When Matt Winkelhake, who graduated from Oak Park and River Forest High School in late May, suffered a Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) injury last fall during Week 2 of the football season, it would’ve been easy for him to end his high school athletic career.
But quitting is not in Winkelhake’s vocabulary. He was determined to make something of his senior year, and once he recovered from his injury, which cost him the rest of the football season along with half of the basketball season, he decided to go out for a sport he’d never tried before: track and field.
“I missed it a lot, and I didn’t necessarily want my athletic career to be over,” Winkelhake told Wednesday Journal in a phone interview. “So I was like, ‘I might as well join the track team.’”
Winkelhake’s decision to run for OPRF paid dividends. He was part of the Huskies’ 4 x 100 relay team that qualified for the IHSA Class 3A state finals at the St. Ignatius Sectional with a winning time of 42.54 seconds. Moreover, Winkelhake narrowly missed out qualifying for the 100-meter dash finals as he finished third in a time of 11.11, just .17 seconds short of the qualifying standard of 10.94.
“I definitely was surprised,” Winkelhake said. “I always knew I was fast from other sports, but I honestly didn’t think I would have as much success as I did.”
OPRF boys’ track and field coach Tim Hasso was impressed with Winkelhake and wishes he could’ve coached him all four years.
“He really pulled our sprint group together,” Hasso said. “We were a guy short a good chunk of the year, and then all of a sudden he comes out for track. I said, “Let’s start working with this kid because he’s pretty fast.” He hadn’t trained in the [track] element before, but there were things we could clean up, and after just two months of training, he ended up running a 10.72, which is the fastest time in the history of the high school. He’s truly an incredible story.”
As a junior, Winkelhake earned All-West Suburban Silver honors. OPRF football coach John Hoerster said the team missed his on-field presence.
Oak Park-River Forest High School Class of 2025 graduate Matt Winkelhake displays his diploma at the school’s graduation ceremony in May. (Provided by Matt Winkelhake) 
Oak Park-River Forest High School wide receiver Matt Winkelhake (#15) grabs a touchdown pass against Lake Park in a 2023 football game. 
Oak Park-River Forest High School boys basketball player Matt Winkelhake (#12) waits at the scorer’s table to check into a game last season. 
Oak Park-River Forest High School’s Matt Winkelhake (center) is ahead in a race from the recent track and field season.
“Matt was arguably our top returning player last year,” he said. “He was one of our most dynamic players and explosive. He was one of our team leaders and was going to be a two-way starter for us. When you lose a kid like that, it really hurts, and you just feel horrible when his senior season is lost.”
But Hoerster is proud of the resilience Winkelhake displayed in going out for track, and said that speaks volumes about his character.
“He’s an absolutely amazing kid. I’m very fortunate I got a chance to work with him the last two years. I also had the opportunity to have Matt in class, and I got to see a bunch of different sides of him as an athlete and student. I’m excited to see what he does down the road.”
Although Winkelhake didn’t put up big stats on the hardwood, OPRF boys basketball coach Phil Gary felt he made an impact on his program.
“Winks is an amazing kid,” Gary said. “He’s a natural-born leader. He’s very quiet, but on the court he’s always where he needs to be. He’s never a complainer and always does what it takes to win for the team; he’s the ultimate competitor. Winks made my job easier as a coach; he came in every day and worked his butt off. I wish I had a guy like him every year.”
Winkelhake, who is interested in possibly running club track at the University of Iowa next year, thinks fondly on his time as an OPRF student-athlete.
“I love OPRF,” he said. “I met so many amazing people in different sports and I love all the coaches. I wish we would’ve had a little more success in some of the sports, but I love the community. The past few years have been a blast.”
He also enjoyed his experience with helping migrants in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood get clothing and other necessities during his junior year.
“That was super cool,” he said. “It was a service project as part of my civics class, and me and three of my friends who were in the class saw the migrants and started a Go Fund Me page to help them. We raised about $1,000 and got them a bunch of supplies, clothing, toiletries, backpacks, and food. It was really cool, and they were super-grateful. It’s something I’ll always remember.”
And OPRF, whose motto is, “All Things That Are Best,” will remember Matt Winkelhake.