Arkansas cornerback prospect Raymond Wingo will put this season's undefeated record in the 100 meters on the line at the sixth annual the Festival of Miles being held at his home track at St. Louis University High School.
The event scheduled to start Thursday at 6:30 in the evening. It was started to promote track and field while giving all the gate receipts to an athlete in need.
"We started with an athlete that was in a coma after a car accident," said St. Louis University High School Head Track Coach Joe Porter. "Another athlete was a SLUHS athlete that was paralyzed from the waist down."
Wingo, 6-1, 174, 4.31 seconds in the 40 yard dash, received his first scholarship offer from Arkansas in the fall and is priority for the Hogs for the 2014 class. He has since added about 13 others.
This will be the first year for the event to include the 100 meters race for high school boys and girls. Wingo, who plans to visit the Hogs in the summer, will compete against seven other sprinters from Missouri and Illinois.
"Based on best times this season, Raymond is the three seed with a 10.64," Porter said.
Cole Henderson of Pekin Community High School in Illinois is the one seed with a time of 10.53 seconds while Missouri Class 2A champion Michael Wells of Cleveland Junior Naval Academy in St Louis is the two seed with a 10.57.
Porter said Wingo has had a very good season despite some tightness in his back in the middle of the season. He won the Class 4A 100 meter title with a 10.85 time on Saturday.
"You look at the state meet and he had raced most of those guys in the field and he hasn't lost to anyone yet," Porter said. "So he raced the whole season undefeated. In fact in the 200, he only lost to another teammate of his who's a senior that's running tack at Notre Dame."
"I think what surprised people at the state was how quick he was out of the blocks. "
Porter believes Wingo can go lower but weather conditions like on Saturday will play a role in his times.
"He had a headwind of 1.1 meters per second about the time the gun went off ," Porter said. "Things like that will factor into running a fast time but he's continuing to improve with him getting stronger. That's definitely the plan is to get him stronger ."
Porter coached Wingo's older brother, Ronnie, who's in camp with the Atlanta Falcons, when he also won the state title in the 100 meters as a senior.
"Ronnie was 212 pounds as a senior, they're just two different animals," Porter said. "Ronnie was a much bigger guy but Raymond is very quick and explosive as well. He gets a lot of power out of his smaller frame."