Having witnessed his school clinch its 35th hold on the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association/GraceKennedy Boys’ Championships title, Kingston College (KC) Principal Dave Myrie has declared that his institution has no intention of relinquishing the crown next year.

Myrie told the Jamaica Observer that KC aims to mark its 100th anniversary celebration in 2025 by retaining the boys’ title.

“Next year is our 100th anniversary, and of course, it would be nice to retain our title in our anniversary year,” said Myrie, following a celebration ceremony during their school devotions held at the 2A North Street base.

“However, I am sure, in the same breath, persons would say that they want to make sure that they beat KC on their 100th year, and so I know that people will be planning for us. But we have to plan for ourselves in terms of what we are going to be doing, so at the end of the day, we would love to hold on to it, but we just have to get the work done,” he said.

KC secured their fourth title in the last five years, with a whopping 335 points on the final day of the five-day championships at the National Stadium on Saturday. Jamaica College were the closest challengers, amassing 278 points.

Calabar High (194); Excelsior High (122); St Jago High (111.5); Wolmer’s Boys (66); St Elizabeth Technical (59); and St George’s College (53); Munro College (45) and Edwin Allen High (29) rounded out the top 10 boys’ schools.

Myrie said victory did not come easy, as his boys had to make a lot of sacrifices along the way.

“Obviously, I am happy that we have retained our title, and as I have always said, we don’t go into a competition to lose; we go in to win. I am happy that the boys have worked hard, and I am very proud of them because sometimes, people don’t understand what goes on behind the scenes for these kids who are out there day after day and weekend after weekend,” he said.

“They still have their schoolwork to do, and teachers are not holding back and saying you give your SBAs (school-based assessment) five days after, and we can’t say we are not going to do exams today, we are going to do it another day, so they just have to get on with it,” Myrie explained.

“I am really happy for the kids because they have been able to balance things well, and it can open up opportunities for them like overseas colleges, and so forth, going forward. Myrie also paid tribute to the school’s coaching staff as well as the team management and old boys’ groups for their continued support and dedication to the school.

“These coaches have been working together for a while, and if you think about it, over the past couple of years, even if we haven’t come anywhere less than third, which speaks to the mettle of the coaches that we have here at Kingston College, and so overall, I am just happy that the boys have defended their title well,” the KC principal explained.

“I also want to thank our old boys because they are a key ingredient in what we do, and the level of support that they have provided to the school is phenomenal. I also want to thank our female supporters who have actually come and worked with the school and helped in all kinds of ways,” Myrie emphasised.