Pinecrest track and field is deep in tradition.

It begins in 1970 with the first track coach at the school, John Williams, and athletes from those early years like Joe Robinson, Charles Waddell, Dexter Pride and Jeff Moody.  It was carried on through the next two decades by the likes of girls’ hurdler, Chris Walsh, state pole vault champion, Ed Monroe, the corps of middle- and long-distance runners from 1998 that included Tron Chavis, Victor McLaurin, Drew Martin and Edmund, and a state championship for both the boys’ and girls’ teams.   

With all-conference athletes in the 21st century like Lia Andrews, Rebekah Bishop, Jason Lee, Odell White, Jeff Moody III and Katie Fields, and a conference championship for the boys and a conference and regional title for the girls’ squad in 2002, the beat goes on.

Now, thanks to a $40,000 contribution from the John Williams Fund, created in memory of the first track coach and former athletic director at the school, along with other monies, the Pinecrest track will be upgraded to a level that it can be used for invitational and regional championship meets.

Current track and field coach Larry Martin, a member of the first team at Pinecrest and an all-conference pole vaulter in 1971, spoke about the improvements.

“The $40,000 brings us from what really would have been a simple resurfacing of the track to the creation of a quality eight-lane track with a straightaway extension,” he says. “We’re looking at new field equipment, pits, jumping areas, a storage building and hurdles to fill out the last two lanes. This will be an across the board improvement that allows us to host regional and invitational meets. We’re hoping the time lines can come together to be ready for the start of the track season next year.”

Martin recalls John Williams Fund committee chairman Dr. David Bruton stitching up his chin in the dark (because of a power outage) at halftime of a football game against Clinton in 1970.  Bruton helped make the case for the pledge to the county Board of Education recently, calling the conditions of the current track and field areas substandard and unsafe.

“We are aware of the budget constraints facing the Board of Education,” Bruton said. “We have intolerable conditions at our Pinecrest track and field facilities. We believe that our gift and the school’s commitment to repair the track find the stars aligned.”

Pinecrest athletic director Bill Permakoff said that he expects the hard surface to be put on at the end of the fall athletic season in early November. He looks for the rubberized surface to be installed in March.

Current cross country coach John Buchholz was the school’s third track coach (1978-1982), following Williams and Charlie Bishop. He said that he thinks Pinecrest will have one of the best high school tracks in the state. In his eyes, the Pinecrest tradition includes Williams and recently retired Hoke County athletic director Billy Colston being instrumental in getting girls’ track established as a varsity sport in the state.

“We get 80-100 kids out for track and about 60 for cross country,” he said. “The benefit to the kids is it’s an improvement over what they have now and it will be healthier for their legs. With the additional events it will attract, it will be a plus for the community.”

Williams was the first athletic director at Pinecrest when he was killed in a truck-train collision in 1990. The fund created in his name has raised more than $400,000 for scholarships and athletic facility improvements.

“I think Pinecrest has a really rich tradition in track and field,” Martin said. “That’s clearly indicated by the large number of quality athletes that have come through our program. So it’s really neat that we’re finally getting a facility that is at the same level as the program and people we have had.”