MANSFIELD — The track that bears his name has never looked better and his namesake event is coming back to town.
Harry Mehock would be thrilled.
Newly-renovated Mehock Field will celebrate a Golden Anniversary of sorts when the Mehock Relays return to Malabar Intermediate School on April 19.
Ashland University hosted the venerable meet for the past three years while Mehock Field underwent a much-needed facelift. About a half million dollars of permanent improvement funds were used to rehabilitate the downtrodden oval.
“Ashland University was awfully good to us. They supported us during a transition period,” longtime meet director Brady Groves said. “But this is a Mansfield event. It belongs here in town and we are happy to have it back.”
To bring Mehock Field up to standard, the track was refurbished, new bleachers were installed, the pole vault venue was relocated and the long jump runway and pit were upgraded.
“We stripped the old track down to the dirt and made some significant changes,” Groves said. “A much more sophisticated drainage system was put in and a new synthetic surface was installed.
“We got rid of the old metal stands and put in new aluminum bleachers at the finish line
The improvements couldn’t have come at a more fitting time. It has been 50 years since the Mansfield Relays were relocated to Malabar from Stadium Field in 1964. The event and the new track were named for Mehock, a longtime Mansfield track coach who started the Mansfield Relays as a three-team event in 1927. Mehock served as the meet’s director from 1927 until 1967.
“It is by coincidence that this is the 50th year since the meet came to Malabar,” Groves said. “It’s funny that it worked out that way.”
When it was installed in the mid-1960s, Mehock Field’s 10-lane all-weather surface was the only one of its kind in the northern United States. In keeping with tradition, the new synthetic surface is 10 lanes.
“It’s unique in Ohio,” Groves said. “Most tracks have eight lanes.”
Not many high school meets in the country can compare with the tradition of the Mehock Relays. Alumni include Olympians Jesse Owens and Harrison Dillard of Cleveland East Tech, Glenn Davis (Barberton), Warren Cowley (Farmington, Mich.), Otis Drayton (Cleveland Cathedral Latin), Hayes Jones (Pontiac, Mich.) and Willie Davenport (Warren Howland). Other luminaries include Robert Smith (Euclid), Chris Nelloms (Dayton Meadowdale, Dayton Dunbar) and Tyrone Wheatley (Dearborn Heights, Mich.).
In it’s heyday in the 1980s, the Mehock Relays drew thousands of athletes to town for a two-day event. A changing climate has forced the meet to adapt.
“Smaller athletic budgets and restrictions on travel have changed the landscape,” Groves said. “There are a lot more events to choose from, too. I did some investigating and found out that there are at least 16 other invitationals going on that weekend.
“We are still one of the largest, though. We should have right around 1,000 athletes again this year. That is a manageable number.”
Mansfield Senior athletic director Laurie Romano was glad to welcome the event back to town.
“This is a tradition here in Mansfield,” she said. “I remember coming out to the meet a long time ago and it’s still something I look forward to.
“It’s something people in town will come out and support. It’s even more exciting this year because of the renovations to the track.”
None of it would be possible without the help of volunteers, Groves said.
“Some folks have been attached to the Mehock for 40 or 45 years,” he said. “We don’t need as many volunteers as we once did because of the improved timing technology, but it is still very much a community event.”
Groves, who took over in 1999, is in his 16th season as the meet director. He is just the fourth meet director in the event’s storied history, following Mehock (1927 to 1967), Al Ward (1968 to 1978) and Doug Castle (1979 to 1998).
How many more does he have in him?
“I don’t know. I’d like to find a successor one of these days,” Groves said. “I’m getting old. I get sore when we are setting up for the meet.”
Follow Curt Conrad on Twitter @curtjconrad.
“Some folks have been attached to the Mehock for 40 or 45 years,” he said. “We don’t need as many volunteers as we once did because of the improved timing technology, but it is still very much a community event.”
