The first West Liberty home meet of the High School Boys Track and Field season will be held Thursday, April 18, at 4 p.m., at the brand-new athletic complex at West Liberty High School.
Known as the Ron Maxson Relay, the invitational was named after former head boys track coach Ron Maxson, who coached in West Liberty for 50 plus years.
Back on April 6, 2024, the Comet girls broke in the new facility with their first team victory of the season, a whopping 146 total points over the visiting competition.
Now it’s the boys turn, during which they’ll take on Durant, Wilton, Tipton and West Branch at the brand-new facility.
In fact, this will be the first time the Ron Maxson Relay will be held at the athletic complex. This particular Comet boy’s annual home meet was given that title back in 2004.
“The board voted on it and approved it unanimously,” remembers Maxson, who was also teaching at the time. “But I didn’t know about it for two days.”
During his time as coach, Maxson fostered 10 Conference Championships and eight Individual State Meet Event Champions.
On Dec. 14, 2017, Coach Maxson was chosen for the Iowa Association of Track Officials Hall of Fame in Ames, Iowa.
For 15 years he has been the Iowa Hawkeyes track meet head umpire, and was asked to be the head umpire of the University of Iowa Big 10 Track Meet twice, in 2015 and 2023.
Although Coach Maxson retired from teaching in 2007, he coached boys track from 1970 to 2023 in West Liberty, after serving in the Army from 1968-1970.
He spent 30 years of his career as the head coach of the Boys High School Track team until the 2000s. He also coached 8th grade football for 43 years, 8th grade basketball for 45 years and was an assistant junior high boy track coach for junior high track.
His awards are numerous over his storied career: Who’s Who Among Teachers in 1994 and 1998, Warren E Shull Advisor of the Year in 1992, advisor of the “Honor Student Council of Iowa” 12 times.
He is a three-time recipient of the Don Taft Memorial Junior High Award for coaching junior high football and received the Iowa Association of Track Coaches “25 Year Award.”