ST. LOUIS – Ryan Wingo won’t graduate from high school for another two years, but he’s already a young man in demand. The St. Louis University High School receiver is a five-star prospect on the football field, with offers from a who’s who of schools from the SEC, Big 10 the Big 12.

Last Friday, he let coaches at the University of Louisville know he was in town for the Eastern Relays, a high school track and field event that draws teams from around the country. Within a span of roughly 8 hours, he scheduled a campus visit, made the visit and left with a scholarship offer. 

What You Need To Know

  • Wingo has football scholarship offers from Missouri, LSU, Texas, Notre Dame and others

  • The Eastern Relays annually brings together elite high school track competition from around the country

  • Wingo won the 200m dash, and gave his medal to a fellow runner after the runner's father fell ill

But the weekend will likely be remembered for what Wingo gave away, not what he picked up.

On Saturday, entered in the 100 meter dash, Wingo didn’t get off to a great start, but recovered down the stretch to finish third at 10.97, behind Louisville Male High School’s Jaylen Cole (10.89) and Louisville Eastern High School’s Terrance O’Bannon (10.85).

Later, as preparations were underway for the 200 meter dash, action on the track was halted when someone in the crowd had a medical emergency and needed to be revived. 

It was Jaylen Cole’s father, who survived, and was being treated at an area hospital.

SLUH Track and Field Head Coach Joe Porter said Wingo came to him with a plan to give Cole Wingo’s medal from the 200 meter race to Cole, who would now not be running it, for obvious reasons. Cole was a 2021 Kentucky state champion in the 4X200 meter relay. Porter told Wingo to see what happens in the race first.

Wingo won with a time of 22.06. Quietly, as teams were preparing to head home, Wingo and Porter presented the medal to Cole’s coach. 

On Monday, Wingo was reluctant to bring much attention to his good deed, which Porter first shared on social media over the weekend and earned plaudits from the Musial Awards, the St. Louis based awards program that highlights acts of sportsmanship. 

 

 

 

“I know it’s only a medal, it's not really going to mean that much, but at the same time it was more like a kind gesture,” Wingo said. It would’ve been a real close race.” 

“Everyone knows about him from football. He's this five star recruit and everyone wants him nationally. But that's the Ryan Wingo I know,” Porter said. “It's not some kid that lets anything go to his head, it's a kid that does things like that. If you watch him at practice he's a good teammate and an unselfish kid which is really a testament to him and his parents that raised him that way he's just a great kid.”