Iowa track announcer Mike Jay uses voice to fundraise shoes, cancer research

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) - Mike Jay is the voice of track and field in Iowa.

Saturday, he was using it for good.

His Weekend Warrior, the brainchild of his son Joseph, is a competition that brought together bowlers, golfers, cyclists and runners — all raising money for his Iowa’s Track Guy Foundation.

Together, Mike and Joseph have funded running camps, awarded scholarships and donated more than 1,300 pairs of track shoes to kids in need.

“I was a longtime high school coach and knew that there was always a kid with a need,” Mike Jay said.

“We know the athletes that maybe don’t have the means at home, but want to run,” Joseph Jay said.

Foundation impacts student athletes

Brent Sands competed in the event. As activities director at Iowa City Liberty, Sands has watched the foundation hand vital equipment directly to his student athletes in need.

“Just to see the look on their faces when they get that new pair of shoes, they feel like they can be a part of everybody else,” Sands said.

Event honors Joseph’s late wife

The event grew into something nobody expected.

“My wife passed away from cancer in 2024,” Joseph Jay said.

Joseph’s wife, Casey, lost her life to lymphoma. Casey helped build the Weekend Warrior — and now Joseph honors her with a second foundation dedicated to cancer research.

“We never had any thoughts of it becoming what it is, which is combo event for both foundations,” Joseph Jay said.

“Everybody is fighting something. If we can do a little part to help a kid get shoes and also help somebody that’s in the fight against cancer, and do both on the same weekend, it’s a great fit and a win-win for all of us,” Mike Jay said.

Joseph said the community shows up as a family.

“But to get out and celebrate Casey, for people to hear her story, and what kind of person, mom, wife, friend, sister and daughter, it’s really special,” Joseph Jay said.

The goal for this year’s event was to raise $15,000.