JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Bob Hayes Invitational Track meet is on the move.
The meet is moving from its traditional venue at Raines High School to UNF’s Visit Jax Track at Hodges Stadium, the school announced Monday. The Bob Hayes Invitational Track Meet, sponsored by William Raines High School, will be held in March 2023. Once billed as the country’s largest one-day track meet, next year’s running will mark the 58th installment of the event.
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“We are so honored to partner with Raines High School and the City of Jacksonville in hosting the Bob Hayes Invitational Track & Field Meet,” UNF Director of Athletics Nick Morrow said in a release.
“As UNF and Visit Jax Track at Hodges Stadium continue to become the premier destination for track and field meets, we now have the opportunity to showcase one of the best high school meets in the entire country. We look forward to March 2023 as we highlight incredible high school athletes at one of the best track & field facilities in the country. Thank you to the Bob Hayes Invitational Track Meet Board for trusting UNF to host this prestigious meet.”
The Bob Hayes meet, named after the iconic Olympic sprinting champion and Pro Football Hall of Famer, began in 1964 and has been held locally at Northwestern, Matthew Gilbert and Douglas Anderson. It moved to Raines in 1968 and had been there ever since. Longtime coach James Day handled meet organizer duties until his sudden death last year. Greg Coleman, a Raines alum, inherited that role after Day’s death.