants who showed nerves of steel to post impressive results at the national and regional levels.
Coached by their school bus driver— and a level 1 accredited referee — Isaac Muresia, Namwela finished an impressive third after defeating Tumaini 3-1 (21-25,26-24,21-25,17-25) in what was their second-ever appearance at the national championships.
They went two better in Rwanda when they beat Uganda’s Namugongo 3-1 (27-25, 24-26, 25-17, 25-12) in the finals, effectively qualifying for this April’s International Schools Federation games in Belgrade, Serbia.
Butula Boys High School made history as Busia County’s first-ever representative in the rugby 15s – and what a memorable debut it was!
Coach Shimenga Livondo’s charges steam-rolled to the national finals where they made mincemeat of Embu’s All Saints, walloping them 38-0.
The first-ever appearance at the regional games narrowly fell short of the ultimate glory as they finished second.
Nairobi’s Ruthimitu also caught the eye at the national level, edging a five-set thriller to defeat Rift Valley’s Andersen 3-2 to clinch their maiden volleyball title on their debut appearance at the games.
In Rwanda, they finished ninth as the competition at the regional games went up a notch. In 3x3 basketball, Nyanza’s Onjiko High School had an unforgettable year as they clinched their first national crown with a 29-23 win over Eldoret’s Timbila.
The icing on the cake was a third-place finish at the East Africa Games in their first attempt at that stage of the competition.
Makueni’s Mbooni High School gave a good account of themselves at the national level, once again making it to the finals where they narrowly lost to Hospital Hill in boys’ handball. They finished an impressive fourth at the East Africa Games.