Ba Methodist High School has ended Xavier College’s decades-long hold on the Coca-Cola Ba Zone overall title, topping the combined medal table after a tightly contested meet in Ba. The win came down to gold medals, with Ba Methodist collecting 26 gold, 12 silver and 11 bronze, edging Xavier by a single gold as the two schools battled for supremacy.
Xavier College finished a close second with 25 gold, 32 silver and 22 bronze medals. While Xavier amassed a larger haul of silver and bronze medals overall, Ba Methodist’s edge in golds was enough to lift it to the top of the standings under the competition’s ranking system. Ba Methodist’s total medal count was 49 compared with Xavier’s 79, highlighting how the distribution of podium finishes shaped the final outcome.
The result reflected a clear split between the divisions: Ba Methodist dominated the girls’ events, putting forward a series of winning performances that swung the overall title in their favour, while Xavier College maintained its stronghold on the boys’ division. Organisers and coaches said the balance across boys and girls programmes proved decisive this year, with Ba Methodist’s girls’ depth providing the margin needed to unseat a long-established rival.
Coca-Cola Ba Zone president Hussain Shah described the meet as fiercely competitive and praised the efforts of all schools involved. “The competition was fierce,” Shah said, noting steady improvements across the board. “Athletics in Ba is becoming more competitive than ever.” His comments pointed to broader growth in standards and participation among Ba’s schools, a trend organisers hope will continue to raise the level of local athletics.
The result marks the latest development in a rivalry that has shaped athletics in Ba for decades. Xavier’s long reign had been a fixture of the zone’s competitions; Ba Methodist’s breakthrough signals shifting dynamics as other schools close the gap. For Xavier, retaining dominance in the boys’ events demonstrates the school’s continuing strength in that category even as overall supremacy slipped.
Coaches and school officials have not yet released detailed breakdowns of individual event winners or named standout athletes from the meet. Organisers are expected to publish full event results and a complete list of individual medalists in the days ahead, which will provide a clearer picture of where each school’s strengths lie and which performances were pivotal in deciding the overall standings.
As the dust settles on this year’s Coca-Cola Ba Zone, the narrowness of the margin suggests next year’s competition will be keenly anticipated. The shift in the medal table underscores growing parity in Ba school athletics and sets the stage for an intensified rivalry between Ba Methodist and Xavier College in future meets.
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