North Carolina Track & Field And Cross Country Hall of Fame Website
Press Release
FIFTH CLASS TO BE INDUCTED INTO THE NORTH CAROLINA
HIGH SCHOOL TRACK & FIELD AND CROSS COUNTRY HALL OF FAME 10 headline the fifth Hall of Fame class
WINSTON-SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA - The fifth class of the North Carolina High School Track & Field and Cross Country Hall of Fame will honor athletes, coaches and officials who have significantly impacted the sports on the high school level and beyond.
Elected to the fifth class: Two-time Olympic bronze medalist, World Indoor Championship bronze medalist and 4-time U.S. champion, Melissa Morrison (A.L. Brown High, Kannapolis); Two-time Olympian, World Outdoor Champion, World Indoor bronze medalist and 3-time U.S. champion, Jesse Williams (Broughton High, Raleigh); 4-time All-American and 8-time national champion, Wesley Frazier (Ravenscroft School, Raleigh); 2-time All-American and 5-time national champion, Ryen Frazier (Ravenscroft School, Raleigh); 3-time national champion, 4-time All-American and 2- time 4A state meet MVP, Kim Jones (Grimsley, Greensboro); 7-time state champion and three-sport star, Bob Gantt (Durham High), who is the only person to sweep the shot put and discus three straight years (1938-1940) and who also starred in three sports at Duke; and 9-time state champion, Steve Clay (Jordan-Sellars, Burlington), who was the most decorated athlete in the NCHSAC, the association for African American schools before integration.
Also inducted were coaches, Mike Esposito (Mount Tabor High, Winston-Salem), who coached 11 state championship teams, 4 individual national champions and was an 8-time North Carolina Coach of the Year; Ben Hovis (Providence Day, Charlotte), who founded NCRunners.com and has led Providence Day to 34 state titles (17 in cross country and 17 in track), while also coaching 8 individual cross country state champions and numerous individual state track champions; Jeff George (ncrunners.com/milesplit.com), media personality, announcer, coach, meet director, who promoted the sport in North Carolina through ncrunners, created meets for statewide exposure, and has helped take the sport to another level because of his passion for the sport.
A statewide committee of 22 track and field and cross country coaches, officials and media representatives who cover the sport extensively nominated and elected the class.
The induction ceremony will be Feb. 3, 2024, in Winston-Salem during the Mondo Elite High School Invitational at the JDL Fast Track, which will house the Hall of Fame. Each elected class has been honored at the meet, which is the premier indoor meet in North Carolina each season.
"High school track and field has existed in North Carolina for more than 100 years, with the first outdoor state championship held in 1913, the first indoor track meet held in 1922, and the first high school cross country meet held in 1929, and North Carolinas has a strong history of national success, dating to the 1930s when High Point High competed at cross country nationals in New Jersey. It is our goal to honor those who have helped make this sport so great in our state, and these first five classes are a great start at letting people know how much talent has come through North Carolina." Brett Honeycutt, N.C. High School Track & Field and Cross Country Hall of Fame Founder.
NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL TRACK & FIELD
AND CROSS COUNTRY HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2023
STEVE CLAY, JORDAN-SELLARS HIGH SCHOOL (BURLINGTON)
* The most decorated athlete in NCHSAC history (the NCHSAC was the state association for African American schools before integration and Steve Clay dominated the hurdles and was a key leg on relays)
* 9-time NCHSAC State champion
* State Meet MVP, 1968
* Alamance County Championship MVP, 1967
* 4 State Meet Records (120-yard hurdles, 1967 & 1968; 180-yard hurdles, 1967, 1968) * 5-time Alamance County Champion
* 4 Alamance County Championship meet records (120-yard hurdles, 1966, 1967; 180-yard hurdles, 1966, 1967)
* 9 State titles
--3-time state champion, 120-yard hurdles (1966, 1967, 1968)
--3 time state champion, 180-yard hurdles (1966, 1967, 1968)
--2-time state champion, 880-yard relay (1967, 1968)
--1-time state champion, Mile relay (1968)
* 5 Alamance County titles
--120-yard hurdles (1966, 1967)
--180-yard hurdles (1966,1967)
--880-yard relay (1967)
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RYEN FRAZIER, RAVENSCROFT SCHOOL (RALEIGH)
* 2-time Track & Field News All-American (mile, 2015; 2-mile, 2015) * Won 5 national titles (4 outdoor and 1 indoor)
2015 New Balance Outdoor: Won 5,000 meters (16:20), 2-mile (10:07) and mile (4:45) in 3 consecutive days
2015 New Balance Indoor: Won 2-Mile (10:02, and was runner-up in mile (4:44) and 5,000 meters (16:12) in 3 consecutive days
2014 New Balance Outdoor: Won mile (4:46)
*Won Prefontaine Classic Mile, 4:39.84 (2015)
*2-time Raleigh Relays premier 3,200-meter winner, 2014 and 2015 * Won Foot Locker South (2014, in 16:27, the fastest ever by a North Carolina girl and the second-fastest in McAlpine Park history)
* Graduated with No. 3 time in national high school history in indoor 5,000 meters (16:12.81, which is still ranked in the top 10 all-time in national high school history) * Graduated ranked No. 1 all-time in North Carolina history in 7 events: --5 indoors: 1,500 meters (4:25.44), 1,600 meters (4:39.93), 3,000 meters (9:23.68); 3,200 meters (9:59.36); 5,000 meters (16:12.81).
(she is still No. 1 in 4 of those events, except the 1,500 meters, which she is now No. 2) --2 outdoors: 1,600 meters (4:36.97), and 3,200 meters (9:59.36), and was No. 2 in the 5000 (16:12.81) and No. 3 in the 1,500 meters (4:25.44) and 3,000 meters (9:23.68) (she is still No.1 in the 1,600; No. 2, 1500 meters; No. 2 in the 3,200 meters; No. 2 in the 5,000 meters and No. 4 in the 3,000)
* Won 3 state track titles (1600, 3200 and 4x400-meter relay)
* Represented U.S. at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country Challenge in Scotland, 2015
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WESLEY FRAZIER, RAVENSCROFT SCHOOL (RALEIGH)
* 4-time Track & Field News All-American (mile, 2013; 2-mile, 2011, 2012, 2013) * 3-time North Carolina Gatorade Girls' Athlete of the Year
--2 N.C. Gatorade Track & Field Athlete of the Year honors (2012 and 2013) --1 N.C. Gatorade Cross Country Athlete of the Year honors (2010) * Won 9 national track titles
---7 outdoor national titles (2 in the mile, 2 in the 2-mile and 2 in the 5000 meters) 2013: in 3 consecutive days at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals, won 5,000 meters in 15:55; 2-mile in 10:05; Mile in 4:39
2012: won 2-mile (10:13) and helped Ravenscroft to a then-N.C. record 11:58 in the DMR with a 4:48 anchor leg
2011: won 5,000 meters (16:24) and mile (4:44) and finished 3rd in 2-mile (10:10) 2010: silver in 5,000 meters (16:59); bronze in 2-mile (10:24)
---2 indoor national titles (1 in the 2 mile and 1 in the 5000 meters)
2013: won 2-mile (10:12) and 5,000 (16:18, in a then-national indoor record)
*Adidas Grand Prix Dream Mile winner, 2013 (4:39.17)
* Led the nation in the 5000 meters in 2013 (15:55.94)
* 2-time Foot Locker national qualifier (2009 & 2010)
*4-time Raleigh Relays premier 3,200-meter winner, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, running a meet record 9:57.70 in 2013 and the first girl in North Carolina history under 10 minutes
* Graduated ranked No. 1 all-time in national high school history in indoor 5,000 meters (16:18, which is still ranked in the top 10 all-time in national high school history) * Graduated ranked No. 5 all-time in national high school history in outdoor 5,000 meters (15:55, which is still ranked No. 11 all-time in national high school history)
* Graduated ranked No. 1 all-time in North Carolina history in 9 events: --5 indoor: 1,500 meters (4:30.4); 1,600 meters (4:46.66); 3,000 meters (9:34.66); 3,200 meters (10:08.68) and 5,000 meters (16:18.01).
