JERSEY CITY, NJ…Former New Jersey City University assistant track and field coach and 1968 Olympian CHARLIE MAYS, the late father of Gothic Knight head men’s and women’s cross country coach #Charles Mays, Jr.#, will receive the ultimate honor for a lifetime of excellence as an athlete and coach, when the County of Hudson dedicates the track at Jersey City’s Lincoln Park, in his memory.
The dedication ceremony will be held on Tuesday, October 16 at 3 p.m. at the county park located off of Routes 1 & 9 Truck Route, and will include members of the Mays family, and city and county representatives.
Charles Mays, Jr. is in his fifth year as head coach of the NJCU men’s and women’s cross country programs, and has served as an assistant coach of the men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor programs over the last four seasons. Lincoln Park is the home training facility for the Gothic Knights.
“Being that I’m down there and it’s like my other office, this truly is an honor for me and my entire family,” said Mays, Jr. of the dedication. “Of all the honors he has or may receive, this is probably the most meaningful. To be honored by your hometown, where your career began and ended, is very special. And I will get to see this every day coaching for NJCU, training on that track. He definitely has created a legacy now.”
Charlie Mays, Sr. passed away after an illness in April, 2005. He was an assistant coach for the Gothic Knights indoor and outdoor women’s programs at then-Jersey City State College during the 1996-97 season under former women’s coach and current Rutgers-Newark athletics director Mark Griffin.
Mays, a former member of the Jersey City council for six years and an inductee into the Hudson County Hall of Fame, also coached for more than seven seasons as an assistant at Seton Hall University.
Mays, a legendary name in New Jersey track history, was a nine-time Amateur Athletic Union champion in the long jump and six-time champion in the 440-yard dash. He was a member of the United States' 1968 Olympic Team in Mexico City, Mexico as a long jumper.
Overall, he was selected as an AAU All-American 11 times and was named the AAU Track and Field Athlete of the Year on three occasions. In college at Maryland State College (now Maryland Eastern Shore), he was ranked No. 1 in the world in the indoor 500-yard dash. He was a two-time NCAA champion in the long jump and the mile relay.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
