(Source: Jacksonville Free Press)
This year’s 2025 Bob Hayes Informational Track Meet (BHITM) was once met with a whirlwind of activities to celebrate and honor the Jacksonville legend. The Festivities included a Hall of Fame Banquet and two track meets, one honoring Coach James Day and Olympian Bob Hayes. The festivities are named after 1964 Olympian Bob ‘Bullet’ Hayes. Bob ran in the slowest lane, tied the world record of 10.0 in the 100-meter race, and won two gold medals and was once regarded at “World’s Fastest Human.”
This year’s meet celebrated Andrew Jackson High School Senior Nieko Gonzalez who set a new Bob Hayes track meet record. Neiko ran the full cap 400 hurdles in 52.9 seconds!
Organized in the spring of 1964, the BHITM is marking 2025 as the 61st year of the organizations history. Hundreds of high school students and coaching staffs from north and southeast Florida converged on the University of North Florida Hodges stadium for a day of sportsmanship and camaraderie. The weekends activities included a hall of fame banquet that honored local track runners: Albert Chester, Pauline Davis-Thompson, Justin Gatlin, Garrett Scantling and Twanisha Terry.
Formerly held at Raines High school on the northside, this is the meets third year presenting runners at UNF’s Southside/Beaches campus. BHITM is currently under the leadership of Greg Coleman, former NFL punter and 1972 Raines High school graduate.
