For the last 49 years the Statesboro Relays have been a fixture of the Bulloch County track and field scene, but in the past two years the flair around the event hasn’t been as boisterous.
    Recall back to 2015 when the Statesboro Relays had 19 schools from eight different counties: That’s what Statesboro High School is used to dealing with come the end of March/middle of April — depending on when the event is held. However the last two years have seen a drop in participation, as the 48th edition of the relays had seven teams from just five counties.
    As of this moment Statesboro will have five teams — including itself — participating in the staple event. Sponsorship has fallen off as well, so it’s safe to say the Relays have lost a little bit of the gravitas they’d held in years past. 
    “We didn’t get the event online at Georgia Milesplit until February,” said head coach Josh Coleman. “And that was because we went through a coaching change from this year to last year. It didn’t help that a lot of AAA and AAAA regions are holding their championships this week too.”
    The fall off in participation and lack of sponsorship can be tied to the lack of continuity in the coaching staff — specifically at head coach. The Statesboro track team has had three head coaches in three years, despite retaining the same assistants over those years. While the lack of a consistent head coach hasn’t affected the performance of the team, it has affected the logistics of scheduling, ordering gear and putting together Statesboro’s two big events: The Statesboro Relays and the Statesboro Invitational.
    In 2015 the head coach was Josh Moree, who stepped aside in 2016 for Bo Viness. Viness would move on when he took over the Statesboro wrestling program full time, but a new wrinkle was thrown into the mix when former head football coach Steve Pennington left and his replacement Jeff Kaiser stepped in.
    Kaiser would bring with him two new assistants — former Bradwell Institute head football coach Greg Hill and former Portal head football coach David Nesmith have come in to be the new offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator, respectively. They are also slated to be the next track coaches, potentially stabilizing the head coaching position for the first time since 2014.
    But since Nesmith and Hill couldn’t get their contracts fortified by the beginning of track season, someone had to step in to take charge of the position. Enter Coleman, who hadn't planned on being involved as he his still recovering from a motorcycle accident from two years ago.
    Sparing the details, Coleman is in the middle of rehabbing his now amputated right leg, but agreed to head up the track and field squad along with his duties as a science teacher and assistant football coach.
    “When it came down to it, I didn’t want the program to not have a coach,” Coleman said. “Even if I was going to have to get the amputation in the middle of the season, it was the right thing to do.”
    But when Statesboro athletic director Chad Prosser needed someone to step up with days to spare, Coleman and his wife Kaylee took over the head posts as the boys and girls coaches, respectively. Together they’ve been able to handle all the logistical work while the athletes run as if nothing had ever changed.
    “We have such good athletes, but we really need organization,” Coleman said. “Bo (Viness) did as well as he could, but there was just too much to juggle between football and wrestling for him. Even with me coming in late, we’ve still had great participation from the kids.”
    While the shuffling continues in the administration, it hasn’t done anything to impede how Statesboro’s been able to perform on the track. Through five meets this year Statesboro has received consistent performances from a number of runners and field performers.
    On the boys side, Jaden Adams, Noah Caplinger and the 4x100 and 4x400 meter relay teams have consistently placed in the top-three in meets. For the girls, Iyana McKeever, Dayonna Henry and both of their sprint relay teams have done the same. Coleman is confident that his athletes will not only make a run through sectionals, but could make a run at state as well. 
    “Jaden is a kid we expect to win the 100 or the 200 every time we run,” Coleman said. “Iyana and Dayonna are two other we always expect to win their sprints and jumps. Every meet we go to we expect to place multiple kids.”
    Even as the head coaching position for Statesboro Track and Field as shuffled around, it hasn’t destabilized the team itself. Coleman hopes that once he can have a prosthetic fastened to his leg and he can get back into the groove of things, he can help the Statesboro Relays get back to its status of two years ago.
    “Next season we’re hoping to run the Relays at Georgia Southern once they resurface their track,” Coleman said. “Coach (Kelly) Carter and I have spoken a lot about it, and I want to build this thing back up to his former glory. Our focus is to not only build the relays back up, but to build this program back up.”  
    As for this season, the Relays are set to commence at 10 a.m., starting with the 3200 meter run, followed by all the field events. After the conclusion of the field events, the rest of the running events will begin.
     Along with coverage by the Statesboro Herald, full results will be posted following the meet at gamilesplit.com.