The Mortimer Geddes Trophy Comes Home: Jamaica College Rules Champs 2026
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The Mortimer Geddes Trophy Comes Home: Jamaica College Rules Champs 2026
189 Old Hope Road: Address of Champions
Every conversation with Principal Wayne Robinson about Champs and our prospects this year carried a quiet, deliberate refrain:
"We will do way better than last year."
There was no bravado. No chest-beating. Just a measured confidence, tempered by responsibility and anchored in purpose. The kind of conviction that comes not from hope, but from preparation.
To appreciate the weight of those words, one must remember: last year, we finished third. A commendable achievement by any standard. But within the culture of Jamaica College, third is not an end state. It is a signal. A call to recalibrate, to recommit, and to return.
And so, when the Principal spoke, what he was really saying, quietly and resolutely, was:
This is our year to bring the Champs Mortimer Geddes trophy back to 189 Old Hope Road.
The Rise of the Griffins
Massive congratulations are due to our young Griffins, champions in every sense of the word, who competed for every single point, every inch, every moment.
From the opening gun to the final event, they were purposeful, hungry, composed, and relentless.
They seized pole position early. And never relinquished it.
Across every class, excellence was not occasional. It was consistent. Depth was not theoretical. It was evident. This was a team built not just on stars, but on structure, a machine of disciplined execution where every contribution mattered.
Because this is the truth of Champs:
Titles are not won in one race. They are assembled, point by point, effort by effort, across five demanding days.
Jamaica College assembled theirs with authority.
When the Numbers Spoke
By late Thursday, the numbers had begun to whisper, then speak, then declare.
A few Old Boys, students of the track and field scoreboard and quiet custodians of probability, turned to Monte Carlo simulations, running thousands of race-by-race scenarios across every remaining event. The outputs converged with striking consistency:
It would take nothing short of a total collapse by Jamaica College and a perfect storm from Kingston College, to alter the outcome.
These were not numbers for public consumption. They were shared and discussed discreetly among a cadre of Old Boys—less about celebration, more about calibration. There was a conscious restraint, a refusal to get ahead of the moment. Champs was allowed its full drama, and the athletes were given the space to finish the story.
But in the quiet…it was known.
They knew when the probabilities hardened into inevitability.
"We knew the precise point the mathematics closed every remaining path."
And when the dust settled?
The Monte Carlo models didn’t just call it, they mirrored it with near-perfect fidelity.
This was never about arrogance.
This was clarity, quantified.
The Sound, The Surge, The Claim
And then there was the energy—unmistakable, uncontainable.
The students did not merely attend Champs—they arrived.
Drums rolling. Horns blaring. Voices rising in unison—rhythmic, defiant, alive.
They did not ask for space.
They claimed it.
“This is our stadium. This is our Champs.”
And with every chant, every synchronized clap, every surge of blue and white, they transformed atmosphere into advantage. Momentum into message.
This was not just support.
This was orchestration—a living, breathing wall of belief that carried our athletes from stride to stride, from heat to final, from effort to excellence.
The Unseen Strength: Parents
Behind every stride, every medal, every moment, stood the parents.
The early mornings. The sacrifices. The logistics. The unwavering presence in stands, in silence, in prayer.
They carried the unseen load so these young men could run free.
Their investment is not measured in points, but in possibility realized.
To the parents of Jamaica College athletes:
This victory is yours too.
The Architects of Excellence
Behind every performance is preparation. Behind every medal, a method. And behind every champion, a coach who believed in them before they believed in themselves.
If this Champs victory belongs to anyone beyond the athletes themselves, it belongs to the men who shaped them. Who pushed them in the dark, in the rain, in the grind of pre-season when no one was watching and no points were on the board. Who built not just athletes, but competitors. Not just competitors, but champions.
Jamaica College does not merely field a coaching staff. It fields the finest coaching staff in the nation. A collective of specialists whose depth, cohesion, and mastery across every discipline is unmatched on any track in Jamaica. Many schools bring coaches. JC brings architects.
Head Coach, Middle & Long Distance: Duane Johnson
Head Sprints Coach: Corey Bennett
400m/Sprints Coach: Bertland Cameron
Throws Coach / Assistant Head Coach: Rajive Ford
Hurdles Coach: Craig Sewell
Jumps Coach: Wilbert Walker
Technical/Assistant Coach: Waseem Williams
Each one a specialist. Together, a dynasty-building machine.
And leading it all, Coach Duane Johnson, whose words after the victory said everything:
"I asked God for inspiration, built a blueprint, and this is the result."
A blueprint. Not a gamble. Not a guess. A blueprint, executed with precision, by men who know exactly what they are doing and why.
This was not chance. This was craft. This was coaching at its absolute finest..