--4 outdoor: 1,500 (4:22.19); 1600 (4:37.56); 3200 (9:57.70) and 5,000 meters (15:55.94). for indoor, she is still No. 2 in the 3,000, 3,200 and 5,000 and No. 3 in 1,500 and 1,600) for outdoor, the 5,000 meters is still No. 1 all-time (by 17 seconds), and the 1,500, 1,600 and 3,200 are No. 2 all-time.
* 14-time State Champion
--13-time state outdoor track champion, winning the 800, 1600 and 3200 four straight years (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013) and also running on a winning 4x400-meter relay team (2012).
--2009 NCISAA 3A cross country title
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BOB GANTT, DURHAM HIGH SCHOOL
* Considered the best athlete to ever come out of North Carolina at the time * Nationally, he was ranked No. 3 in the shot put and No. 7 in the discus in 1940 (the only athlete from North Carolina ranked in the top 10 nationally that year in any event) * Only person in state meet history to sweep the shot put and discus 3 straight years (1938-1940)
* Only person to sweep the shot put, discus and javelin in the same year * Set state meet record 3 straight years in shot put and 2 straight years in discus
* 7-time state champion
--3 shot put (1938, 1939, 1940)
--3 discus (1938, 1939, 1940)
--1 javelin (1940)
* At 22nd C-Club Track & Field Invitational, Washington D.C. (considered the No. 1 high school meet on the East Coast), he:
--Won 2 titles (shot put & discus, 1940, setting a meet record in the shot put) * At Duke Invitational, not only the best meet in the state, but one of the best in the South at the time, drawing teams from NC, SC, VA, GA, KY, PA, FL, he: --Swept all 3 (shot, discus, javelin) in 1940 (the precursor to the Duke-Durham Relays) --leading individual scorer in 1939 and 1940
--won 6 titles (2 in the shot, 1939, 1940; 3 in the discus, 1938, 1939, 1940; 1 in the javelin, 1940)
--Set 3 meet records (twice in the discus, 1938, 1940; once in the shot, 1940) * At Greensboro's Civitan Relays, which drew teams from all over North Carolina and some from Virginia, he:
--Won 5 titles (3 in shot, 1938, 1939, 1940; 2 in discus, 1938, 1939; 1 in javelin, 1940) --Set meet records twice in the shot, 1939, 1940; and twice in discus, 1938, 1939) **All-State in basketball, football and track
COLLEGE:
**3-sport star at Duke University (track, basketball and football)
* Inducted into 2 Hall of Fames:
--North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, 1978
--Duke University's Sports Hall of Fame, 1981
--Won Southern Conference track titles in the shot (1942, 1943) and discus (1943); the Southern Conference existed prior to the ACC and teams left the Southern Conference to form the ACC
--All-American in football (1942), planed in 1942 Rose Bowl; all-Southern Conference in football (1941 & 1942); All-Southern Conference in basketball (1943); All-Southern Conference in track (1942 & 1943)
--Held 5 school football records for more than 40 years
--Selected by sports editors from North and South Carolina as the 1942 Teague Memorial Award recipient, recognizing him as the most outstanding athlete in the Carolinas --Featured in "Look Magazine" as the best athlete in the South
--Durham's "Most Outstanding Young Male of 1943" by the Junior Chamber of Commerce POST-COLLEGIATE:
*Played pro basketball for the Washington Capitals (1946, 1947) in the AAB, which later became the NBA.
