Uasin Gishu complete hat-trick of volleyball titles

What you need to know:

  • Uasin Gishu’s women hit Nairobi 3-0 while their men hammered Kiambu also by straight sets before thousands of cheering fans
  • Kiambu’s coach Ibrahim Oduor, while conceding defeat, said Uasin Gishu played a good game and had better co-ordination
  • In the men’s 5,000m, Samson Lengosine (Samburu) won in 14:56.5, Samson Tuwei (Uasin Gishu) came in second with a time of 15:04.7 as Kennedy Yegon (Nandi) settled for third in 15:30.2

Uasin Gishu officials Friday said sheer hard work, discipline, determination and prayer saw them win the men’s and women’s volleyball titles for the third time in a row at the Kenya Inter-Counties Sports and Cultural Association (Kicosca) Games in Kericho.

Uasin Gishu’s women hit Nairobi 3-0 while their men hammered Kiambu also by straight sets before thousands of cheering fans.

They now take the trophies for keeps and a new trophy will now be unveiled in the eighth edition whose venue will be announced later by the Kicosca Governing Council.

Song and dance rent the air at Kericho High School as the Uasin Gishu women’s team beat Nairobi 3-0, spicing up the chilly morning.

“It was a tough contest right from the beginning to the end, but we never took our eyes off the prize and did not underrate any team,” said Uasin Gishu player Wilson Tuwei.

Team captain Nicholas Korir said: “For the record, we have not conceded any game since 2016 as we have gone on to beat all our opponents 3-0 from the pools right to the finals, and we are prepared to maintain that for years to come.”

Kiambu’s coach Ibrahim Oduor, while conceding defeat, said Uasin Gishu played a good game and had better co-ordination.

“We (Kiambu) fielded older players compared to our opponents and they were overstretched due to the games being played back-to-back for five days. It was strenuous since there was no break but we will go back to the drawing board and work on our weaknesses,” said Oduor, a former Kenyan international.

In the women’s category, Uasin Gishu coach Nicholas Bitok and team manager Dorcas Tirop said the clean sweep was a clear demonstration that the county was a sporting power house in the country.

“Our focus now is to train for the East African Local Authority and Sports and Cultural Association (EALASCA) games to be held in Kampala, Uganda in December,” said Bitok.

Meanwhile, a stiff contest unfolded in day one of athletics competition at Kericho Teachers’ Training College.

With the curtain expected to fall on Friday on the week-long competition, which brought together 37 counties, excitement hit fever pitch with Maureen Nairesia from Narok County winning the women’s 10,000 metres race in 46 minutes, 40.09 seconds, edging out Evaline Cherop (Bungoma) to second place in 48:08:7 while Nandi’s Jepkasi Lilian came in third (48:46.01).

In the men’s 5,000m, Samson Lengosine (Samburu) won in 14:56.5, Samson Tuwei (Uasin Gishu) came in second with a time of 15:04.7 as Kennedy Yegon (Nandi) settled for third in 15:30.2.

Uasin Gishu’s Amos Bett won the men's 1,500m men in a time of 3:58.1 while Samburu's Samson Lengosine crossed the finish line in second position cocking 4:01.9. David Kayiok (Narok) followed in third place in 4:03.4.

Jacinta Chepkoech (Nandi) won the women’s 1,500m in 5:07.8 while Naomi Jebii (Uasin Gishu) finished in second place posting a time of 5:54.5 while Hellen Cherop (Bungoma) was third in 6:10.7.

Eric Shikuku (Mombasa) and Grace Kongu (Nairobi) took the men’s and women’s 10,000m walk titles.

In the football semi-finals, West Pokot beat Nakuru 2-0 at Kericho Green Stadium with goals from George Madegwa in the 17th minute and Dillo Mukeyang in the 58th.