Not so many years ago, Ed Ford walked along the track at Kevin Sullivan Field on Jacksonville’s Northside and evaluated his new Jackson track and field roster.
Didn’t take long. Six girls. Five boys. That was it.
In 2025, Jackson track and field is in a whole different world.
“We want everybody to know that track is not dead here on Main Street,” the Tigers’ third-year head coach said.
Now, Jackson is looking ahead with renewed confidence, blistering speed and a Region 1-2A girls championship trophy entering the Florida High School Athletic Association track and field meet at the University of North Florida’s Hodges Stadium on May 9.
“Seeing everything that I wished for actually come to pass has been remarkable out here,” Ford said.
While Northeast Florida’s other regional team champions on May 2-3 were largely accustomed to life as state contenders — Mandarin (4A boys), Creekside (4A girls), Raines (2A boys) and Providence (1A boys and girls) — it’s a different story for the Tigers.
In 97 years of Jackson athletics, the Northside school has never won an overall FHSAA team trophy in either boys or girls track, coming closest on the boys side with runner-up finishes in 1929, 1930 and 1954. As recently as 2022, Jackson’s girls placed 13th out of Duval County’s 17 public school teams at the Gateway Conference meet.
But they’ve turned it around, rapidly. Last year’s fifth-place boys finish in Class 2A was the school’s highest in FHSAA records since 2010, and the sixth-place girls mark was the Tigers’ best to date.
In 2025, they’re aiming even higher.
“My goal team-wise is to just come out here and dominate,” senior hurdler Nieko Garnes said. “My personal goal is to come out here, repeat again and win all events at state, which I plan on doing on Friday.”
‘Diamond in the rough’
The crown jewel of Jackson’s boys program is reigning state 400-meter hurdles champion Garnes, described by Ford as a “diamond in the rough.”
“Nieko has really big goals, and when he steps on the track, there’s nothing stopping him,” Ford said.
For more than one month, Garnes’ personal-best of 52.67 from the Sam Burley Hall of Fame Invitational stood as the year’s top high school 400 hurdles time in the United States, and he still ranks in the top 10 nationwide.
Garnes — his younger sister, Nijah Garnes, is an accomplished hurdler in her freshman year and also ranks among the city’s contenders — isn’t content to stop with the hurdles.
He’s also scheduled to race the 4×400 and 4×800 relays at Hodges Stadium, part of a quartet with Brandon Webb, Alex Williams and Jordan Johnson that won the Region 1-2A championships.
“This is the greatest team we’ve ever had in Jackson history,” Garnes said. “Without these guys, it just wouldn’t be the same.”
Jackson’s relay powerhouse
The most dramatic sign of Jackson’s transformation? Check the relay times.
“We take this very serious,” said Johnson, scheduled to race the 4×400 and 4×800. “We’re just a brotherhood.”
The Tigers captured five of the six relays at regionals, the boys 4×400 and 4×800 as well as all three girls relays.
“We trust our coaching, and also we believe in one another,” Williams said. “Without them, it wouldn’t be a relay.”
Jackson is getting great performances from runners like Webb, who said he had participated in the sport since age 10 but only began varsity track this year, and refining their timing.
“Now, I try to bring a little fun into the competition and make sure they work and trust each other, and really put relays together to be able to compete with the schools like Bolles and Bishop Kenny,” Ford said.
Ready to ‘surprise themselves’
Those days of 11-athlete rosters at Jackson are over. For preseason practice this year, Ford said, Jackson drew more than 70 students for tryouts.
“Jackson is a full magnet, which made it a little harder because we don’t get neighborhood kids,” Ford said. “Once we had kids to say, ‘Hey, I want to try out for the track team,’ they actually were better than they expected to be. A lot of people think, ‘Oh, I just have to be fast,’ but it’s more than just being fast.”
Depth is building fast. The regional champion girls team, besides sweeping the relays, also got a 200 victory from Danielle Hagans and an 800 triumph for Kennedi Proctor.
“Honestly, it’s about staying connected and being one unit, and really communicating with each other,” said junior Proctor, among the state’s leading 800 contenders.
Jackson has also built a dynamic hurdles program, particularly deep on the girls side with state qualifiers Nijah Garnes, Laila Brown and Harmani Leak-Harbor.
“We had to learn the difference from regular running rhythm and hurdle running rhythm,” Ford said. “Also, we did cross country this year, so we can actually get a base. Usually, we’d just come out in track season and try to develop them in track season. But by us doing cross country, we built that foundation, that endurance and that strength.”
On paper, Class 2A shapes up as a prime opportunity for schools like athletic superpower Montverde Academy. But after building from 13th in the Gateway Conference to first in the region, Ford and the Tigers are ready to see how high they can soar on a hometown course.
“We’re all kind of looking forward to what we can do on Friday,” Ford said. “Hopefully, they even surprise themselves.”
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Turnaround on Main Street: Jackson track and field picks up pace as FHSAA meet contender
Reporting by Clayton Freeman, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
