Raymond Bright
Bright coached track at the University of Central Arkansas from 1959-66
and during that eight-year span his teams won four AIC championships and
were co-champions once. His
1962 team finished 7th in the NAIA national championships.
At Conway High School, he was remembered primarily for his
football program but he was more successful coaching track teams from
1952-58 that won the district championship every year, twice were state
champions and three times were state runners-up.
Mike Conley
Conley was a two-time Olympian in the triple
jump, winning a gold medal in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games and a
silver medal in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. He was a two-time World
Indoor champion, won one World Outdoor title and was ranked #1 on the
world triple jump list for six years.
He was a 9-time NCAA champion at the University of Arkansas and
won 12 USATF national titles in the long jump and triple jump.
He is the world’s best combination jumper of all-time.
Clyde Hart
Hart posted the fastest 100 yard dash performance in state history
at the time for a native Arkansan in both high school and college.
He ran 9.8 for Hot Springs High School in 1958 and 9.3 for Baylor
University at the 1956 Southwest Conference Championships in
Fayetteville. He was head
track coach at Little Rock Central from 1957-63 and coached the Tigers
to 5 state track & field championships, 5 state cross country
championships, and won 58 of 60 track & field meets.
He accepted the head track coach position at Baylor University in
1964 and went on to be named National Track Coach of the Year three
times, coached 8 world record performances including Michael Johnson, 7
national record holders, and 15 NCAA champions.
Jim “Mack” Sawyer
Sawyer served as track & field coach at Henderson State University
for 35 years from 1954-1989 and during his career coached in 16 NAIA
championship meets, 8 NAIA track All-Americans, and one NAIA national
champion. He was named NAIA
District 17 Track Coach of the Year in 1977-78, Coordinator of the NAIA
National Outdoor Championships from 1973-77, and was inducted into the
NAIA Track & Field Hall of Fame in 1982.
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