The braves have fallen but won’t yield

Kingston College’s (KC) principal, Dave Myrie, says the institution will return much stronger after surrendering their title at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs) to rivals Jamaica College (JC) last month.

KC, who entered the championships at the National Stadium chasing a fifth consecutive title, had to settle for second place with 282 points, as JC produced a dominant display to win with 345. Calabar High School (169.33), St Jago High School (121.83), and Wolmer’s Boys’ School (105) rounded out the top five.

Despite the disappointment of being dethroned after four straight titles, Myrie noted that this setback will serve as motivation for future success.

“Sometimes a loss for KC is the motivation that KC needs to regroup and come again,” said Myrie.

“We will always be there, and we will be coming back very seriously about the championships. May the best team win, but we are good.”

Myrie also stated that he welcomed the fierce rivalry with JC because it adds to the excitement and standard of the competition.

“We love this type of competition and rivalry because if it is not there, then the whole thing will be boring. So we keep on fighting, and we keep on pushing each other,” he added.

“Let me congratulate the JC team for their efforts, because they had a virtually flawless Champs,” Myrie said.

“They did well, and I congratulate them wholeheartedly on a great performance and on winning the championships.”

Myrie also highlighted that there were a number of crucial early setbacks that proved costly to KC’s title defence.

“We had some mishaps in the early days of the championships because we dropped points that we could not afford to drop, and these things happen because Champs always has mishaps,” he said.

Myrie also threw his full support behind first-year head coach Richard Smith, who took over from Leaford Grant, pointing out that he will remain in charge as the programme looks ahead.

“As far as I know, Mr Smith is the head coach, and we have a cadre of coaches there. We will do our post-mortem, look at the areas where we fell short, and do what we need to do,” he stated.

While the loss still lingers, Myrie underscored that he remains proud of his athletes, many of whom now turn their focus to academics.

“I am feeling a little disappointed, but at the end of the day I am still proud of the boys. They fought and they lost, and I have no issue with how things have gone,” said Myrie.

“I have met with the boys and told them I am proud of them. All of these boys are going to be sitting CAPE and CSEC exams, so now it is for us to make up for missing out, and be fully prepared for their examinations.”