32-year-old records shattered at Upper West Interco
The 32-year-old cross-country records set in the Male Division and the Girls 1,500 metres were shattered during the 31st biennial Super Zonal Sports Festival of the Upper West Region (UWR) Schools and Colleges which ended at Jirapa last Saturday.
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The records, which were broken in grand style, had all first three athletes in both categories walking over the old records.
The previous record in the cross country was 23.09.72 sec while the female 1500 metres record was 5.57.65 sec.
The six zones that participated in the week-long festival were the Wa Central, Wa West, Jirapa, Tumu, Lawra and Nadowli zones. They competed in soccer, volleyball, handball, netball, hockey, badminton, basketball, table tennis, cross-country and athletics.
In the Male Category, Master Dominic Kuubataatin Aarokum of Lawra Zone ran a fast race to win in a time of 22:06:13 sec. Master Michael Kpenyogyi of the Nadowli Zone was not left out of the fray. He returned in a time of 22:56:03 sec while Master Karim Dubia of Tumu was close at his heels with 23:05:69 sec.
In the Girls Division, Miss Lydia Kontudie of the Jirapa Zone made good her promise to the crowd by winning the 1,500m race in 5:18:69 sec. Ms Miriam Alhassan of Tumu and Ms Millicent Danang followed, coming second and third respectively.
Tumu Zone emerged the overall champions, coming first in both the Boys and Girls Events with a total of 256 points. They were followed by Nadowli Zone with 212 points while Jirapa came third with 207 points. Lawra took the fourth position after bagging 195 points, Wa West was fifth with 164 points while Wa Central took the bottom position with 124 points.
In the final soccer match, the defending champions, Wa Central (male category), played a determined game to spank the Nadowli team by 2-0. Both goals were scored in the second half through the man of the match, Master Moomin Froko, whose header in the 63rd minute beat Master Razak Asimah in goal for Nadowli.
In the 74th minute, Master Malik Iddrisu cheekily displaced Master Asimah with a powerful shot into the far right corner of the post to send their fans into wild jubilation. Heavy rains nearly disrupted the match during the first half.
For the first time, the region got sponsorship packages from the Agyengo Foundation based in the United States of America (USA), which presented 174 medals and certificates worth GH¢ 13,500 to the organisers for deserving athletes and players, and Super Sports Regal Ventures based in Wa, which donated two pairs of spikes to be given to the Best Male and Female Athletes.
Closing the ceremony, the Jirapa District Chief Executive, Mrs Christine Bonbanye-Amadu, advised the competitors to train hard in order to win more laurels for themselves and the nation.
She commended the various stakeholders for exhibiting a high sense of discipline and the high turnout during the festivals, leading to a successful event.
The UWR Schools and Colleges Sports Federation selected 200 athletes and players for camping in preparation for this year’s Inter-Regional Sports Festival scheduled for August 18 to 27 in Cape Coast in the Central Region.