Dispute sparks St Jago transfers

Four of St Jago High’s most promising athletes have transferred to Jamaica College (JC) following an apparent falling-out between United States-based former St Jago sprinter Davaon Spence and the St Jago Foundation.

Sprinters Jevaney Findlay and Rajaun Romelly, who won silver and bronze, respectively, in the Class Three boys’ 100 metres at the 2025 ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs), along with this year’s Class Three 100m silver medallist J’Den Fisher and sprint hurdler Jaquan Jackson, have all made the move to JC for the start of the new school year.

The St Jago Foundation operates as a support arm of the school’s track and field programme, raising financial assistance from past students. The funding is used to pay coaches’ salaries and boarding fees for some student-athletes.

John Leiba, a director of the St Jago Foundation and former team manager, told The Gleaner that the disagreement with Spence stemmed from a decision to streamline aspects of the track and field programme.

“There seems to have been a disagreement with the position taken by the foundation, which as far as we are concerned, is principled; and there seems to have been differences with Davaon, and Davaon took some decisions. It seems as if discussions with the parents led to certain students leaving the programme and we wish them all the best,” said Leiba.

However, Spence, who attended St Jago from 1997 to 2001 and represented the school at Champs, offered a different perspective.

“An email was sent to the principal almost a year ago that I am not welcome around the programme any more. Because of things that were said, misplaced egos and some information that was not correct; so I decided to step aside. The boys and their parents were not happy with that decision, so the kids decided that they do not want to be there if I’m not gonna be a part of the programme. They value the things that I was doing for them with their development.”

Leiba also told The Gleaner that decisions regarding the management of the team were non-negotiable.

“There were differences in terms of a collective management that Davaon appeared not willing to follow, and as a result he took away himself. Unfortunately, with these things, we have to decide what is right. We are going to abide by that.”

Spence, who worked closely with the Class Three sprinters at St Jago from 2023 to 2025, said he will continue to support the athletes who have transferred to JC.

“I made a commitment to these boys and I will stand by it. I will continue to support them with their development in sports, in the classroom, and also their development in life. Jamaica College is a place that is very attractive to the boys and their parents,” he said.

Based on ISSA’s transfer regulations and the requirement to sit out a year of competition, the transferred athletes will be ineligible to represent JC at next year’s staging of Champs and the Penn Relays.

Meanwhile, a reliable source told The Gleaner that more male athletes could leave St Jago, as additional transfer requests have reportedly been submitted to principal Collette Feurtado-Pryce.