* World War II veteran, Navy
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*3-time National Champion
--1998 indoor track (long jump)
--1999 outdoor track (long jump, 100-meter hurdles)
--MVP at the 1999 Nike/New Balance Outdoor National High School Championships *4-time Track & Field News All-American (1997, long jump; 1998, long jump; 1999, long jump & 100-meter hurdles)
*1999 North Carolina Gatorade Track & Field Athlete of the Year
*2-time N.C. 4A State Meet MVP (1998, 1999)
*8-time State Champion
---2-time indoor state champ (55-meter hurdles, 1999; Long Jump, 1998, setting an all-class record that stood for six years
---6-time outdoor state champ (100-meter hurdles, 1998, 1999; Long Jump, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, with a best of 19-7)
*Inducted into the Greensboro Sports Hall of Fame, 2021
*The embodiment of an exceptional athlete, she played volleyball for four years, basketball for three years, and excelled in both indoor and outdoor track for four years. __________________________________________________________________________________
MELISSA MORRISON HOWARD, A.L. BROWN HIGH SCHOOL (KANNAPOLIS)
*2-time Olympic bronze medalist (2000 and 2004), 100-meter hurdles. *World Indoor Championship bronze medalist (2003), 60-meter hurdles *IAAF Golden League gold medalist, 100-meter hurdles (1998, Oslo, Norway) *IAAF Grand Prix silver medalist, 100-meter hurdles (1998, Moscow, Russia) *4-time U.S. Champion (1997 Outdoor, 100-meter hurdles; 1998, 1999 & 2002 Indoor, 60- meter hurdles)
IN HIGH SCHOOL:
*won 4 state titles:
--3 consecutive NCHSAA 4A state championships in the 100-meter hurdles (1987, 1988, 1989)
--1 in the triple jump (39-11.75, 1989)
*1989 North Carolina Gatorade Track & Field Athlete of the Year
IN COLLEGE:
*2-time NCAA All-American, 1993 (55-meter hurdles & 100-meter hurdles) *Southern Conference Outdoor and Indoor track & field MVP, 1992 & 1993 *Won 17 individual Southern Conference titles
OTHER:
*Inducted into the Appalachian State Athletics Hall of Fame, 2003
*Inducted into the Southern Conference sports Hall of Fame, 2009
*Given Appalachian State's Trailblazer Award, 2018
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JESSE WILLIAMS, BROUGHTON HIGH SCHOOL (RALEIGH)
*One of the best high jumpers in U.S. history tying for third on the all-time U.S. men's high jump list as a professional
*2011 World Champion
*2010 World Indoor Bronze medalist
*2-time World Athletics Championships bronze (2008, 2009)
*3-time U.S. Champion (2008, 2010, 2011)
*2-time Olympian (2008 and 2012)
*5-time World Championship qualifier (2005, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2015) *4-time World Athletics Final qualifier (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009)
*4th at 2015 Pan Am Championships
*4th at 2015 NACAC Championships
*3-time World Indoor Championships qualifier (2008, 2010, 2012)
*4-time NCAA champion in the high jump (2 indoors, 2 outdoors).
*At the 2011 USATF Nationals, the 6-0 Williams cleared a PR 7-9 1/4 -- the highest jump by an American in 15 years.
*His 2011 World title was the first by an American high jumper in 20 years. HIGH SCHOOL
*2-time Track & Field News All-American (2001, 2002)
*His high school best was 7-feet, 3 inches
*4-time NCHSAA 4A High Jump
--sophomore (6-8, in 2000), junior (7-0, in 2001), and senior (7-2, in 2002), and won the State Indoor title (7-0) as a senior
*4th at 2002 World Junior Championships
*2002 Silver at U.S. Junior Championships
*2002 Adidas Outdoor Champion
*2002 Penn Relays Champion
*2002 Silver at Golden West
*2001 USATF JO National Champion
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COACHES/MEDIA/CONTRIBUTORS
MIKE ESPOSITO, MOUNT TABOR HIGH SCHOOL (WINSTON-SALEM)
*Successful at the high school and collegiate level
*At Mount Tabor High School:
--11 state champion teams
--4 individual national champions
--4 individual national runners-up
--3 Foot Locker finalists
--52 individual and relay state champions
--8-time North Carolina Coach of the Year
--22-time Conference Coach of the Year
-- boys' cross country teams went undefeated from 1994 until his final season at Mount Tabor in 2005, and the girls' cross country team was nationally ranked in 2000 and 2001 --Served as the co-meet director of the North Carolina Indoor and Outdoor Track Championships on numerous occasions and was the meet director for the state cross country championships from 2002-04.
