Meet Schedule

DURHAM, N.C. (www.NCCUEaglePride.com) – After a three-year hiatus, the North Carolina Central University track and field team returns home to host the historic LeRoy T. Walker/Lee Calhoun Invitational, honoring  track and field legends: Dr. LeRoy T. Walker and Lee Calhoun. The Saturday, March 26 meet, marks the first time the collegiate and high school competitions are featured as a combined meet. 

 

The LeRoy T. Walker Invitational and the Lee Calhoun High School Invitational have each been hosted 17 times. The mighty maroon hold 103 first place finishes in the 18 offered events in the LeRoy T. Walker portion of collegiate competition. This year NCCU will welcome squads from Delaware State, Morgan State, Bowie State and Saint Paul’s.

 

The Lee Calhoun High School Invitational competition will consist of track and field programs from Cary Academy, Cary High School, Elizabeth Seton High School, Highland Springs High School, Kipp Pride High School, Lee County High School, Saint Paul’s High School, Southern High School (Durham), Southern Lee High School, and Western Harnett High School.

 

Walker began his coaching career at NCCU in 1945. In his first two years, Walker elevated the program to international recognition, his student-athletes accounted for 30 national titles, 77 All-American certifications and eight Olympic medalists. In conference competition, Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Walker-led sprinters, hurdles, and jumpers won three CIAA championships, three MEAC championships and a NAIA national championship. From 1956 to 1980, his student-athletes represented NCCU in six Olympic Games. Walker continued to mark his name in history as the first African-American to serve as head coach of a USA Olympic track and field team during the 1976 Montreal Games, and later becoming the first African-American to hold the title of President of the United States Olympic Committee during the 1996 Atlanta Games.

 

Walker retired in 1986 as North Carolina Central University’s Chancellor-Emeritus.

 

Under the helm of Walker was distinguished 110-meter hurdler Lee Calhoun. In 1956, Calhoun returned from Melbourne, Australia, as NCCU’s first Olympic gold medalist, winning the 110-meter hurdle event. Four years later, Calhoun became the first back-to-back winner of that event, earning a second gold medal in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Italy. The United States National Track and Field Hall of Fame honored Calhoun for his achievements in 1974.

 

The LeRoy T. Walker/Lee Calhoun Track & Field Invitational is slated to begin 10 a.m., the meet will run on a rolling schedule with exception of the field events.

 

For more information on North Carolina Central University track and field and the LeRoy T. Walker/Lee Calhoun Track & Field Invitational, visit the official web site www.NCCUEaglePride.com.