Deerfield High School Senior Wins Shot Put State Championship

CHARLESTON, IL — A Deerfield High School senior became the first individual state champion of a field event in school history Saturday at the IHSA state boys track meet at Eastern Illinois University.

Sam Liokumovich plans to continue competing in throwing sports in NCAA Division I next year at Stanford University. In addition to his 2019 Class 3A state title, Liokumovich will depart DHS holdingthe school records for both shot put, at 64 feet, 4.75 inches, and discus, at 188 feet, 11 inches, according to Deerfield High School Boys Track and Field Coach Ryan Brown.

The school's recordholder was Liokumovich's older brother Igor, who went on to compete for Harvard University after graduation, Brown said. The best-ever finish at a state final for the elder Liokumovich was second place in shot put and third place in discus in 2011.

No Deerfield High School athlete has previously won an individual gold at a field event, though there have been two past state champions on the track. According to Brown, the first individual state champion in Warriors track and field history was Tom Stevens, who won the 1,600 meter race in 1979. Chris Douglas took home the gold in the 300-meter hurdles event in 2015.

“I really felt the pressure coming into the season,” Liokumovich told Pioneer Press after the win. “I was surprised I was able to pull through because I didn’t have the best prelims.”

This year, Liokumovich's fellow DHS senior Henry Boudreau qualified for the finals in both events. He placed 10th in the state in discuss and 12th in shot put.

Sam Liokumovich
3A Shot Put State Champ
61’ 9.25” on last throw
Crowd Hyped @DeerfieldTFnXC @DHS__Athletics @MileSplitIL @nationalthrows pic.twitter.com/8NBnzeWoXz
— DeerfieldWarriorThrowForce (@throwright) May 26, 2019