*At High Point University, 2005-present:
--7-time Big South Coach of the Year (5 track, 2 cross country)
--6 Big South Track & Field Championships (2 indoor, 2 outdoor, 2 cross country) --8 athletes sent to NCAA Championship
--3 All-Americans
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BEN HOVIS, PROVIDENCE DAY (CHARLOTTE), NCRUNNERS.COM FOUNDER
*Founded NCRunners in 2005 and ran it for 6 years bringing videos, pictures, articles, and interviews to North Carolina cross country and track and field student-athletes, parents and fans of the sport
*Since taking over Providence Day's program in 2002, he has had incredible success *34 state titles (17 in cross country; 8 in indoor track; 9 in outdoor track) --17 state titles in cross country (boys and girls)
(13 boys cross country state titles, with first in 2005 and last in 2023)
(4 girls cross country state titles, withfirst in 2003 and last in 2023)
--9 in boys' track (2013-2017, 2019, 2021-2023), as well as being an assistant coach for 9 more girls track state titles (2013-2019, 2021-2022)
--8 girls' and boys' independent schools indoor championships (2020-2023); 4 sweeps --20 boys conference cross country titles
--10 girls conference cross country titles
--16 boys, 9 girls individual conference titles
*8 individual cross country state champions
--7 boys individual state champions
--1 girl individual state champion
**coached 2-time national qualifier Ben Huffman (Foot Locker, 2013; Nike Team Nationals, 2012)
- has coached numerous individual state champions in track
*coached select North Carolina athletes in Australia (2008-2011) as part of Down Under Sports and won Down Under Cross Country team titles each year.
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JEFF GEORGE, R.J. REYNOLDS HIGH SCHOOL, MILESPLIT.COM/NCRUNNERS.COM, WEBMASTER
* As the webmaster of NCRunners from 2011 - 2016, he took the site to new heights by creating an organization to weekly posts and branching out to cover multiple meets every weekend. His passion and enthusiasm lifted NCRunners to one of the best high school running sites, if not the best, on the MileSplit network. He also greatly expanded the pool of contributors, being recognized twice by the national office for having the best coverage team on the network.
*Several NCRunners staff members moved on to larger roles within MileSplit, and Jeff was selected to provide in-person coverage of national meets like Foot Locker Cross Country Nationals and NXN (Nike Cross Country Nationals). He coordinated coverage of New Balance Outdoor Nationals for several years, and also held the position of Senior Editor of the California MileSplit site for several years. He continues to cover meets as a freelance reporter for MileSplit.
* During his time as webmaster, he worked with George Phillips with ncpreptrack.com to add many historical performances to the MileSplit database, a process that is still ongoing.
* As an accomplished meet announcer and commentator, he has voiced live streams of high school and college meets all over the country. He has been the voice of JDL Fast Track's high school meets for the last several years, and often announces at other major meets in NC, such as the Dash for Doobie. He pioneered the use of MileSplit season rankings and NC All Time Rankings from NCPrepTrack to inform the announcing of performances in real time.
* Along with Robert Youtz, he developed the first cross country course at Beeson Park (now the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex) and brought NCHSAA officials to see what would eventually become the state meet course (thanks to the dedicated work of Curtis Swisher and the Kernersville Parks & Rec Department).
*Founded NCRunners LLC to run a series of invitational meets in the fall and spring. The series includes the NCRunners Eastern Tour, which brings FAT and media coverage to schools in rural Eastern North Carolina. He also introduced the popular Frosh/Soph Invitational, the first meet of its kind in North Carolina. He continues to operate these meets and add new ones with partners Robert Youtz and Eric Fritz.
* As the girls track coach at RJ Reynolds from 1999 - 2011, his teams won 5 Central Piedmont Conference titles, 3 Midwest 4A Regionals, and the 2001 4A State Championship. At the time, the 2001 team was only the 2nd girls team in NC history to place first or second in all 4 relays at the same state meet. He also coached girls cross country starting in 2001, and won 3 conference titles during his tenure.
* As a meet director, directed 3 outdoor track state meets and 3 cross country state meets, helping (along with DePaul Mittman) to modernize meet running in North Carolina by introducing updated clerking and marshalling techniques.
*Directed countless regional, county, conference, and smaller meets, including the longtime Forsyth County Polar Bear series.