James Nationally Ranked

Congratulations to Senior Rayford James who is current ranked nationally and state-wide according to DyeStat. In the 800-meters James is ranked 34th in the United States and 8th in Florida across all classifications. In the 1600-meters James is ranked 57th in the United States and 10th in Florida across all classifications. There are over 17,000 high schools across the United States with times submitted for ranking.

Record Weekend at FSU Relays!

Congratulations to the Generals Track and Field team on their accomplishments this weekend at the FSU Relays. All of the Generals who competed in the FSU Relays set personal records in their races.

The Generals were led off Friday night with Senior Rayford James taking on some of the best 800m runners in the state and the country. Rayford didn't disappoint finishing 5th place just behind two of the top times in the United States this season. The winner, Nick Morken of Niceville, won the 800m with a 1:53.45 (US #2 Prep time this season) with James finishing with a 1:55.82.

On Saturday the girls kicked things off with Arielle O'Neal and Brenee Cummings competing in the Girls 1600m Consolation races. O'Neal was able to improve on her school record time by running a season best and personal record of 6:20.38. Brenee shattered her personal best by posting her first time under 7-minutes for the 1600m with a 6:56.20.

Following up the girls strong performances the boys showed improvement on their own. Sophomore Dominic Williams improved on his personal best by running a 4:32.60 finishing 9th overall of 102 runners in the 1600m consolation races. Sophomore Buay Deng set a personal record, running with his shoe untied, finishing with a 5:04.72. John Hutton, Chris Curry and Kris Small then finished 1st, 2nd and 4th respectively in heat 6, all setting new personal records.

Finishing up in the 1600m Finals was Senior Rayford James. James was boxed in early in the race, but kept his cool patiently waiting for the opportunity to make his move. James was able to find the opening on the last lap of the race, where he moved outside with about 250m to go. James was able to out sprint Kaleb McLeod (Trinity Christian) and Conner Ferrentino (Freedom HS) down the final straightaway to finish 8th overall and set a new Robert E. Lee High School record. James' 4:19.25 finish breaks the 45 year old record held by Jack Lanier. Lanier set the Robert E. Lee High School record with a 4:21.1 one-mile run in 1968, which converts to a 4:19.64 based on USATF and NFHS conversion rules. The previous best non-converted 1600m time for the Generals was run by 2008 FHSAA 1600m State Champion Jonathan Esteban, who ran a 4:21.83.

James on pace for record year!

Senior Rayford James has been making a statement since Cross-Country Regional Championships. James missed qualifying for FHSAA State Championships by 9 seconds in the 5k cross-country race, leaving a bad taste in his mouth. James took those raw emotions and has filtered them into his Track and Field training. The results thus far have looked promising for this season.

During the indoor track and field season James put on a display in Birmingham, Alabama winning both the 800m and 1600m in blazing times. Though indoor tracks generally run slower due to the number of turns a runner must make James was not pleased with his times a 2:01 finish in the 800m and 4:37 finish in the 1600m. James then competed in the Jimmy Carnes Invitational at the University of Florida, again sweeping the 800m and 1600m. James bested his previous 1600m time by 10 seconds, finishing in 4:27. His time was the fastest indoor time by a Lee High School student in the indoor 1600m. Unfortunately, the time does not count toward a school record because Lee High School does not compete in indoor meets and James was running unattached. James also posted the only time under 2-minutes in the 800m with a 1:59 at the Jimmy Carnes.

This past weekend James opened the Track season at the Sandalwood Saints Open with an exclamation! James shattered the previous Lee High School record in the 1200m with a 3:13, previously held by 1600m state-finalist Chris Haynes. Haynes previously held the 1200m record with a 3:37 set at the 2008 Sandalwood Saints Open.

The records James is currently looking to take down are the 800m held by Dwayne Edwards and the 1600m held by Johnathan Esteban. Edwards set the 800m record last season at the FHSAA 3A Region 1 Championships with a 1:55.14. Esteban has held the 1600m since 2006 FHSAA 3A State Finals where finished with a 4:21.83. James has current personal records of 1:56.62 in the 800m and 4:24.27 in the 1600m.

Read more about our [February 2014 Athlete of the Month].

James, Williams post top times at Jimmy Carnes Indoor

Lee High School Sophomore Dominic Williams and Senior Rayford James competed in the Jimmy Carnes Indoor Track and Field Meet, held on January 17-18 at the University of Florida's Stephen O'Connell Center, posting top times in the 800m, 1 mile and 3000m events.

Sophomore Dominic Williams competed in the Boys 15-16 1 Mile race finishing second with the time of 4:42.01. That was just a warm-up though as Williams dominated the Boys 15-16 3000m race in a time of 9:40.77, finishing 15 seconds ahead of the 2nd place finisher.

Senior Rayford James continued his indoor season by winning the Boys 17-19 1 Mile race and the Boys 17-19 800m race. James posted the fastest time in the 1 Mile in the all of the Boys races with a 4:27.10, beating out several college age runners as well. James also was the only runner in the Boys races to break the 2-minute barrier in the 800m posting the fastest time of 1:59.03.

Williams' and James' accomplishments at Jimmy Carnes was a display of the promise to come this track season from the two. Senior Rayford James currently ranks 1st overall in Florida for the 800m and mile indoor.

Track Practice Begins January 14

Those students interested in running Track, practice begins on Tuesday, January 14. Students need to be in Coach Friedman's room by 2:15pm.

Rayford James wins 800m, 1600m at Indoor Meet

Senior Rayford James traveled to Birmingham, Alabama this Winter Break to warm up his racing legs on an indoor track. His eagerness to get started did not disappoint as he won both the 17-18 age bracket 800m and 1600m races. James started off with a clear victory in the 1600m finishing with a 5-second victory in a time of 4:37.08. James posted an 800m time of 2:01.89 cruising to a 3-second victory over the 2nd place finisher. Though after the meet James was not happy about his times, this was an early season race and was head-to-head against other top caliber runners in their senior year of high school or freshman year of college.

Rayford James ranked 5th in Florida

After placing just outside the top 15 in the Class 3A Regional championships, Senior Rayford James has shifted his focus to track and field. His season looks promising after the recent rankings released by Florida Runners for the 800m. James is currently ranked 5th overall among all classifications in the 800m. James time of 1:55 is just hundredths of of a second off of the school record set by Dwayne Edwards last season. James also is one of the state's top competitors in the 1600m with a personal record of 4:24.27 and will likely make a run at the school record of 4:21.8 set by Jonathan Esteban in 2005.

UNF to host State Championships through 2015

The Florida High School Athletics Association and the University of North Florida announced on Tuesday, September 3, 2013 that UNF will remain as the host to the state Track & Field Championships through 2015. The FHSAA and UNF agreed to terms that will have all classifications competing over one weekend instead of two, as was during the 2012-2013 season. The next Track and Field State Championship will take place May 2-3, 2014 at Hodges Stadium