Findlay, Fisher return to St Jago after brief moves to JC

In a sudden turn of events, two of the four athletes who left St Jago High for Jamaica College (JC) at the start of the new school year have returned to the Monk Street-based institution.

A week ago, Gleaner Sports revealed that promising sprinters Jevaney Findlay, J’Den Fisher and Rajaun Romelly, along with sprint hurdler Jaquan Jackson, had moved from St Jago to JC for the start of the academic year.

However, Gleaner Sports has reliably learnt that Findlay and Fisher are now back at St Jago.

Director of the St Jago Foundation, John Leiba, explained to Gleaner Sports yesterday how the latest development came about.

“Both Findlay and Fisher have reconsidered their position, and through the St Jago family, we’ve been able to persuade them to remain at St Jago,” he said.

When pressed on what exactly prompted the athletes’ change of heart, Leiba remained coy, noting: “It did require some intervention.”

Findlay and Fisher will be eligible to resume representing St Jago with immediate effect, as it is understood that they had not yet registered at JC and returned to St Jago before September 30.

Clarifying the transfer process for student-athletes, ISSA President Keith Wellington told Gleaner Sports: “What we do in terms of documentation at our schools is that the receiving school will send a letter indicating that they are willing to accept the child, and the principal of the school where the child is coming from will send a letter to indicate that they are willing to release the child. Once that is done, copies of the letters are provided to the parents, as well as to the Ministry of Education, who will give another letter approving the transfer of the child. At ISSA, for a child to transfer their record of participation in ISSA competitions, each school that registers the child who has been transferred, must provide at least two copies of those three letters.”

In the meantime, it is further understood that Romelly and Jackson, the other two athletes who transferred to JC, could also return to St Jago.

“There are some delicate negotiations. I don’t know what will happen, but we’ll see in the coming days how that evolves,” said Leiba.

Veteran coach Danny Hawthorne is set to take over as head coach of the St Jago boys’ team for the upcoming season, with Orville Byfield serving as technical director and Olympian and past student Juliet Campbell appointed team manager and athletics director for the school’s overall track and field programme.