Andre Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

There is a wave of enthusiasm running along the purple corridors of North Street as the defending ISSA/Grace Kennedy Boys' champions, Kingston College, step up their preparation with their eyes set on once again carving their name on the coveted Mortimer Geddes Trophy and secure their 32nd lien.

The 'Fortis' clan did well to hold off bitter rivals Calabar High at last year's championships, in a constant battle that went down to the very last race, the results of which left KC with a 1.5 points advantage in one of the most exciting title hunts in the 99-year history of the competition.

Head coach Michael Russell is keeping his cards close to his chest but he was prepared to offer a sense of satisfaction with his charges' reactions so far and is buoyed by the attitude towards their background and strength-training exercises.

Said Russell: "We are doing well so far and everything is going good. We are in the general preparation phase right now so we are basically just doing some runs and other little things like that to get ready for the actual start of training."

With the likes of last year's team captain, Kieron Stewart, Akino Ming, Andre Peart and Hansle Parchment no longer at the school, Russell will be hoping that the next generation, led by Adrian Bonner and a host of other promising talent, will be enough to turn back all threats to his team's title.

"Losing top athletes is always going to be something that you will have to deal with but it happens everywhere. Every team will lose students who come of age and have to leave so I'm not really looking at that as a factor in the championships at all. As usual, I expect an all-round team effort from everyone," added Russell.

Field events

Despite their all-round identity, Kingston College have always been considered more potent in the field events and middle-distance departments. However, their sprinters have made a steady progression in recent years and are beginning to impose themselves more prominently.

"We have over the last couple of years seen marked improvements in our sprinting. If you noticed some years ago we won the double with (Cawayne) Jervis. We have been picking up points in that area, we have been doing fairly decent in the sprinting area but what has been happening is that the Class One sprint has not been to our liking and we will have to work on that as we go along," Russell pointed out. "We will have representation in that area and we hope they come through for us."