Four prominent athletes transfer from St Jago to JC Amid fallout between past student and school’s foundation

Four of the most promising athletes from St Jago High School have transferred to Jamaica College (JC), following an apparent falling-out between US-based former St Jago sprinter Davaon Spence and the St Jago Foundation.
Sprinters Jevaney Findlay and Rajaun Romelly, who won silver and bronze, respectively, in the Class Three boys’ 100m at the 2025 ISSA GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships, as well as this year’s Class Three 100m silver medallist, J’Den Fisher, and sprint hurdler Jaquan Jackson, have all transferred to JC for the start of the new school year.
The St Jago Foundation operates as a supporting entity to the school’s track and field programme, garnering finance from past students, which is used to pay the salaries of the coaches and also boarding fees for some student-athletes.
Genesis of disagreement
John Leiba, a director of the St Jago Foundation and former team manager, told STAR Sports the genesis of the disagreement with Spence stemmed from a decision to streamline aspects of the track and field programme.
“There seems to have been a disagreement with the position taken by the foundation, which, as far as we are concerned, is principled, and there seems to have been differences with Davaon, and Davaon took some decisions,” said Leiba.
“It seems as if discussions with the parents led to certain students leaving the programme and we wish them all the best.”
Different perspective
However, Spence, who attended St Jago between 1997 and 2001, and also represented the school at ‘Champs’, gave STAR Sports a different perspective.
“An email was sent to the principal almost a year ago saying that I am not welcome around the programme anymore. Because of things that were said, misplaced egos, and some information that was not correct, I decided to step aside,” he explained.
“The boys and their parents were not happy with that decision, so the kids decided that they do not want to be there if I’m not gonna be a part of the programme. They value the things that I was doing for them with their development,” added Spence.
Decisions non-negotiable 
Meanwhile, Leiba also told STAR Sports that the decisions around the management of the team were non-negotiable.
“There were differences in terms of a collective management that Davaon appeared not willing to follow, and as a result he took away himself,” he said. “Unfortunately, with these things, we have to decide what is right. We are going to abide by that.”
In the meantime, Spence, who worked closely with the Class Three sprinters at St Jago between 2023 and 2025, says he will continue to work with the athletes who have been transferred to JC.
“I made a commitment to these boys, and I will stand by it. I will continue to support them with their development in sports, in the classroom, and also their development in life. Jamaica College is a place that is very attractive to the boys and their parents,” he said.
Based on ISSA rules and the requirement to sit out a year of competition, the transferred athletes will not be able to represent JC at next year’s staging of the Boys and Girls’ Championships and the Penn Relays.
In the meantime, a reliable source told STAR Sports that more St Jago male athletes could switch schools, as a few more transfer requests have been submitted to the school.