Defending champions Sts Peter and Paul look set to retain their Jamaica Independent School Association (JISA) Prep Schools Athletics crown when action runs off on Thursday inside the National Stadium.

Forty-one schools and approximately 2,000 students will compete at the 48th staging of the three-day Championship that originated in 1977.

Hydel Prep with 21 titles are the most successful, ahead of Vaz Prep on 13 wins and Wolmer’s Prep with six titles.

However, Sts Peter and Paul are the current title holders and will be hoping to repeat after securing their first title last year.

They will need to be at their best with the likes of Vaz Prep, Hydel, Our Lady of the Angels, Emmanuel Christian Academy, Lannaman’s, Mona, Wolmer’s and St Andrew all aiming to dethrone the champions.

In 2024, Sts Peter and Paul tallied 211 points to finish ahead of Vaz on 158 points. Our Lady of the Angels with 136, St Andrew with 134.5 and Hydel with 131.5 completed the top five rankings.

Head Coach Jerome Kirby of Sts Peter and Paul said preparations have gone well and they should be able to defend their title successfully, especially considering what he described as a “drastic” increase in support from parents and school administration across the board.

“The kids performed well throughout the development season, so it looks good so far. It’s up to the kids now to go there and perform at their best,” Kirby pointed out.

“Barring mishaps, it should be a well-defended title. The coaching staff has done what is necessary. We have gone above and beyond in terms of preparation to ensure that they are well accommodated and comfortable for the three days,” he added.

Meanwhile, Kirk Terrelonge, coach of the 2023 champions Emmanuel Christian Academy, pointed out that his team had some setbacks and would be satisfied with a top 10 finish.

“We’re just hoping for the best. I mean, we try to prepare as best as possible. Not saying that we are fully ready as in previous times, but, as I said, we try to prepare to the best,” said Terrelonge.

“We had some setbacks, but we tried to handle them to the best as possible, ensuring that the athletes, stay healthy.

“We’re trying to aim for the top 10, to be honest with you. So, if we come up higher than that, I mean, that should be good for us,” added Terrelonge.

Meanwhile, Tamara McKenzie, president of JISA, noted that the competition has grown from 1,600 students to 2,000 this year with student-athletes representing schools from six parishes.

“This year is a really special one because we would have been able to mobilise more rural schools to participate, which is hard in itself for a school in the Corporate Area to participate,” said McKenzie.

“But for a rural school to come in, cover transportation, meal expenses, boarding, all of the different support teams, it’s really a lot of work within the big picture of the operation of the school. So, it speaks to the support and engagement of the parent community and the business communities where these schools operate,” she added.

Action starts at 9:00 am with the preliminaries of the boys’ class one 400m, followed by the girls’ class two long jump. There will be a lunch break at 1:00 pm, and the 800m sprint medleys bring down the curtains on day one at 7:10 pm.