THE era of one school dominating the ISSA Boys and Girls Championships, or any one school running away with the title, could be a thing of the past, says one top schoolboy coach.

Kingston College’s Michael Russell, is of the opinion that track and field fans should be prepared for nail-biting races for ‘Champs’ titles in the upcoming years as the talent in both the schools and the coaching ranks continues to spread.

Russell says the biggest reason was the emergence of GC Foster Sports College, and thinks top schools will have difficulty stockpiling top prospects.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer yesterday, Russell said he was expecting a four- or five-team race for the Boys title as the talent continues to spread.

Additionally, he said schools that were not in the race to win ‘Champs’, or even finish in the top five, could help decide who won by “taking valuable points away from the contenders”.

He said overall this was good for Jamaica’s long-term success in international competition as more coaches were being taught the proper techniques, and a lot more were doing research on their own as well.

Two hundred and twenty-three schools — 117 boys and 106 girls schools with over 2600 athletes — will take part in the 102nd staging of the world’s largest high school athletics meet.

— P Reid