If Holmwood Technical go on to win Girls’ Champs title number nine next year, they could do it without Maurice Wilson, the man behind their success the last eight years.

Even before securing their eighth win on Saturday as the ISSA GraceKennedy event drew to a close at the National Stadium, Wilson was already looking ahead and Holmwood, the school he put on the track and field map, was not necessarily in the picture.

“I almost walked away this year,” he told the Observer in an interview. “We need a more cohesive effort from the school community, this is not just about money now, it is about how we build on this success we have been having.”

Holmwood won the title with 273.33 points, 15.33 more than Edwin Allen, the pre-Champs favourites, who score 258 points, the closest margin in over 15 years and in stark contrast to last year when Holmwood won by nearly 200 points.

Holmwood trailed early in the meet and only asserted themselves on the last day and went on to win what Wilson described as “the wickedest one…the sweetest victory”.

Despite all this, Wilson says they still have too many frustrations and while he paid tribute to Principal Paul Bailey, said more must be done with the facilities if he is to think about continuing.

Holmwood’s third-placed finish at Central Champs two weeks before Girls’ Champs had fed fuel to the fire that their reign was at an end, but Wilson said he was not even on the island then.

Wilson had flown to Africa, he said, on personal business. “Normally I would never leave during Central Champs,” he said, pointing out the level of frustrations he was feeling about the lack of support.

After returning and surveying the situation, he said he rolled up his sleeves and went to work and “a lot of magic happened in these last two weeks” to get his team into a position to defend the title.

“I will take a lot of credit for this win,” he stated, pointing out he did not delegate as he had in the past, but made sure he touched all bases, spending more personal time with the athletes.

He sounded an ominous warning for next year, saying if he is back they could break records for total points. “We have the team now that could double what we have this year,”, he boasted, adding he had projected 277 points coming into Champs.

If he walks away from the programme he has built, making it into the second most successful in terms of titles won, Wilson mused that he would concentrate on his GC Foster Track Club where he has developed several senior athletes.