April 2, 2007

By Louis Bonnette

He won't be flying down the back stretch in some relay event nor soaring over the bar in a field event.

But, he will be a vital part of the Texas Relays that will begin Thursday in Austin.

He's former McNeese State track coach and athletic director Bob Hayes who will mark his 38th season of serving on the games committee at one of the nation's top track meets.

He and seven other track experts comprise the committee that is responsible for setting up the meet which includes heat and lane assignments for all running events as well as heat assignments for the field events.

"After the meet begins we also serve as the group that hears all protests. During my time there we haven't had that many, really," he said.

Hayes has been a member of the games committee since 1970 when he was appointed by the legendary Texas track coach Cleburn Price.

"I just may try to make 40 years as a member of the committee," Hayes added.

"It's really a great show. It will draw upwards of 25,000 fans and there will be more than 5,000 participants. It's what most call the first major track meet of the season. There's the Texas Relays, the Kansas Relays, the Drake Relays and the Penn Relays."

In the almost four decades that he's been taking part in the Texas Relays, Hayes has seen most of the standout athletes in the nation.

He's watched Olympic champions Bobby Morrow and Carl Lewis come through and he said that he may have been impressed the most by one Eddie Southern who ran for Texas and also became an Olympic champion.

"I saw him run the anchor leg in the mile relay for Texas one time in 44.6 and that was flying," he said.

"I also saw Baylor run a 2:56.9 mile relay."

Hayes, who was a record setting miler at Louisiana Tech during his collegiate days, ran in the Texas Relays once himself and when he was the track coach at McNeese, he brought his team over each and every year.

"The only time I ran at the relays was in 1957 when I was in the service in San Antonio," he said. "I ran a leg on a mile relay team."

Only once did his Cowboys win an event at the Texas Relays when he was coaching.

That was in the 1970s when the Cowboy two mile relay team of Bobby Morgan, Dickie Morgan, Roy Felder and Fanahan McSweeney put it all together for victory.

"I'm going to tell you a story about that race," he said,"but you can't repeat it.

"Fanahan (who was from Ireland) had come back that year telling me that he wanted to work on the 800 because he was going to run that race in the Olympics for his country. He was an outstanding quartermiler and we were going to use him in that and on the sprint relay and the mile relay team. But, I told him that we would work something out.

"So we get to Austin and we get ready for the two mile relay. Fanahan is running the anchor leg so I told him that he was probably going to get the baton a few yards behind everyone so just take it easy and try to improve enough so that he could use his strong kick and win the race.

"Well, he gets the baton and we are in the lead. He takes off and he's leaving the field so far behind that the announcer comes on the PA saying that McSweeney of McNeese is on a world record pace. After one lap he's still going flat out but he's beginning to tail off. The announcer comes back on and says McNeese is on an American record pace. Fanahan slows down after that but he still crosses the finish line first but not in record time.

"The team goes up to the award stand to receive their awards and Fanahan lies down on the stand and won't get up. He's still there when the next group goes up to get its award. Finally, the announcer comes on the PA asking for someone from McNeese to come forward and remove this runner from the awards stand so the meet can continue.

"He was really whipped but he did go on to compete in the Olympics and I think that he finished 8th in the 800."

This week Hayes may be in position to see another first place come McNeese State's way.

Cowboy pole vaulter Brad Gebauer is one of eight McNeese athletes entered in the meet and Gebauer will go in as one of the favorites. He's the reigning NCAA indoor champion.

Other McNeese athletes in the meet will be undefeated and nationally ranked Chris Hill and John Walledom in the javelin, John Jamail in the shot put, Jan Bicanic in the discus, Jon Fagan in the decathlon, Katarina Busljeta in the women's discus and Laken Mock in the women's javelin.