From press release

WINSTON-SALEM — A.L. Brown graduate Melissa Morrison Howard, an Olympic medalist, is one of the headliners for the fifth class of inductees for the North Carolina High School  Track & Field and Cross Country Hall of Fame.

This hall of fame honors 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 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.

Brett Honeycutt, founder of the N.C. High School Track & Field and Cross Country Hall of Fame, said, “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.”

MELISSA MORRISON HOWARD, A.L. BROWN HIGH

• 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 and 2002 indoor, 60-meter hurdles)

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

College (Appalachian State University)

• 2-time NCAA All-American, 1993 (55-meter hurdles and 100-meter hurdles)

• Southern Conference outdoor and indoor track and field MVP, 1992 and 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

• Inducted into the Cabarrus County Sports Hall of Fame, 2013

• Given Appalachian State’s Trailblazer Award, 2018