Brilliant Bens dominate Schools Relay Carnival

With a tally of 87 points, St. Benedict’s College defended their title and emerged champions of the All-Island Schools Relay Carnival 2017 held at the Duraiappah Stadium in Jaffna.  

The Bens also won the Under-18 overall championship with a gold medal-winning performances in the 4x100 metres, 4x 200 metres and medley relay while securing second place in a one-lap relay. 

The Bens won gold in the 4x200m and medley relay and silver in the sprint relay in the Under-20 category and were unfortunate to be disqualified and missed out on the silver in the 4x400 metre relay. The reason given was that the runner of the last leg for the Bens ran into the runner from Bandaranaike College Gampaha. However, video evidence clearly showed that the Bens runner was in front at the bend and the runner from Bandaranaike College came from inside and bumped into the Bens runner, pushing him a bit further out before he was able to come back in. But the judges were unwilling to reverse their decision. 

In the Under-16 age group the Bens won the gold in the sprint relay and were again disqualified in the 4x200 metres and missed out on the silver medal due to the blunder made by the track judge who was shown an incorrect stagger and kept the third lap athlete in the wrong place. 

The St. Benedict’s College junior team collected a well-deserved bronze medal in the 4x50 m in the Under-12 age group.

The track was damp due to rain on the second day which made things difficult for athletes as the first lane was in poor condition and most of the athletes opted to run in other lanes after the second leg of the 400 metre relays. Several athletes slipped in the muddied field, which prevented the athletes from producing a better performance at the meet.

Maris Stella College, Negombo were the runners-up with 71 points, followed by Ratnayake MMV Walala with 60 points. 

St. Benedict’s College have already won the Saints’ Quadrangular Athletic Meet, Colombo Zonal, Western Province and were runners-up at the senior John Tarbet Athletic Meet during the 2017 season.