“It’s hard to imagine someone with such a fun-loving and pleasant demeanor can be as fierce competitor of a competitor as is Haley Rizek. She has competitive spirit and determination that is unmatched by her peers. Demonstrating a versatility and durability not often seen in top-end track athletes, she is equally talented in jumping, throwing and hurdling events. Her potential as a multi-discipline athlete is limitless and her heptathlon scores should explode in the years to come.”

Adam Kedge

Albuquerque Academy Head Coach who coached 2008-09 Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year Curtis Beach

Athletic Excellence

The 5-foot-8 senior won a pair of individual titles at the Class 5A meet this past season, leading the Sartons to fourth place as a team. Rizek broke the tape in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 45.02 seconds, then took gold in the javelin with a personal-best and state-record throw of 134 feet, 6 inches. At this month’s Great Southwest Classic, she took fifth in the heptathlon with 4,292 points. The state’s returning Gatorade Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year, Rizek clocked New Mexico’s fastest times in the 100 and 300 hurdles times this spring, including an all-class state record and personal-best 14.39 in the former, and her PR in the javelin ranked as the nation’s No. 95 throw in 2018 among prep competitors at the time of her selection. She graduates as a four-time state champion in the 300 hurdles.

Academic Achievement

Rizek has maintained a 3.72 GPA in the classroom and will attend the University of Pennsylvania this fall, where she will compete in track and field.

Exemplary Character

An active member of her school’s campus ministry mission, Rizek led a Make-A-Wish Foundation of America campaign that raised over $10,000 in a single week.