Jacksonville, Florida is one of the premium cities for talented athletes. One event that brings all the top athletes together in Florida to showcase their talents is the Annual Bob Hayes Invitational Track and Field Meet at Raines High School. For the last 50 years this track meet has been the focal point for young track and field athletes from the southeastern United States. Robert “Bullet Bob” Hayes (1942-2002), a Jacksonville native, came to the world’s attention in 1964. He was the first person to run 100 yards in 9.1 seconds and held the work record for sixty yards at 5.9 sec. That same year he won two gold medals in the 1964 Olympics. Once regarded as the World’s Fastest Human, Hayes also excelled in football by helping the Dallas Cowboys win back to back titles in 1965-1966.
Fifty years ago, this event started very small with only five local high schools: Mathew W. Gilbert (now a middle school), Douglas Anderson ( now a school of the arts) , Northwestern ( now a middle school), New Stanton, and St
anton Vocational High School. Douglas Anderson hosted the meet and it was held at Northwestern High School on the Northside. The second year the meet grew and included three colleges, namely Edward Waters, South Carolina State, and Savannah State College of Georgia. Raines, Deaf & Blind School of St. Augustine, Fessenden of Ocala, Center High School of Waycross, Georgia, and Howard High of Ocala were added. The winner was Raines High School of Jacksonville in 1965.
In 1968, Douglas Anderson was phased out in the district’s desegregation plan, leaving the meet location with no host school. The site was then moved from Northwestern to Raines High School, which now hosts the event. The Bob Hayes Track & Field meet is now known as the largest single day high school track and field event in the United States and currently receives international news coverage.
Local athletes who excelled in this year’s Bob Hayes Invitational Track & Field meet were Stanton College prep Senior Kendal Williams, who won the boys 100-meter dash with a time of 10.28 seconds. Williams will be taking his talents to FSU this fall. In the boy’s 1,600-meter race, St. Augustine High School junior Ryan Aponte took the lead in the homestretch and never looked back until the race was over 4:27 seconds later.
Bob Hayes Invitational Track & Field Meet by Joey Lopes
