A year ago, former ISSA Boys’ Champs Class Three 400m champion Devante Heywood appeared set to be ready to take up one of several offers to attend university in the United States on a scholarship.

The former Munro College runner had just won the Class One 400m at the County of Cornwall Athletics Association (COCAA) Western Champs, running for Rusea’s High after being sidelined with injuries for about two years.

Before he could sign, however, he got an offer he could not refuse, a chance to attend Ivy League institution University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), on a full scholarships, but he would have to wait an extra year as the deadline for registration had passed.

It was a no-brainer for the Trelawny native.

“While there were many options on the list, none were Ivy League,” he told the Jamaica Observer last week.

“Those offers came later down in the season where the gap year was prerequisite. Additionally, in speaking with some of the other coaches it was clear they didn’t have my academic interests in mind and I definitely consider myself a student-athlete so, with further consultation, I made a choice that was best suited for me,” he added.

Heywood, who will major in chemical and biological engineering, is the second Jamaican to sign for an Ivy League school this year as Jamaica College’s J’Voughnn Blake will attend Ivy League institution Dartmouth College starting this August.

Heywood, who anchored Munro College’s 4x100m relay team at the 2019 Penn Relays, placing fourth, said Jamaicans matriculating to Ivy League schools should not be a surprise.

“It just goes to show that sports, indeed, isn’t a prohibitor to what can be accomplished in the classroom. Our athletes are, if not anything else, extremely disciplined, and if we set our minds to it we can accomplish anything — on and off the track,” he said.

After waiting a year he says he can’t wait to get to Philadelphia.

“I’m pretty excited. I’m really looking forward to the new environment and experience. I expect great things from Penn. I expect to be surrounded by some of the greatest minds in the world, top-tier facilities, rigorous academic regimes, and overall just a fun and memorable experience,” opined Heywood.

The time has not been wasted as he also told the Jamaica Observer, “In the past year I have been working on my weaknesses with my physiotherapist, Dr Karey Lewis, and doing some amount of technique and fitness training with my high school coach, Mr Rodrick Myles. Additionally, I have been assigned pre-engineering course work from UPenn to keep me occupied,” said Heywood.

Among the injuries were a strained adductor magnus, scar tissues on his hamstring, “and some issues with my hips”.

“Most of this year has been spent learning how to prevent and fix said injuries. In the latter stages I do believe we’ve had a few epiphanies which make me optimistic about what the future holds,” Heywood concluded.