Starlets prodigy Shikangwa nominated for SOYA award

Harambee Starlets and Vihiga Queens forward Jentrix Shikangwa has been nominated for the 2019 Sports Personality of the Year Award (SOYA) in the Most Promising girl category.

For the second year running, Mombasa’s Fort Jesus will host the 16th edition of the annual award gala slated for January 24, 2020.

The 17-year-old emerged the top scorer at the just concluded Cecafa women tournament with an impressive 10 goals as Starlets dethroned Tanzania to lift their first ever regional title.

Prior to the tournament, Shikangwa also propelled Starlets to the penultimate round of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic qualifiers.

Furthermore, the teenager helped Vihiga Queens clinch the Women Premier League (WPL) title after the Queens amassed 70 points.

The in-form footballer will however battle it out for the award with budding golfer Belinda Wanjiru Macharia who represented her school in the Banda Trophy nine-hole event at Karen Country Club where she reigned supreme in a score of 20 stable Ford points.

The nine-year-old emerged the nett winner at the Sigona Ladies Open and was also adjudged the gross winner thus scooping the bronze medal.

She finished second at the NPA nine-hole event on 35 gross before representing the country in the World Championships in Pinehurst, USA, where she tied in position 41 out of 114 established participants.

Africa Under-20 400m champion Mary Moraa has also made the final list as she timed 53.57 en route to winning a gold medal at the continental championships held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. She also finished fourth at the African Games held in Rabat, Morocco and subsequently qualified for the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar.

Another contender for the coveted award is the University of Nairobi’s Dynamites player Faith Atieno who was instrumental in steering Dynomites to a top three finish in the Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) premier league as she averaged 15 points per game and set a record of netting seven three-pointers in a single first half.