Benedictines victorious at Colombo Zonal Schools Athletic Championship
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The St. Benedict’s College Athletic team
St. Benedict’s College athletes came up with a stunning allround performance at the all-important Colombo Zonal Schools Athletics Championship held at the Sugathadasa Stadium last month. With a massive tally of 132 points and a winning margin of 60 points over the second placed Royal College, they stamped their class and superiority over the rest of the field. The Benedictines won a total of 13 gold,15 silver, 10 bronze medals and three merit awards in the Under-12 age category, as there were no points are awarded for competitions.
In addition to winning the Overall Boys Championship, they also bagged the Overall Relay Championship. D.S. Senanayake College took the third place with 50 points. Ladies’ College retained the Overall Girls Championship.
The strength of the Bens has traditionally been in sprints. However, this time, they dominated the long distance as well, while being competitive allround. This performance of the Benedictines is the result of multidisciplinary focus and the scientific training schedules adopted by the Benedictine coaches. The coaching team of St. Benedict’s is led by Nuwan Abeywickrema, who trains the sprinters and long distance runners. The success of the team is due to his planning skills and his ability as a leader and a team player. Working with him closely with one common goal are very knowledgeable and experienced coaches Ravindra Weerakkody in jumping, Ravi Jayakody in throwing and Yasasiri in hurdles. They are assisted by two young junior coaches, who represented the college in the recent past. They are Minindu de Mel and Luhith Lohath, who additionally trains the Primary School athletes. The teacher-in-charge of athletics in the Primary School, Ms. Ivone is also part and parcel of the team. The Benedictine athletic squad is well supported by the school management and by the old boys in Sri Lanka and overseas, especially the Old Bens in Melbourne, Sydney and London.
Overall Relay Champion’s award received by Kalana Kuruppu and Supun Senanayake
Ravindu Chirath, Janidu Kumara and Anudha Pansilu, who dominated the Under-20 distance events
Under-20 High Jump winner, Pasan Dilhara
The Overall Championship being received by Steve Sebastian, Pasan Dilhara, the vice captains of St. Benedict’s and Ravindu Chirath, the athletic captain
Members of the Under-16 4x100m relay team -- Hirusha, Kalana, Ishan, Rashila and Kaveesha
| Best performances from St. Benedict’s | |
Under-20
Under-18
Under-16
Under-14
Under-12
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