By Alex Bridges -- Daily Staff Writer

WINCHESTER — A former track star for John Handley High School wanted to help future runners, hurdlers and jumpers for his alma mater.

So Bill Higgs and his family decided to give $250,000 to the Handley Capital Campaign. The money will go to widen the track in front of the school from six to eight lanes and stretch it further to give the athletes more room to practice.

"It is a privilege to come back here and help this school, and may I get the opportunity to do so again in the future," Higgs said at a Monday afternoon press conference at the track.

School officials announced the donation to a crowd that included past and current track and field athletes who stood by the track.

"Since 2004, we've spent a lot of time and effort and certainly dollars in restoring this great building that is behind me," said Superintendent Dennis Kellison. "It is now nearing the time that we need to do the same for the outside of the facility, specifically the athletics facilities and the grounds."

Former state Sen. H. Russell Potts Jr., organizer of the Handley Capital Campaign, thanked Higgs and his family for the donation.

"As you well know, Handley High School has been fortunate enough to have more track champions than any school in Virginia — a proud and rich heritage in track and field," Potts said, lauding Higgs' accomplishments both in athletics and then later in his construction business.

"For you young people in front of us, I want you to look at this walking example of the American dream," Potts added.

Track coach Derek Dowrey admitted the donation made him "speechless."

"I think it's amazing when you see the people who come back and recognize where they came from ... it's incredibly generous," Dowrey said. "It'll be nice to see what it looks like when it's all done."

Freshman Caroline Crowe said she was excited and happy that she may get to run on the new track by her senior year.

"Thank you for planting the seed so our future Handley track athletes will enjoy the results," Bill Stewart, athletic director at Handley High School, said to the Higgs family.

Jimmy Omps also spoke of Higgs, recalling the athlete participating in the long and short jump and the hurdles.

"He never took anything real serious except when he got ready to get the job done," Omps said.

The new facility will be far superior to the track that former Handley athlete Don Stewart recalled running on in the late 1930s.

"I'm really enthused," said Stewart, who graduated in 1939.

Construction on the renovation and expansion of Handley continues. The City Council allocated $50 million toward a $63.9 million project budget. That sum did not include funds needed to improve the Handley Bowl, the track, the football field or for landscaping around the school.

The Handley Capital Campaign began as a way to raise $10 million needed to bridge the gap without asking for more funds from the city. The campaign is seeking another $5 million in donations, Kellison said.

* Contact Alex Bridges at abridges@nvdaily.com