By Jeff Vorva
Correspondent
St. Laurence junior Harley Rizzs was a member of the Vikings football team that earned a 2023 Class 4A state runner-up trophy the day after Thanksgiving.
He bettered that two days before Memorial Day when he became the first St. Laurence track athlete to win an individual state championship.
Rizzs won the Class 2A 100 meters in 10.66 seconds at the IHSA state track and field finals, held May 25 at Eastern Illinois University’s O’Brien Field. Prior to this year, the best individual performances by Vikings came in 2013 when Mike Hyc took second in the shot put, and in 2022 when DeShawn Parker finished second in the triple jump.
Rizzs left Charleston with three medals, and helped the Vikings track program attain another first.
Rizzs, Quinton Williams, Vincent Enoch and Monroe Thompson Jr. won the 400-meter relay in 41.94 to become the first relay team in school history to win a state title. Rizzs — along with DeShawn Parker, Allan Potter and Adrian Williams Jr. — had the previous best relay finish with a third-place showing in 2022.
Rizzs also finished third in the 200 this season with a time of 21.92.
Also for the Vikings, Luis Flores claimed fifth in the 3200, finishing in 9:25.26
The Vikings tied with Glenbard South for fourth place at state with 32 points, just missing a trophy. Benton snagged the last spot on the podium with 33 points.
The area had a few other medalists in Class 2A.
The Chicago Christian 400 relay team of Blake Denman, Jeremiah Oliver, Chad Busker and Ryan Heard finished ninth with a time of 43.42.
Lesroy Tittle of Nazareth took third in the long jump with a leap of 22 feet, 2.5 inches.
David Coffey of De La Salle was eighth in the 100 meter with a time of 10.80.
In Class 3A, Lyons’ Nicholas Strayer took ninth in the 1600 meter with a time of 4:16.84.
Marist’s Kamil Kokot took ninth in the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.07.