Athletes of Ritman College Ikot Ekpene, put up a brilliant showing to cart away two of the five team trophies up for grabs at MTN CHAMPS Uyo. The secondary school was the team to beat in the Cadet (U-14) Boys’ and the Youth (U-17) Boys’ categories respectively, while tying for top place with Ibeno Grammar School in the Girls’ Cadet class.
In the Cadet Boys’ category, Uwakmfon Ekpeyong sped to the 100m title while teammate Emmanuel Obi accomplished a similar feat in the 400m, and Solomon Okonnah in the High Jump, accruing 53 points to finish ahead of F.G.C Ikot-Ekpene who claimed 36 points. Okop Eto Commercial placed 3rd in the standings with 18 points.
In the Cadet Girls’ group, Ritman tied for the top spot with Ibeno Grammar School, with both schools clinching 32 points each. However, the trophy was awarded to Ibeno Grammar School based on the results of both schools in the 4x100m relays, which was used as a tie-breaker. Ibeno won Silver in the event while Ritman finished 5th. Etinan Institute who won the relay, followed both schools closely in the final standings with 30 points for 3rd, while Ibiaku Itam Community School scored 25 points for 4th position.
Ezekiel Eno inspired a 1-2 for Ritman College in the Youth Boys’ 400m, with Emmanuel Akpan taking Silver for the pair to earn valuable points for their school amongst many other performances from their teammates, gaining a total of 58 points in the process. They finished 7 points clear of Chosen International, while La Kings International settled for 3rd with 44 points.
Miracle Sonny who stormed to GOLD in the Youth Girls’ 100m and 400m, was pivotal to La Kings International’s dominance in the Girls’ Youth category with 63 points, finishing nearly 20 points ahead of Lutheran High (44 points) while the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAANs) Secondary School took 3rd place with 39 points.
Akwa Ibom State emerged Junior (U-20) Team Champions after amassing 138 points to finish ahead of Etinan Institute and Real Overcomers. Some of their best performances came from Edidiong Udotong who won the Boys’ 400m while teammate Endurance Everest took the Bronze, before claiming GOLD in the 110m Hurdles.
The team enjoyed a clean sweep in the Boys’ 1500m final, which was led by Samuel Okon. Regina Eshiet took the Girls’ Discus title as her teammate Victoria Edem settled for Silver, while Treasure Nkitma dominated the Boys’ Long Jump.
Six Most Valuable Performers (MVPs) and four Golden Performers secured Silver tickets to automatically qualify for the Grand Final set to hold in Abuja on December 2nd, 2023. These 10 athletes were selected from a mix of the best team and individual performers through their MVP points for their Schools/Teams across their respective events.
400m GOLD medallist Precious Awak is the Cadet Girls’ MVP while Uwakmfon Ekpeyong, won the Boys’ version based on the points gained from his win in the 100m. Other MVPs are Miracle Sonny who claimed two individual titles in the Youth Girls’ category (100m & 400m), Ezekiel Eno for the Youth Boys’ class, and Rosemary Edet and Edidiong Udotong for the Girls’ and Boys’ Junior categories respectively.
Alvin Onyeama who won the sprint double in the U-17 category was named one of the four Golden Performers, and was joined by Humble Isang, Benita Okwudiba and Effiong Umoren.
