Former RJ Reynolds cross country and track & field runner George Phillips (class of 1970) has been elected to the first class of the North Carolina High School Track & Field and Cross Country Hall of Fame. Ten (athletes, coaches and media) were elected to the first class by a statewide panel of 14 coaches and media representatives who follow track and field and cross country extensively.

The induction ceremony will be on Saturday, Jan. 26 in Winston-Salem during the Mondo Elite High School Invitational at the JDL Fast Track, which will be the permanent home of the Hall of Fame. George will be in attendance for the induction ceremony.

Below is a brief bio on George Phillips (with his media contributions, which have been extensive the last 20 years and is one of the reasons why the sport has grown so much in North Carolina):

GEORGE PHILLIPS

Founder and developer of North Carolina's first high school running website, NCPrepTrack.com, which was also one of the first high school running websites in the nation when it went online on April 27, 1997. George helped push North Carolina high school running to the forefront of the minds of coaches, athletes, parents and media member and made them care about the sport more. He motivated athletes and coaches merely by the exposure he brought by putting results, lists, and photos online.

He ran in high school at RJ Reynolds in Winston-Salem and in college at Appalachian State in Boone, and he coached in high school at his alma-mater, RJ Reynolds, and also at Charlotte’s Independence and Myers Park. In 2010 he became the first maintainer of a website covering North Carolina high school sports to win the NCHSAA’s “Tim Stevens Media Representative of the Year Award”.

As a high school distance runner, he was runner-up at the 1969 NCHSAA Cross Country Championships, and he ran 9:29 for the Two-Mile at the 1970 NCHSAA Track & Field Championships.

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