The Investment Behind the Victory
A successful track and field program requires more than talent and tactics. It requires investment. Real investment. The kind that shows up before the first race is run, before the first baton is passed, before a single point is scored.
Champions do not emerge from uncertainty. They emerge from stability. From knowing that when they wake up each morning, their needs are met, their focus is protected, and their preparation is uncompromised.
That stability had names attached to it this year.
We extend profound appreciation to JP White, Ian Bryan, President of JCOBA-FL, and Andrew McRae, who established and led the Dorm Support Group and, critically, guaranteed funding for athlete accommodation and nutrition.
Read that word again: guaranteed.
Not pledged. Not promised. Guaranteed.
These Old Boys assumed personal financial risk because they believed. In the institution. In the program. In these young men. They stepped forward, absorbed the uncertainty, and handed our athletes the one thing money cannot usually buy: peace of mind.
When you see a Griffin cross that finish line, remember that somebody made sure he was fed, rested, and ready to run.
That is what Old Boy stewardship looks like in practice.
Dressed for the Occasion
Champions look the part because champions prepare every detail. A word of sincere appreciation is due to Puma, our long-time kit sponsor, whose partnership with Jamaica College goes far beyond fabric and footwear. When our Griffins took to the track, they did so wearing the colors of excellence, outfitted by a brand that, like JC itself, understands what it means to compete at the highest level. Puma did not just dress our athletes. They suited up champions. We are grateful for their continued belief in and commitment to the True Blue Champions.
A Global Brotherhood
To our Old Boys chapters across Florida, Canada, and New York, who answered every call, quietly and consistently, this victory belongs to you as well.
This is what collective stewardship looks like.
The Scoreboard, and the Spirit
There were whispers, as there always are. Purple and white declarations on social media that:
"the brave have neither fallen nor yielded."
And indeed, we respect the spirit of competition.
But in sport, as in life, there is a final arbiter. The scoreboard.
And this year, it spoke with clarity.
Fervet Opus in Campis.
The Final Act: A Champion's Finish
And then came the curtain call.
There is something almost poetic about the 4x400 metres relay, the event that, across the world, is entrusted with bringing track meets to their close. It is the ultimate test of team, of courage, of will.
At Champs, that honor fell, as it so often does, to the Boys Class 1 4x400m.
The stadium leaned in.
The usual suspects took their places.
But make no mistake. This was always going to be a battle between North Street and Old Hope Road.
Lane 4. Jamaica College. Lane 5. Kingston College.
Fitting.
By then, the mathematics had already spoken. Jamaica College had clinched the title. The trophy was secured. But anyone who understands Champs knows: this race still matters.
Because this one is not about points. It is about pride.
What followed was nothing short of electric.
Stride for stride. Baton for baton. A contest of will as much as speed.
KC, true to their creed, never fell and never yielded.
But Jamaica College? Jamaica College was on fire.
Leg after leg, they matched intensity with execution, pressure with poise. And down the final stretch, when fatigue meets destiny, it was JC who found another gear.
The line came.
The roar followed.
And just like that, Jamaica College finished the meet exactly how they began it: winning.
As the final baton changed hands and the stadium rose as one, the moment transcended sport and settled into something far greater, history, identity, and legacy converging on a single lap. The noise swelled, the stakes sharpened, and in that electric crescendo, the voices in the booth found the words that will forever frame the moment:
"This is what Champs is all about, outgoing champions versus incoming champions... and Jamaica College crown it in style. From start to finish, they have done the business. The Mortimer Geddes Trophy returns to Old Hope Road."
Onward: Penn Relays Beckons
The journey continues.
As our boys now turn their focus to the Penn Relays, we do so in a year of special significance. The historic 1999 Jamaica College 4x800m relay team is set to be inducted into the Penn Relays Wall of Fame. Jeffrey Wallace, Dwayne Medley, Kenrick Ferrit, and Mashel Jackson ran 7:37.71, then the second-fastest time ever at the meet, and more than two decades later their performance remains one of the great middle-distance relays in the history of the Games.
Let us rally once more. Support the effort. Show up. Contribute.
Register for the 5K Fun Run
Donate to the annual JC Penn Relays Campaign https://www.jcobany.org/pennrelays
Closing Reflection
In the end, the story of Champs 2026 was not written in a single race, nor decided in a final sprint.
It was built, patiently, deliberately over days of disciplined execution and collective belief.
What began as a quiet promise became a commanding reality.
From the measured words of a Principal…
to the thunder of drums in the stands…
to the unseen sacrifices of parents, coaches, and Old Boys…
Every layer held. Every part mattered.
And somewhere along the way, the numbers confirmed what the spirit already knew.
The margin may read 63—
but the statement was far greater.
This was not just a victory.
It was a restoration.
A return to standard.
A reaffirmation of who we are.
Fervet Opus in Campis.
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