John Liles was an imposing figure on the basketball court at Raleigh’s Broughton High School in the mid-‘60s, but it was his versatility, knowledge and love of track and field that helped him become not only a highly successful collegiate track athlete at Barton, but a revered coach and administrator for nearly three decades in Swansboro.
Liles, born in Raleigh on August 2, 1950, is a teacher/athletic director/ girls track coach at Swansboro Middle School and a co-head track coach at Swansboro High School. At Swansboro Middle, his teams have won 14 of 15 conference championships. At Swansboro High, his girls have captured the conference and regional track titles and finished among the top 10 in the 2-A State Championship three consecutive years. He has coached four state champions and has had a number of former athletes compete collegiately.
The 6-foot-5, 205-pound Liles amassed 509 points in his Barton career from 1969-72, establishing a school track and field record that still stands. He was a one-man wrecking crew at meets, routinely scoring 20-plus points (five points for a first, four for a second, etc.) while competing in five events.
The four-year letterman, who was a reserve on the basketball team his freshman season before focusing completely on academics and track, captured the NAIA Carolinas Conference and District 29 javelin titles as a senior, when he went undefeated in the event and was proclaimed All-District. He set the school javelin record of 198 feet, 2 1/2 inches that was never broken and led the Bulldogs to a second-place finish in the District 29 championships.
During his career, Liles also held school records in the shot put (42-8) and triple jump (44-0). He became a five-event man in the second meet of his sophomore year against Catawba. Coach Jim Corbin said on the trip over that he needed someone to long jump, so Liles and Jim Boykin, his presenter, volunteered. Liles did well, so Corbin made that part of his regular meet rotation.
Liles was also very successful in the shot put, winning many firsts and registering a personal best of 42-8. His best long jump was 21-10 and he tossed the discus 112 feet. He was named team MVP his junior and senior seasons and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Health and Physical Education and a minor in math.
He and his wife, Minnette, who they met at AC, are the proud parents of Katie and Jeffrey and the mentors for their other families: the track teams.
His freshman year at Barton, Liles competed primarily in the shot put, discus and javelin. He was an excellent shot putter at Broughton, throwing 50 feet, and was known primarily for rebounding in basketball. Tom Parham helped recruit Liles to Barton for basketball, but it wasn’t long before Liles really fell in love with track and field… and was the Bulldogs’ star.
By his sophomore year, Corbin was riding Liles’ overall athletic prowess to some 20 points per meet. Liles won all five events in which he competed for the first time in 1970 against Campbell, going for 20-1 in the long jump, 171-3 in the javelin, 38-7 in the shot put, 108-0 in the discus and 41-7 1/2 in the triple jump. He also amassed 25 points with five first versus Guilford later in the season.
By his junior year, Liles was gaining a lot of notoriety as the Raleigh News & Observer listed him as one of the top 10 collegiate performers in North Carolina in both the javelin and triple jump. On March 19, 1971, he broke the school record for all-time scoring of 398; then held by Dick Swanker of Pennsylvania. Liles credits Swanker for getting him started in the triple jump and javelin.
His senior year, the Bulldogs posted a 5-3 record against tough foes like Guilford, High Point, Pembroke State and others. Liles had four firsts and a second against Guilford for 23 points.
Liles admits participating in five events at one meet was often hectic, but he would trade the experience that earned him Barton Athletic Hall of Fame glory.
