KINGSTON College (KC) celebrated the return of the Mortimer Geddes Trophy at 2A North Street on Monday as they continued to add to their superior tally of victories over their rivals.

The school that has won the title the most, an extraordinary 33 times, paraded the members of the successful team — which swept aside the defending champions, Jamaica College, by over 71 points — before members of both the senior and junior campuses, to massive cheers and loud horns.

After winning both the Manning Cup and Olivier Shield in January, KC were determined to add the Champs trophy to the cabinet this year and they did so emphatically, as they led from day two — when points were first tallied — to day five.

Dubbed Mission 33, the title chase by the “Purples” was never in any doubt as they built on their lead each successive day, and even when JC closed the gap for a brief period on Saturday to just over 40 points, they were able reestablish a big lead when they gathered 31 points from the sprint hurdles.

Head Coach Leaford Grant has been a part of the coaching staff for many years but took over the top job in 2019, ending an extended drought when they dethroned Calabar High to make it title number 32. A cancellation of the 2020 championships due to COVID-19 meant a delay to his title defence, which went up in smoke when JC snatched away the title by 15 points.

But a rejuvenated KC were relentless in their pursuit of the title for 2022, and their win was never in doubt at any time during the championship as Grant grabbed hold of his second title as head coach in four years.

“We are happy, we are elated, we are just enjoying it. We respect Jamaica College and their victory last year, this year is our year…so we are celebrating this year,” said the soft-spoken coach.

Grant pointed to two moments at Champs which he thought were pivotal in their win.

“The 100m Class 1 Boys, where Bouwahjgie [Nkrume] actually stumbled, got up back and ran back to gain some points for us, and that medley relay that Jaquan [Coke] actually ran to catch back the STETHS boy. At that time we knew we won the competition based on the tremendous vibes in the camp and the rest of boys going out to compete. That lifted them,” he said.

Chairman of the board, Michael Vascianna lauded the boys for their performance at the championships.

“Congratulations to our athletes! They have done us proud and I know that it took a lot of hard work and perseverance, and we congratulate them and commend them for that.”

Meanwhile, principal of KC, Dave Myrie had a stern warning for those who doubted his school.

“Never count out KC,” he said. “Because it doesn’t matter how people think about us, we are going to come back and we are going to come back fighting all the time. That’s the spirit of ‘Never say die’. KC tends to do more of the doing than the talking and we show them by our actions.

“One thing is certain, no matter what anybody says there is only one college — and it’s Kingston College.”

Myrie promised the team a proper celebration after the Carifta Games, with a number of boys from KC set to perform at the three-day regional championships that gets underway this Saturday.