After earning Florida High School Athletic Association team championships in May, two Jacksonville-area track and field coaches are now recognized as the best in the Sunshine State.
Steven Bellamy of Raines was voted the Florida Dairy Farmers boys track coach of the year, and Ricky Fields of Creekside won the Florida Dairy Farmers girls track coach of the year award, announced June 3.
Bellamy led Raines to a dominant Class 2A championship at the FHSAA meet at the University of North Florida’s Hodges Stadium, the fourth team title for the Vikings overall but the first since 1998.
Raines, with victories in the 200-meter dash, 110 hurdles and the 4×400 relay, pulled away with a 49-point margin over second-place Calvary Christian and Palatka.
Fields directed a deep and balanced Creekside squad, which hoisted the Class 4A girls team trophy by a two-point margin over St. Thomas Aquinas, 47-45.
The Knights earned the deciding points with victory in the 4×400 relay, supplemented with high finishes in various other events. The team championship was the second for Creekside, which also placed first under Fields in 2024.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: After championships, two Northeast Florida coaches named state’s best
Reporting by Clayton Freeman, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Clayton Freeman, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union | USA TODAY Network
