Carlos Mathews
Track and Field
Carlos Mathews and Michael Jordan have something in common: both were cut from their high school junior varsity basketball teams. While Jordan’s journey to greatness is well-documented, Carlos took a different path. Always gifted with speed, he chose to focus on track and field—a sport in which he continues to excel to this day.
After missing out on the JV basketball team at Huntsville High, Carlos Mathews found an opportunity with Hall of Fame coach George Fletcher, who welcomed him with open arms. Under Fletcher’s guidance, Mathews channeled his speed and athleticism into track and field, ultimately running and jumping his way into the record books. Carlos still holds several school records in the sprints and jumps, a span of 34-plus years. “I was able to compete in what was called the first indoor meet in North Alabama, in Priceville” Mathews recalls. “"The meet was not what I expected. I anticipated a track like the wooden track that was in Montgomery, but instead, we raced Jesse Owens-style—on clay. It was my first time ever competing on a clay track. During that meet, I ran the 55-meter dash in 6.30 seconds, which was faster than the state record at the time. However, because the time was not run during the state track meet, it did not officially count as the state record, though it remains one of the fastest times recorded. The Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) discontinued the 55-meter event in 1996 in favor of the 60-meter, so I will hold that Huntsville High school record for life.” In the same meet, he also set the school record in the long jump, a record that still stands today.
After graduating from Huntsville High, he had several scholarship offers to Division I schools but chose to continue his family’s legacy by attending Alabama A&M. Mathews recalls, “My family is an A&M family, and that is where I wanted to be. At the time, the team was stacked with Olympians from other countries, as well as top sprinters and jumpers from across the United States, so the competition was intense just to make the roster.”
With perseverance and the guidance of legendary Coach Joe Henderson—a member of both the Alabama A&M Hall of Fame and the Huntsville-Madison County Athletic Hall of Fame—Mathews earned a spot on the team. Henderson, his high school sprint coach during summer track, had guided him through multiple Junior Olympic runs alongside Coach Andrew Lee, Alabama A&M Hall of Famer and strength and conditioning coach, and Coach Freeman, his long jump coach. All three remained mentors throughout his college years, shaping him both on and off the track.n
During his collegiate career, Carlos helped Alabama A&M win four consecutive SIAC Conference Championships, the only men’s team in school history to do so. He earned All-SIAC honors in three of his four competitive seasons and posted top-15 national marks in the long jump. While Alabama A&M University was in the SIAC (1941–1998), he recorded some of the school’s top performances, including the second-best indoor long jump, fifth-best outdoor long jump, and a top-10 mark in the 100 meters. He also qualified for the Division II NCAA National Championship meet three times. “Qualifying for the NCAA National Championships three times was a testament to the intense training and competition I faced at Alabama A&M. Each time, I competed against some of the best collegiate athletes in the nation, an experience that shaped me as both an athlete and coach.”
When asked about his favorite moment, he points to the conference championship in his senior year. “We did not have as many Olympians or top sprinters from around the country as we had in the past. That team won the title on hard work and determination.”
While his collegiate career ended, his love for competition never faded. At 30, He returned to the track as a USATF Masters athlete continuing his passion for track and field. “I have always said I was going to compete until the wheels fell off,” he says. “There are not many Masters track meets in the area, so I often compete against younger athletes. It gives me a bit of bragging rights when I manage to beat some college-age competitors.”
Since returning to competition, he has captured three national championships in the long jump and one in the triple jump, further solidifying his legacy in the sport. A dedicated competitor in the Alabama State Games ,an annual multi-sport festival for athletes of all ages, he has amassed an impressive collection of medals over the years. In 2024, his achievements were recognized when he was named the Adult Alabama State Games Athlete of the Year. Mathews has given back to the sport as a coach at both the high school and collegiate levels. As an assistant coach, he contributed to Johnson High School’s AHSAA Girls State Championship win in 1996. Later, as Co-Head Coach at Lee High School, he played a key role in their AHSAA Boys Freshman State Title victory in 1999.
At the collegiate level, he served as an assistant coach for women’s cross country and both men’s and women’s track and field at Alabama A&M University. He also played a key role in coaching Alabama A&M’s first SWAC Track & Field champion in the women’s 60 meters.
As a volunteer coach at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), he worked with sprinters and jumpers and contributed to UAH sending its largest contingent to the Division II NCAA National Championships in 2005. Most recently, he was instrumental in bringing the USATF Masters National Championship Track and Field Meet to Huntsville, set for July 2025 a fitting full-circle moment, as Huntsville is where his track career first began.
Carlos was inducted into the Alabama A&M Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013, becoming the youngest inductee at the time. He is also a local business owner and currently serves as President of the Huntsville City School Board.
Unlike Mike, Carlos never got a signature shoe. But records? He has set plenty—and he is still setting them today.
--Robin Gaines
